The Post Progressive presidencies defined themselves visa-vie their progressive predecessors. Their domestic policies ranged from laissez faire to massive governmental action. Their foreign policies had to contend with an isolationist populace. The first of the group was elected to return America to normalcy. Voters had enough of foreign adventures and enough government involvement in the economy and the country. The second group had to deal with the Great Depression.

Like Barack Obama, Warren Harding went from little known senator without any accomplishments straight to the White House. Like Obama, he was charismatic, good looking, and was surrounded by corrupt party hacks. Unlike Obama, Harding knew he was not very competent. He hoped to be a well-liked president as opposed to a great president.

The Harding Administration is best known for scandal. His attorney general resigned after taking bribes, he fathered a child out of wedlock, and smuggled another mistress out of the country before the 1920 election. It was a lot like the Clinton years some 70 years later. The biggest scandal broke after Harding died. The Teapot Dome scandal was one of the worst in U.S. history. The Secretary of the Interior took bribes from an oil company. In return, the company could drill oil land set aside for the Navy. Luckily for Harding, he died before the scandal broke. His historical reputation did not survive. Like Bill Clinton, Warren Harding will be remembered for scandal and womanizing.

Harding’s vice-president, Calvin Coolidge, restored public confidence in government. He cleaned up Harding’s mess. He then moved to fix the economy which was in a funk since World War I. Coolidge cut taxes and created an environment amiable to growth. Coolidge’s legacy was the Roaring 20s. During his tenure, the economy grew at a breath taking pace. People’s lives became easier, money flowed, and culture flourished. This was the Jazz Age. A spirit of modernity prevailed. Coolidge decided not to run for re-election in 1928. The country was in seemingly good shape.

Obama has the Cerberus by the tail now. He has a very delicate juggling act. The CIA investigation is a three headed monster and does not benefit anyone involved at all. The first head is the public. Polls show voters don't care about water boarding. If they feel Obama is siding with terrorists over them, he is in deep trouble. The second head is the enemy. Should they strike while Obama fiddles with this issue, he is in deep trouble. The final head is the CIA. Messing with the bureaucracy is dangerous. We can now expect embarrassing leaks designed to hurt Obama. Why is he doing this? He needs a distraction since his health care plan is in flames. It would have been better had he let sleeping dogs lie.

Ted Kennedy entered the United States Senate in 1962 immediately after the Cuban Missile Crisis. In Senator Kennedy's tenure, we have seen 10 presidents, Vietnam, Watergate, the Iran Hostage Crisis, The Challenger and Columbia disasters, the fall of communism, two wars in Iraq, 911, the war in Afghanistan, and the first black president. Throughout this period, Kennedy was a constant and evolved into the most outspoken proponent of liberal causes.

The Senator's career was colorful. He was considered presidential timbre until Chappaquiddick. Despite this and other personal scandals, Kennedy challenged incumbent Jimmy Carter for the presidency in 1980. It helped Ronald Reagan that November, but Carter was so ineffective, Kennedy felt compelled to act. During the 80s, he led the opposition against Ronald Reagan and basically ended Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Despite the hyper-partisanship, Kennedy could also work with the other side. Liberals can't stand No Child Left Behind. Well, the Liberal Lion Ted Kennedy was responsible for that act. As a result of his willingness to compromise and forge personal relationships, many laws were enacted for the betterment of all Americans. Kennedy's opponents have a tendency to praise him. If you cut a deal with the Senator, he stuck to it and always kept his word. As a result, Ted Kennedy deserves to be considered one of the giants of the senate alongside Daniel Webster and Henry Clay.

Barack Obama has attacked the Republican Party for blocking health reform. Also, his administration recently appointed a special prosecutor to investigate so-called abuses by CIA interrogators. Why the attacks on Republicans and Bush Administration policies? They need to deflect attention from their real problems. Democrats are blocking reform, the president's approval rating is tanking, and Charlie Cook claims 150 Democratic House Seats have become vulnerable overnight. The reason for all their problems can be summed up in one word: Seniors.

Senior citizens are the most vital part of the Democratic coalition because they are the most likely to vote. Obama is alienating them. They oppose changes in health care and Medicare recipients are generally happy with their care. Even though they like their Medicare, Obama proposes draconian cuts in the program. This has them angry and scared.

