LEE’S SUMMIT, FEBRUARY 21, 2016 – This is the fourth and final part in a four-part series that revisits an article I wrote in 2008, the first week of this blog. I put down my thoughts on how I was going to select the candidate I wanted to be President of the United States (click here). Eight Years later it is time to revisit the second of the four criteria.
- What is their fundamental belief in Government?
- What is their social view of Government?
- What is their fiscal view of Government?
- How will they react to a crisis and how will they leave the presidency at the end of their term?
HOW WILL THEY REACT TO A CRISIS AND HOW WILL THEY LEAVE THE PRESIDENCY AT THE END OF THEIR TERM?
Just as Joe Biden said 8 years ago, Jeb Bush warned that the presidency is always tested by unforeseen events. Just as it happened to George Bush in a grand scale in 2001, it happened to Obama when he entered office, and continues to happen as Russia drives forward with its global ambitions.
It does not matter who the president is, there will be some test that comes his or her way. Think of John F. Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis, one that held the world for 13 long days, early in his short presidency. Every president has had small and large crisis that tested their character. Nixon failed his test by telling unnecessary lies about Watergate. Carter was tested and failed with the Iran Hostages. Reagan’s shooting tested his mettle and he is remembered for telling Nancy “I forgot to duck”. Clinton was tested by his own infidelity.
In every presidency we get to see what the president has in the form of character, poise, and principles. The next president won’t be any different, so how will they react when they are tested? There is enough history that if they are not too selfish, and self-centered, they could learn and prepare.
Russia will continue to test the United States and Western Europe.
Isis will not go quietly into the night; they will fight and bring turmoil wherever they can.
Israel still lives in the center of a dynamic situation with actors that want their existence wiped out of the surface of the earth.
The global economy is tittering.
The US national debt is over 100% of GDP what is going to happen there?
In 1981 Ronald Reagan started his presidency with a bad economy and by 1988 he left George HW Bush with a growing economy. Bush took us into and out of war quickly and left us with a tax increase after saying “read my lips; no new taxes”. Bill Clinton took over a good economy, increased taxes, lost the senate, balanced the budget (with a bit of a Social Security cheat) and left an economy headed for the first recession in 20 years. George W Bush took over and was faced with a prolonged war on two fronts, and four months prior to the end of the presidency the great recession that was looming at the end of Clinton’s terms in office, hit with a delayed vengeance in 2008. Barrack Obama took over a country in debt, and took it to 19 trillion – making things from that point of view much worse.
Select your president by thinking clearly about how you think their policies, their thinking, their global presence and their understanding of the economy will leave the country after his term in office.
In reality, presidents cannot blame their predecessors: It does nothing to improve the situation. As the baton is passed down the line every four years, each president has to decide if they are going to work hard to regain or maintain the lead, or if they are simply just going to lick their wounds and stay where they are or fall behind.
Select the person that earns your vote, the precious simple thing, with great respect for the power of your vote. There is only one you. There is only one vote that matters – yours. Vote knowing exactly what you are doing.
Respectfully Submitted
The Lee’s Summit Conservative.
