Numpty Donald

Donald is in the Middle East at the moment.  He is on a mission to end wars there by selling Saudi Arabia and Israel $100 billion worth of weaponry.  This will help.  Of course he is not the actual salesman, he just takes the credit while others bribe sell the goods so they can bomb children in Yemen or bump of another Palestinian or two.  What does Jesus really say about this I ask?

Anyway our boy is still tweeting, carefully in a land where they cut bits off, and revealing to the world the reason he is considered mentally unbalanced, rash to the point of dangerous and unfit for the office of President of the United States of America.  

However, there are those who would say that he is no worse than many others who have held this esteemed post, indeed he is clearly more capable than some.  While I agree that he is a danger to society, that nuclear war will be avoided only by the US military chiefs ignoring his commands and the Russians backing down Khrushchev like, that North Korea might soon be a blackened wastlend and while it is true that he is likely to fall out with the leaders of Japan and France and possibly attempt to seduce Merkel if he ever gets to meet her this man still remains no worse than many who have sat in the Oval Office before.

Lets peruse some.

Abraham Lincoln.  Abe is seen as a great man.  His standards were high, his integrity great, these combined to get him shot while watching a play at the end of the civil war.  This was inevitable as Lincoln had failed in almost everything else he did.   In 1832 he lost his job, in 35 his sweetheart died, a year later he had a nervous breakdown.  He was however elected to the Illinois House for the Whigs.  He tired for Congress and failed, eventually being elected three years later, he later lost the nomination for this.  In 1849 he was defeated for Land Officer, 1854 defeated while attempting to enter Senate, 1856 defeated as Vice President, 1858 defeated again in attempt to enter Senate.  He did however become President and cause a major civil war.  He then got shot dead.

Andrew Johnson.  While Licoln lay on his deathbed Andrew Johnson the vice president arrived, Mrs Lincoln, like Abe no friend of their associate, screamed at him to get out.  This he did and wandered off to get drunk.  When Lincoln was pronounced dead Johnson had to be woken from sleep to be sworn in as President.  His first speech as president abused the beaten South, though he himself was senator from Tennessee and agreed with slavery, and was somewhat thoughtless.  He had his own slaves, his first, a woman, had three children who were somewhat light skinned it was said, hmmm.  He handled the rebellious southern states roughly possibly because he was one of them, he survived attempts at assassination and soon fell out with both Republican and Democrats, the Republicans had him impeached but acquitted but he was acquitted by one vote.  Tact was not his greatest talent.

Warren Harding.  Some say this was the worst President the US ever had.  Women had just received the vote in the US during 1920 and he was chosen as Presidential candidate because of his good looks.  I know how he must have felt.  Harding himself did not bother to be there when the vote for such emancipation was taken.  This was not because he did not like women, indeed he liked them so much he often mde use of them, women are attracted to power.  That explains why I do my own ironing.  He also favoured drunken parties at the White house which was considered unfortunate by some as Prohibition was then at its height. Scandals abounded, possibly behind his back his chosen helpers being not as nice as he and while he probably did not know about them till later he probably didn’t bother much even then. 

Ronald Reagan.  None in the free world outside of the United States could ever imagine electing a ‘B’ actor of such limited intellect as this yet the Americans did so, twice!  Famous for doodling (or was that drooling) during cabinet meetings and stuffing down jellybeans while his wife searched astrological charts to inform him of what days he ought to do certain actions he was however remarkably good at communicating with the American people.  His stye would have him laughed out of office in any other nation but he knew how to appear before an American audience and many loved him for it.  He reigned through and possibly did not notice, the Iran-Contra affair, war in the Middle East, the shooting down of an Iran passenger jet leading to the downing of Pan-Am 103 over Lockerbie awarding the US captain who shot down the Iran jet a war medal!  

We know all about him so let him speak for himself: -  

''I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.''   

''Well, I learned a lot....I went down to (Latin America) to find out from them and (learn) their views. You'd be surprised. They're all individual countries'' 

“I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I'm in a cabinet meeting.”  

It is not known if he was joking.

George W. Bush.   George became Governor of Texas and managed to do very little.  Following on from Dad George entered the White House with a desire to emulate and possibly better his father in his job, this however was somewhat spoiled as he was aided by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, two of the more murky characters ever to be found in Washington, and that says something.  Tony Blair’s aids indicated that at no time was he left alone with George, Cheney was always there a strange presence at George’s side.  We know about the needless Iraq war, the huge deficit increase, 9/11 and all the rest, too soon to have forgotten, but have we forgotten his statements.  These were delicious even for a US President :-  

''You work three jobs? ... Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that.''—President George W. Bush, to a divorced mother of three in Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005. 

''Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.''  

"You don't need to be smart to be president"--Republican Congressman J.C. Watts - said at a February campaign appearance on Bush's behalf. Washington Post, 6/11/00 "I think anybody who doesn't think I'm smart enough to handle the job is underestimating."
--U.S. News & World Report, April 3, 2000.                                                          "Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning" --Florence, SC, Jan. 11, 2000
"One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures." -George W. Bush

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."--Reuters, May 5, 2000
"I think we agree, the past is over." --On his meeting with John McCain, Dallas Morning News, May 10, 2000.

I have not bothered to mention Richard Nixon as he was more sad than bad, too stupid to really appreciate how bad he was. ''When the President does it, that means it's not illegal.''  A great phrase which he probably believed.  To avoid upsetting some I ignore George Washington who never told a lie, he said, and who failed at every battle he fought yet with French help defeated the failing English redcoats.   

I will however mention one or two clever Presidents.   

Thomas Jefferson.  This man spoke French, Latin and Greek, knew his History, philosophy and maths, and became a competent architect.  He was a competent musician also as well as a keen gardener, he studied ancient life and wrote poetry.  In between he managed to come up with "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal."  Beat that!

I doubt he would be elected to Congress today.

James Madison.  Another who would not get the power is James Madison.  This president also became fluent in Latin and Greek adding Italian and Spanish also.  He put his mind to History, maths and science also and was influenced by Aristotle and John Locke concerning liberty.  He was influential in developing the US Constitution, so blame him!

John Adams.  As you know this president was the great, great, grandson of Henry Adams who with his wife and seven children emigrated from Braintree in the heart of Essex to the New England Colonies in the 1630's.  John Adams was famed for his oratory as well as working with Madison on the Constitution.  They say his speeches pushed this through the then parliament.  He worked well with Madison and they got on spedidly together, they got on so well they both died on the same day in 1826, the 4th of July! 

   

There are many others to mention, both good and bad, but the point I am making is that Trump is dangerous and illogical but no better or worse than what has gone before.  The chances of nuclear war are slim, but always possible, the chances of him being impeached much greater.  

We need worry only about Mother May dictating to her cabinet and forcing them to follow where she leads them and us, even though she does not know where she is heading.

Leadership

Herman Cain is one of the many Republican candidates for the American presidency.  Somewhat unsurprisingly a woman has come forward claiming to have had a 13 year long affair with him. I say 'unsurprisingly' as it appears every other candidate is found out by his dallying with a woman of some kind at some time. In'the land of the free' some things are not 'free' after all.  

There is something worrying about all this. Apart from the loose living candidates, not to mention their women who appear always to be the 'innocent' parties, at least when they appear on television talk shows, in the press and in magazine articles for months and years to come, apart from all this there is a hypocrisy in requiring high standards from leaders while not living in similar manner ourselves.  American presidents must be married, to one wife, no girlfriends, no sexual perversions, nothing 'immoral' must be found upon him.  However this is a nation in which many demand the absurdity of 'gay marriage,' in which millions are aborted annually, millions on the welfare schemes, and those who have resist strongly sharing their wealth with those who have not, especially the sick or old!  Surely something is amiss?  The UK is of course no better.  We demand from leaders that which we allow elsewhere, especially where we are concerned.  

An individual, whether king or peasant, ought to have a private life, and we can see with the inquiry into the UK media just how little privacy anyone actually has, yet we demand from them a moral stability that we can respect. Surely the first thing that matters must be their ability, not the faults they share with us all?  Lord Palmerston had many women at his beck and call, and often they were involved in other nations governments, and this helped him, and them, no end. he lasted until he was 81 in high office, although Victoria would not allow him into Buckingham Palace as he was 'not respectable.' Today he would be hounded out. Churchill drank and was called a drunk, although in fact he was never a drunk in any way, JFK had his women and at that time it was ignored, he would not be seen as a hero today by many.  How many leaders of ability were 'moral?'  Few if any.  The very job makes straight forward moral decisions difficult.  The US requires a leader with the ability to do the job in front of him, his peccadilloes may tell us much about him but must not be the predominant factor.  If they are many good leaders from the past would never have got there.        

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