Showing posts with label George Bush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George Bush. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Ross Perot - Prairie Prophet & Presidential King Maker



Exactly 22 years ago George Bush, Sr.,  was running for re-election as president of the United States and being challenged by a young, upstart Democrat and Governor of Arkansas named Bill Clinton.  And then there was that shrill talking, billionaire from Texas named Ross Perot who was trying to launch the first successful third party campaign since Teddy Roosevelt just after the turn of the last century.


For historians let me set the record straight.  Yes Teddy was elected vice president in 1900 and became president when President William McKinley was shot September 6 and died September 14 of 1901, his first year in office.  Teddy was then elected by a landslide in 1904.
 
 
In 1908 he supported his secretary of war, William Howard Taft for president and Taft won.  By the end of Taft's first term Roosevelt felt Taft no longer served the people and when he failed to beat Taft at the GOP convention he started a third party, the Bull Moose (progressive) party to oppose the president.
 
 
This is where the parallels between Ross Perot and Teddy Roosevelt become intertwined as if history was simply repeating itself about 100 years later.
 
In the election of 1912 Republican President Taft got 23% of the vote, Independent Roosevelt got 27% of the vote, and Democrat Woodrow Wilson became president with just 42% of the vote.  Thus Roosevelt blocked Taft from being re-elected and made Wilson President.
 
 
After his first term in office in 1992 President Bush was running for re-election riding the popularity of Desert Storm when Ross Perot, a former Republican like Teddy Roosevelt, came out of nowhere with his Independent campaign.
 
 
In the election of 1992 Republican President Bush got 38% of the vote, Independent Ross Perot got 19% of the vote, and Democrat Bill Clinton became president with just 43% of the vote.  Thus Perot blocked Bush from being re-elected and made Clinton President.
 
During Clinton's first term Ross Perot sought to influence the national agenda focusing on three issues, the NAFTA economic treaty, Health Care Reform and rebuilding our educational system.
 
 
He opposed NAFTA, an issue Clinton co-opted from the GOP because he was in danger of losing his re-election campaign.  Perot warned passage of NAFTA would lead to the destruction of our manufacturing industries and we would lose millions of jobs to Mexico and other countries.  Clinton got it passed and the final nail was driven into the coffin of America's once dominate manufacturing base.
 
 
On health care Perot warned the lack of cost controls would bankrupt America, and any government entitlement programs regarding health care like Medicare and Medicaid would drive the American deficit beyond our capacity to pay.  In 1996 the US national debt was $107.4 billion under Clinton and by 1998 would become a surplus through Bush in 2001.
 
 
Today the National debt stands at a record $17 trillion, thanks in large part to runaway entitlement costs as predicted by Perot.  In fact America spends more per capita than any other nation on health care yet ranks just 37th in the world in terms of quality of health care.
 
Finally, Perot was so disgusted with the deficiencies in our education system that he started his own high school in Dallas and was to set records for educational achievement and college attendance by urban youth.  Today our educational system continues to spend more per pupil than any other nation and we still are failing in terms of the quality of educational care.
 
 
Sooo, Ross Perot, the caricature from Texas who dared challenge the American two-party system was a figment of historical déjà vu showing up 100 years after Teddy Roosevelt played the same role for America.
 
 
Both were prophets in terms of warning of the dangers faced by America and both greatly influenced the national agenda and debate.  A couple of obscure Democrats owe their fortune and fame (Wilson and Clinton) to these political rebels.  At the same time, the failure of our government to heed the warnings of these two left us floundering in the winds of indecision as our judicial system seemed to collapse, our health care costs spiraled out of control, our manufacturing base vanished away, our educational system continued to flounder and our national debt reached epic proportions.


More on the Prairie Prophet from Texas later as the story of Ross Perot and his unbending care for the nation, commitment to veterans, exceptional patriotism and whose incredible rescue of his employees from the prison of Iran after the failure of President Carter to protect our own embassy in the fall of Iran to the Ayatollah is one of the greatest stories of courage to ever take place in our nation.

US hostages in Iran 1979
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Monday, November 15, 2010

Sarah Palin surges to lead over Obama as polls prove Obama is more polarizing

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In the first post-election polls since the Midterms Sarah Palin has once again defied the liberal media and elitists and surged ahead of President Barack Obama in favorability and is in a dead heat in unfavorable ratings with Obama to the total chagrin of the reporters and pundits.

