Reluctant Politician

On the day marking 100 years since his birth, it seemed like a fitting time to post this entry dedicated to former President Ronald Reagan. This was written on the day of his funeral nearly seven years ago.

Friday, June 11, 2004

9:58 p.m.

This is the first entry of what I hope will become regular entries into my personal dairy. The funeral services for former President Ronald Reagan are just wrapping up at his Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. What an amazing day of final farewells for a great man. I really feel for his wife, Nancy. She crossed the country twice and has been by Ronnie’s coffin throughout the entire week of events commemorating President Reagan. She has been so composed and comforting, demonstrating depths of courage, fortitude and compassion beyond what anyone had any right to expect of her. She is an incredible woman to have made it through such difficult times with such grace. Tears came to my eyes many times throughout the services today, but she remained composed publicly up until the last time she approached the casket and said good-bye to her beloved husband.

Nancy Reagan says her final goodbyes to President Ronald Reagan. Source: www.news.navy.mil/search/photolist.asp

Reagan’s funeral is the first state funeral I have witnessed – via CNN quite naturally. Journalism is the field I turned my back on nearly 10 years ago, yet it is the television news channels I turn to when major events happen and seem to go days without turning the channel.

Back to the subject I had in my mind when I started this, before it disappears among the jumble of my own thoughts and outside stimulus. I felt little when former President Richard Nixon died a few years ago. His Presidency was a time of my youth when politics were something adults paid attention to while us kids played. But Reagan’s Presidency was one I can recall. I may not have agreed with all of his actions but I do respect him as a man and thank him for having had the courage and desire to ascend to the Office of President and serve his country for eight years.

I’ve often said that those who are qualified to run the country are to smart to run for President. It is with complete faith in these words that I believe Reagan was the exception to that. He did what he thought was right – not just for our country, but for the entire world.

The outpouring by the public was awe-inspiring. I imagine that more than one percent of the total population of the United States paid their respects, either by walking by his casket while it laid in state in California and Washington D.C., or by lining the roads as he made his long final journey. He inspired American citizens to believe in the greatness of our country and it’s potential. (continue reading…)

You have to hand it to new Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie for wanting to finally once and for all discredit the so-called birther movement by seeking a way to release more information about President Barack Obama’s birth records from Hawaii. If only discrediting the movement was that simple. Much like the alien spacecraft in Roswell or the second gunman in Dallas, this conspiracy movement is not going to ever go quietly into the night.

The thing with the internet is that one person’s voice can echo over and over again to the point where you think you are hearing a roaring crowd even though in reality it is still one person’s voice.

The birther movement claims that Obama was born in Kenya. This despite the fact that he was certified to run for president by the Federal Election Commission. (continue reading…)

Proving that wisdom can often come from unexpected places, magician and comedian Penn Jillette has been writing a periodic opinion column for CNN. And while he denies it, the man has a fair amount of intelligence and an understanding of politics that some will appreciate and others will despise. (continue reading…)

President Obama comes into office and in a mere few months has placed the U.S. trillions of dollars into the red and THEN he proposes a ‘pay as you go’ model for federal spending. Is this a perfect example of the pot calling the kettle black or what?

Perhaps it is unfair to criticize our president without even posting a better solution, or any alternative for that matter, but such is my right as an American.

This is Obama’s full-time job versus my random thoughts here and there. However, I feel that it is hypocritical to announce such a plan so soon after spending a trillion-plus dollars for his stimulus plan. Even more so when very little of that committed money has actually been distributed and spent yet! I’m assuming his PAYGO plan excludes the stimulus money being spent in the future.