Remembering Our (My) Presidents
By David Reinstein,LCSW, 13th Nov 2011 | Follow this author
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Remembering a few important things about each of the Presidents in my lifetime ... So far!
- Presidential One-Liners and Bullet Statements
- #33 : Harry S Truman
- #34 : Dwight D. ("Ike") Eisenhower
- #35 : John F. Kennedy
- #36 : Lyndon B. Johnson
- #37 : Richard M. Nixon
- #38 : Gerald R. Ford
- #39 : James E. Carter
- #40 : Ronald Reagan
- #41 : George H.W. Bush
- #42 : William J. Clinton
- #43 : George W. Bush
- #44 : Barack H. Obama
- Make Your Own List
Presidential One-Liners and Bullet Statements
In January 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. Once that deed was done, I realized that I have been alive to experience, directly or indirectly, better than one-quarter of the administrations of this country (12/44.) As I think back on the opinions I had as a child, largely learned from the adults around me, to those formed more on my own in adult life, I realize that after all the papers and many books are read, movies seen, TV documentaries watched and editorials considered, my thoughts about each can be reduced to a brief handful of admittedly simple and simplistic one liners.
Much in the way that the political process itself reduces things to their simplest form, so my memory of the ten that have sat in the White House during my lifetime (#'s 33 - 44) and, in all probability, the 45th who might take office in January 2013, will be overly simplified, incomplete and in all likelihood, unfair. Non-the-less, I believe we all have them. Here are mine? (For general reference, I was born in 1946.) What are yours?
#33 : Harry S Truman
"The Buck Stops Here."
Failed haberdasher
Failed in most everything else he tried
Integrity
"I'm Just Wild About Harry!"
Nuclear weapons used on Japan
The S in his name doesn't stand for anything.
Inherited the office from FDR, then defeated Dewey for his own term
Mt grandfather loved him
#34 : Dwight D. ("Ike") Eisenhower
WW2 military hero
Philosophically, neither Republican nor Democrat
Pragmatist
Warned us of the growing power and threat of the "Military Industrial Complex."
Bald
The remembered President of my childhood
Mamie
Golf shoes in the Oval Office
#35 : John F. Kennedy
Camelot
Young
Catholic
Man On The Moon
Cuban Missile Crisis
Bay Of Pigs
"Ask not what your country can do for you ..."
Catholic
Big family
Second string brother following death of Joe, Jr. in WW2
Hope
Assassinated
The President of my adolescence
#36 : Lyndon B. Johnson
Inherited the office after a horrible day in Dallas in 1963
The Civil Rights Act
Arm twisting Senator
Viet Nam
Many dead friends and lives forever changed - my own included
Chicago 1968
" I will not seek nor will I accept my party's nomination ..."
#37 : Richard M. Nixon
Criminals in the White House
The laws were for everyone else
Illegal acts
Always needed a shave
Easy to parody
Neurotically dangerous and vicious
Resigned in disgrace
#38 : Gerald R. Ford
Inherited the office after Nixon resigned
Probably a nice man
Said to be not very bright
A political 'time filler.'
Generally inoffensive
Teased about awkwardness
#39 : James E. Carter
Peanut farmer
Humble and living his faith
Smart and underestimated
Not cruel enough to manage Washington's establishment
Iran Hostage Crisis
Habitat For Humanity
Meaningful life post-Presidency
Proudly Christian
#40 : Ronald Reagan
'B' Actor and a 'B' President
The 'Great Communicator.'
Charm as a weapon.
Aw, shucks!
'Trickle Down' (Voo-doo) economic theory
"Mr. Gorbachev. tear this wall down!"
End of the Cold War
Signature on my degree from CAL!
#41 : George H.W. Bush
A very wealthy man
Past Director of the C.I.A.
Dignified but often wrong
The (First) Gulf War
Knew enough to NOT invade Iraq!
More realistic, but ultimately no more effective than Mr. Reagan
#42 : William J. Clinton
Arkansas?
Sax and dark glasses
Fulbright scholar
Booming economy
Booming libido!
Likable and charismatic
Bubbah
Left biggest budget surplus in history
#43 : George W. Bush
Poor student
Poor President
In way over his head
Dangerous advisers
The invasion of Iraq
Left biggest budget deficit in U.S. history
#44 : Barack H. Obama
Inherited largest national debt of all time
Elected on a platform of hope
First African-American President
Like everyone else, guess I'll have to wait and see.
Make Your Own List
I do not argue that any of the above is balanced or fair or that it is free of my own political beliefs and inclinations. I do though, admit to all of it and suggest that each American could make up such a list and learn something about themselves by reading through it.
Comments
14th Nov 2011 (#)
Excellent write up.
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14th Nov 2011 (#)
Execllent and interesting
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14th Nov 2011 (#)
I do think Reagan was one of the greatest US presidents. A Cold War warrior, he intimidated the USSR with his tough stance which made him the catalyst for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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14th Nov 2011 (#)
Extremely interesting. Born in '38, I've lived through thirteen presedencies, and my 'one'line' remembrances are very similar to yours. One more memory of Truman: that headline "DEWEY BEATS TRUMAN". One more of Clinton: "I did not have sex with that woman."
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14th Nov 2011 (#)
Oh, and just one more, of Nixon: "I am not a crook."
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14th Nov 2011 (#)
May I, with all due respect, ask if there has been or ever will be another president/primeminster as powerful and with the charisma of Sir Winston Churchill. I quote, "a master statesman who stood alone against fascism and renewed the world's faith in the superiority of democracy." Will his presence as the most powerful leader ever be surpassed?
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15th Nov 2011 (#)
I love Jimmy Carter, he is a real humanitarian President. USA earned lot of respect in terms of values during his period. God Bless him.
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28th Nov 2011 (#)
A really interesting article, David, and makes you realise, at least with some, how easily power can corrupt..
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29th Nov 2011 (#)
I was not here to have had all of them in my life and thank the lord for that. The ones I have witnessed have been bad enough. On more than one, I am in total disagreement with you, I must admit. Well, that is my choice, just as it is your choice to see things as you do. Thank you for sharing.:)
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29th Nov 2011 (#)
When it comes to many things -perhaps especially politics - people rarely have their minds changed by what others say. Of course, they may always decide to change them themselves :-}
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5th Dec 2011 (#)
Amazing...
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