So terrorized are the liberals that they hailed the newest polls as a sign Palin is the most polarizing name in politics which of course is a blatant lie. What is the truth? In the latest AP GfK nationwide poll Sarah Palin has climbed to a 46% favorable and her unfavorable is 49% as of November 13.

In contrast, President Obama, according to today's RealClearPolitics Poll, stands at 45.4% favorable and 49.6% unfavorable. Bet you didn't hear the media report that our polarizing Palin is less polarizing than Obama.


The real truth is polls are all about trends and here the trend is real clear. Obama has been sinking in the polls for two years running as witnessed by the public revolt against Democratic leadership and the shellacking Obama took in the elections this month.

More ominous for the liberal media, the latest RealClearPolitics poll show an amazing 63.8% of the public believe our nation is on the wrong track under Obama's leadership. If 49.6% have an unfavorable opinion of Obama and 63.8% believe his policies are on the wrong track just who is the real polarizing figure in American politics? The numbers don't lie, it is clearly Obama. Just ask the 70 newly elected Republicans who won House and Senate seats November 2.


So Palin is gaining favorable ratings as Obama continues to slip. Is that enough? Well there is more. After two years of Obama blaming George Bush for every problem he faces, George Bush has gained 10% in favorable ratings and now is 44% favorable, again according to RealClearPolitics, while Obama is only 45.4% favorable, barely a 1% difference. In other words Obama has dropped over 20% since being elected while Bush has gained over 10%, a swing in the polls of over 30%.

Still that does not reflect the true trends because Obama faces a continuing string of challenges by the new Congress over his domestic agenda, while his international problems have continued to mount with every passing day. It appears that nothing will slow the difficulties of our president with the dragging economy and loss of international influence.


As for Sarah Palin, she has just started an eight week travel documentary on Alaska sharing with her television audience her love of the northern wilderness and she follows that with a 14 state tour promoting her next book which is certain to be a blockbuster like the last one.

Those who count Palin out should check their math because the numbers don't lie and attempting to show she is more polarizing than Obama is quite a joke as the mood of the public has demonstrated.

In recent years our political pundits seem to have forgotten Richard Nixon (1968) and Bill Clinton (1992) both won the presidency with just 43% of the popular vote and in four of the last five elections the winner received 50% or less of the vote. Sarah Palin is far from out of it and the trends are much more in her favor.

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Monday, November 01, 2010

The Battle of the Presidents - Bush versus Obama

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With the two Bush Presidents at the World Series and George, Jr. throwing out the first ball, we finally have brought Bush out into the open and though he has never had a bad thing to say about Obama who has had a lot of bad things to say about Bush, we get to compare the two presidents.



Check out the following two videos of Bush, then Obama throwing out balls at baseball games.  You decide which has the best arm and which throws like an Ivy Leaguer.



Gotcha on the last question since both are Ivy Leaguers and Bush is the only president to graduate from Harvard and Yale.

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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Obamaville - September 29 - Latest Poll Results

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Thank goodness the politicians in Washington, DC have set a fine example and we are no longer required to tell the truth about anything because otherwise the latest polls would make little sense. However, the die is cast and the truth is lost and we only have about 5 more weeks of nonsense before the elections so here are the latest poll results as I see them.


Obama has slipped so low in the polls 2/3 of all Americans now want him to be Prime Minister of England or Australia.

The leftist liberals are held in such low regard by most Americans that the only TV ratings now recorded for MSNBC and CNN, America's answers to socialist Europe, are the staff of the two networks watching each other.


Of course liberals aren't the only ones having problems as the same poll shows all Republicans and Democrats over 65 and Newt Gingrich no matter what his age need to be sent out to pasture.

At the same time the people also believe the voting age must be raised to 28 years of age since the dumb kids got us into this mess electing Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to lead us out of the darkness and into the night.


Speaking of Nancy Pelosi, 80% of all people refuse to believe she is the leader of the majority party as even Democrats can't be that stupid.


Voting for the person the public most wants to see on Dancing with the Stars next season was tied with over 90% wanting Barack Obama and Sarah Palin for the next two seasons, 2011 and 2012, so both will be too busy to run for president.


