I’m a president watcher. I think the most
powerful man in the free world needs to be watched, some more closely than
others. It’s pretty obvious why this is so.
I wasn’t always a president watcher. It began during
Watergate and all the sneaky stuff that went on there. All those people being
subpoenaed to testify before Congress, Bob Woodworth’s reports on Deep Throat.
Nixon claiming, with his jowls quaking vigorously, “I’m not a crook!” No, but
he was a liar. Anyway, after that I became interested in watching presidents.
There have been some who bore a lot of watching and there were those who
didn’t, but mostly there were more of the former.
I think a president’s philosophy of governance has a
lot to with how close an eye needs to be kept on them. Ronald Reagan, except
for letting Ollie North get him into trouble over that Iran-Contra business,
played the job pretty straight, and the only ones that worried about him were
the Democrats, who were up against it with concern over how bad he was going to
make them look. Ronaldus Magmus, a laissez-faire kind of guy, famously said,
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That’s a fair-to-middlin’ philosophy. Other
presidents should have tried it, but most couldn’t keep their hands off things.
For example, John Kennedy once said, “If there ain’t
too much wrong with her, give her my phone number. If you’re not sure about
her, give her Bobby’s number.” I’m told it was a philosophy apropos to the
Kennedy boys.
Eisenhower had an interesting philosophy, one that
may have worked well for most of the presidents. As you know, there were few
pastimes Ike enjoyed more than a round of golf (like most presidents). He said,
“If it works all right, score it par; if it’s broke, leave a note on my golf
bag, I’ll get back to you.” Consequently, the years of the Eisenhower
presidency were really good years. Happy times.
LBJ had a more aggressive outlook on the political
landscape. LBJ said, “If he’s breathin’, ship him to Viet Nam; if he gets
killed, don’t tell anybody. (There was quite a lot of combat-figure fudging
during the war. Gen. William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. military forces in
Viet Nam, frequently under-reported casualties at the conclusion of a battle.)
Which brings us to Richard “Tricky Dicky” Nixon,
whose exploits first coaxed me into becoming a president watcher. Watergate was
the first political event that prompted my interest in watching the news in the
evening. I couldn’t get enough of the corruption. It was wonderful stuff.
Anyway, back to Tricky Dick’s presidential philosophy. Tricky Dick said, his
declaration accompanied by his characteristic hunched-up shoulders, head
shaking, I’m-really-an-honest-man look in his eyes, “Let me say this about
that! I solemnly assure you that if it’s broke, this administration had no
prior knowledge of it. I’M NOT A CROOK! I’M NOT
A CROOK!” He wasn’t a very good liar either.
I can’t say whether Gerald Ford had a philosophy. If
so, I don’t know what it would have been.
Jimmy Carter did though. Jimmy did a lot of foolish
meddling, which nearly put the country under. Some of you will remember the
Misery Index, an economic indicator arrived at by adding the unemployment rate
to the inflation rate. When Carter left office in 1981, the M.I. was just under
20, the highest of any post-WWII president This is, of course, where it stood
when Ronald Reagan took over. When he left in 1989, the M.I. stood at just less
than ten. Under Carter, inflation was high, unemployment was high, taxes were
high, gasoline was scarce – and expensive. Everything the man touched was bad
for the rest of us. His philosophy? “If it ain’t broke, tax it. I need the
money. If it is broke, tax it. I need the money. Hell, just send the money!”
George 41 may not have had a philosophy when he
first went to the White House, but I’ll wager he came up with one before he
left. Remember, “Read my lips, no new taxes?” Then he raised our taxes. And was
voted out of office in the next election. I would bet that whatever words were
used to voice George 41’s philosophy, it had something in it about not lying
about raising taxes. Wouldn’t you think?
Then there was Slick Willy Clinton – and he’s still
hanging around out there, hoping his gal pal can con her way into the White
House. Willy’s philosophy is predictable: “Remember the mantra, y’all, ‘I did
not have sex with that woman.’” And, “It depends on what “is” is.” The
philosophy? It is what it is. But what is it? He better hope the next female
thing he plays “is” with doesn’t turn him in. I wonder, Does Hillary play “is”
with anybody?
W was under
fire about his insistence there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or
Syria or some other place. Liberals have always claimed there were no WMDs; W
simply needed a reason to go to Iraq to nail Saddam Hussein, they claimed. I’ll
go to my grave believing I heard a news report in the early days of Desert
Storm that stated American troops found the WMDs in Syria. I heard the report
only once, never again. But I know what I heard. Someone was lying about there
not being any such weapons. W’s philosophy? Never believe anything you hear,
especially if its reported on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN or MSNBC. Period.
And then there’s BO. Other than the destruction of
our country, BO has no philosophy. He needs something to hang his hat on. It might go something like: “The right thing?
– I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”
At this time I’d like to announce my candidacy for President of the United
States!
One thing you can count on is I can’t possibly do
any worse than the past four presidents-it just isn’t possible. The condition
of the country, compared to the 50s or the 80s, is a crime. Anybody with his
head screwed on even loosely must recognize the destruction liberalism has
caused. Under my Administration there will be no liberalism. (READ MY LIPS – NO LIBERALS ALLOWED) Every
liberal will be sent swimming back to Europe with a Socialist under each arm. Our
motto: Let’s get together you and us, and kick liberalism under the bus. Rah!
Rah!
VOTE FOR VOSS
APRIL 19. Etc. Etc. Etc.
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