In terms of education issues, over 70% of the public says the Obama's could not have attended the exclusive Ivy League schools of Columbia and Harvard for Barack, and Princeton and Harvard for Michelle, and still claim to be plain old American middle class folks.



An astounding 100% of the people want to see only one debate in this fall's election, and a team debate at that. They want the team of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck for the right wing against Arianna Huffington and former VP Al Gore for the socialists with the winners decided by whichever team can figure out what the hell the other team is saying first.


The Supreme Court decision to not allow election ballots to offer the choice, "none of the above", which was rejected by the Supreme Court on grounds the public has no right to so directly influence an election, was opposed by 83% of the public.


67% of the public say VP Joe Biden was inconsistent when he admonished fellow Democrats to stop whining the same day Barack Obama was again whining about the endless curses George Bush left him over the past eight years even though George Bush left office nearly two years ago.


Oh yes, and 91% of the public believes we are much safer and the economy will recover only if congress and the Obama's stay on vacation all the time.
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Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Obama Closes Door to Iraq Combat - Even Mentions the Economy for a Change

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In a rather strange 19 minute prime time address from the Oval Office President Obama talked about the end of combat in Iraq, the Afghanistan war, President Bush and the economy and never cracked a smile nor showed much of any emotion, not a good performance for one considered the great communicator.


It was a hodgepodge of subjects, all of which were important, but none of which got much discussion in his address. Clearly the talk of the economy at the end of the talk was a last minute addition to address the fact the entire nation is wondering if the President will ever get around to addressing the economy, unemployment and the national debt.

His mention of Bush was awkward at best and said nothing that everyone didn't already know. The only thing unusual about it was Obama did not blame Bush for everything but he also didn't mention that Bush signed the agreement to withdraw combat troops while president or that Bush implemented the troop surge strategy used by Obama in Iraq and Afghanistan but then when he uses the former president as a punching bag he really can't say too much good about him.


Obama did make reference to the terrible cost in lives and money of the war which we also know. However, as for the $700 billion cost over 7 years, Obama didn't mention he spent that much in one day with the stimulus program and over $4 trillion on his own legislative agenda the past 18 months. Some think that $4 trillion was wasted as well.

Again he gave our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan a heads up by reinforcing his deadline for leaving the war zones which is something no president has ever done before through the news media. Many believe this is an indication of his inexperience.


As for the economy, it was the standard line of blaming the Republicans and the prior 8 years, though he didn't mention Bush by name, while offering nothing but a trivial bill pending in congress as a step toward healing the wounds. It will take a lot more than a small business incentive to fix the mess we are in.

Obama appeared tired, lacked the energy he has on a basketball court, and seemed almost distracted when giving the talk. Of course his foreign policy agenda was not what the people want to hear and his meetings on Mideast peace the rest of the week will keep him from addressing the economy for another week.

Since he just finished a ten day vacation at Cape Cod perhaps he needs a few days to rest up from his busy vacation schedule.

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Obama & Pelosi New Democratic Campaign Strategy - Bush Babble


Our president who promised to champion change starting with eliminating the polarization of politicians and the partisanship in Washington, not to mention the adoration toward special interests and dependence on campaign contributions, seems to have forgotten all those promises.

Now we see that our president, the one who is supposed to serve all Americans including Independents, Republicans, Democrats and the Disinterested, has returned to the campaign trail with a whole new Democratic strategy called the Bush Babble attack mode.

I suppose when you don't have a leg to stand on any old Bush will do.


Obama just might be the first president in modern history to conclude after just two years in office it is easier to be against everything Bush than to learn the art of compromise and work with those you were elected to serve.

His new image is quite a contrast from the slick, intelligent, pre-packaged, self-assured Ivy League image he tried to convey when he got elected. Those days of the consummate elitist are gone it seems, replaced by the tough talking, slang slinging Bush basher he has become on the fall campaign trail.

Here we thought two years ago we had put Bush behind us with the election of Obama. He was not running against Bush two years ago and he sure is not in 2010 but when your legislative initiatives have passed and still no one understands them or has seen any evidence of what good they will do for us, you are in desperate need of a straw man to blame for your misfortunes.

So Obama and Pelosi have instituted the Bush Babble strategy and so far about the only thing it has achieved for them is to bring them one step closer to oblivion as far as their political power and careers. No presidents have bashed their predecessor like Obama has bashed Bush. I mean Clinton even worked with George Bush senior and George Bush junior worked with Clinton on highly successful charitable causes.


Such unabashed Bush bashing as Obama undertakes daily from the bully pulpit is demeaning to the office of president and much more in tune with the bully politics of Chicago than the dignity of the office of president.

How can the nation have hope when our leader is too busy tearing people down and pointing fingers to set an example for the world? Of all the empty promises we heard during the election none are missed more than the promises of an experienced healer to lead the nation.

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Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Obama Stops Being President - The Secret Harvard Strategy to Keep Yale from Regaining the Presidency?

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Since the Democrats can't hold town hall meetings anymore because they cannot control what the people say and the people are mad as Hell, Obama is leading the way by making excursion after excursion to safe havens around the country in a feeble attempt turn the clock back to 2008 when he was running for president against George Bush.

It is as if the President can wave a magic wand and make us all forget that for the last four years the Democrats have controlled the House of Representatives under Nancy Pelosi, and that Barack Obama has been president for nearly two years.



In the process of trying to polarize the nation and turn citizens against citizens in hopes that a fragmented public will give these Democrats a better chance to win, it is a campaign that must have come out of the bowels of Harvard because it sure hasn't worked in real life politics ever since Yale took control of the presidency 20long years before Obama stopped the Yale control streak and won for Harvard in 2008.

For those who are not into tracking Ivy League control of our political institutions let me remind you that George Bush senior (1988-1992), Bill Clinton (1993-2000) and George Bush junior (2001-2008) were all Yale graduates while Obama is the first Harvard educated president since John Kennedy.



Throughout our history there have been 8 presidents from Harvard and 5 from Yale although the recent string of 4 from Yale closed the gap considerably. Of course only one president graduated from both Harvard and Yale, Bush junior, which might shock a few people out there in America. That means Obama has taken the drastic step of attacking a fellow Harvard grad who was president.

In the last 50 years Harvard has controlled the nation for just 5 years, Yale for 20 years, and the rest of America for 25 years. That, of course, is why Harvard thinks the nation is in deep trouble. But if you look back at the entire history of the nation there have been 44 presidents, 12 from Harvard and Yale since George junior can only be counted once, which means 32 presidents have not been from the most elite of the elitist Ivy League schools.



Thus the law of averages says Harvard and Yale should only have about 1 out of every 3 presidents. Since 1960 Harvard and Yale have had 5 of our 10 presidents. Perhaps our over-dependence on Harvard and Yale the last 50 years, in which 50% of the presidents were super-elitists, while over our 234 year national history only 27% were super elitists, has more to do with the sorry state of affairs and the fact Obama has had to stoop so low as to attack a fellow Harvard grad to save face.

I mean what is the problem here Obama? Don't attack fellow alumnus Bush, he gave us wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which you continued. To both of your credit you two and fellow elitist Bush senior have given us the only wars with no draft, thus making sure all the students in Harvard and Yale did not have to serve in the military.

Bush paved the way for your economic stimulus with the bank bailout, which you also supported. If it weren't for his deficits you wouldn't have been able to bailout the auto unions, AIG, more banks, the crooks in housing, even Wall Street and the health care industry where many of the companies were run by your fellow Harvard and Yale grads.

More important, his deficits enabled you to advance your social or socialist agenda, your transfer of wealth and your massive expansion of big government. So what if the American public does not agree, they are entitled to their silly opinions while you are in control.



Most important, Bush caused such discontent that it allowed you to quietly move ahead with the New World Order agenda to replace all governments of the world while blaming everything on the Republicans and Bush. Amschel Rothschild, founder of the House of Rothschild, would be proud of the progress you have made to carry out his dream.

Now Mr. President, don't you think you owe fellow Yale/Harvard alumni George Bush an apology, okay you can make it in secret, and you should agree in the interest of elitist etiquette to stop jeopardizing donations to the Harvard and Yale endowment funds with your inter-ivy league attacks?



Just remember you still have to be taken care of when you are no longer president which may be sooner than you think. Proper elitist etiquette could make you as successful in retirement as Bill Clinton and Al Gore, both earning over $100 million since leaving public office.

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