Medicare is not the only cuts seniors face under Obama. The government announced there would be no cost of living adjustment for Social Security recipients for the first time in 30 years. Seniors depend on the COLA from year to year to cover inflation. Without the adjustment, they will be forced to cut corners on food, utilities, and medical care.

Lastly, Obamacare's provisions for "end of life counseling" has many people frightened. Despite the assurances that the counseling sessions are not designed to push people into suicide, the administration's advocacy of just such a program at the Veteran's Administration seems to belay those assurances. Obama instituted a program that essentially steers vets away from care and the literature provided even referred VA patients to the Hemlock Society. The Hemlock Society advocates suicide and euthanasia.

When senior citizens put the pieces together, it's hard not to conclude the Democratic Party and administration seems less than genuine about ensuring their health and welfare. They promise cuts to medicare and social security. They advocate euthanasia. These policies promise a cut to seniors standard of living. All of this does not even take into account environmental policies which Obama promises will significantly raise the cost of utilities. That would crush those on a fixed budget. The Democrats ceased being a party for the people 30 or more years ago. Now, Obama has turned them into a party against the people.

William Howard Taft (1909-1912): Theodore Roosevelt stepped down in 1909 with the inauguration of his hand picked successor William Howard Taft. Roosevelt then went on safari. He wanted to give Taft the stage to himself. Shortly thereafter, Roosevelt received disturbing news. Taft was betraying Rooseveltism.

The difference between the two administrations was both negligible and huge. Taft continued his predecessor’s trust busting policies. However, Taft busted all monopolies as opposed to continuing Roosevelt’s policy of attacking those trusts that hurt consumers. Roosevelt only busted "bad" monopolies. Taft continued Roosevelt’s Conservation policies, yet sided with big timber interests in the Ballinger-Pinchot Affair. Roosevelt felt betrayed.

While Roosevelt had a strong foreign policy, Taft’s made America look weak. Taft attempted to help Latin America with Dollar Diplomacy. Unfortunately, the dollars went to dictators and not the people. When Taft attempted to secure arbitration treaties to avoid war between the major powers, the U.S. refused to ratify after Britain and France had done so. Taft even caused the Canadian government to fall. He negotiated a Free Trade agreement with Canada. The U.S. ratified it, but the Canadian flat earth society rejected it and turned their prime minister out of office. Roosevelt was embarrassed by this “Era of Bungled Diplomacy.” As a result, he split with the president and later formed his own party.

The split between Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican Party. The conservative wing adopted Taft, so the president made a hard right turn. In order to disguise himself from Taft and Democrat Woodrow Wilson, TR went leftward. Whether President Roosevelt would have governed moderately as before or as a hard left prog is unknown. Either way, the GOP split elected Woodrow Wilson in 1912.

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921): Wilson was never a popular president. His administration is still controversial to this day. His idealism and his policies at home never met. He re-segregated federal facilities. Wilson’s Administration witnessed The Palmer Raids which trampled American liberties in a way never seen before or since. The president even invaded Mexico hunting Pancho Villa. The mission failed and the U.S. Army came home empty handed.

On the other hand, Wilson was an idealist. He felt government could help the people. His administration was the first to back labor over management. Wilson regulated the banks, lowered tariffs, and expanded on his two predecessor’s trust busting. When war broke out, Wilson supported national determination and declared war “to make the world safe for democracy.” After the war, Wilson stood up for ethnic minorities and the Germans. He was rebuffed by the Allies. However, his grand vision for a League of Nations came into being--without the United States which refused to sign on.

In many respects, Woodrow Wilson represented a dry run for George W. Bush. Both men had foreign misadventures. Both men could not corral a wanted terrorist. Both men ushered in controversial reforms. Both men advocated spreading Democracy by the sword. Both men waged wars that would become unpopular. Both men were originally elected with less than 50% of the vote. Both men narrowly won re-election as the vote came down to one state. Both men helped drag their party to defeat after their two terms ended. The one major difference between the men was on race. While Bush openly welcomed African-Americans into his administration, Wilson helped further the Jim Crow System.

After twenty years, and a costly world war, the Progressive Era ended. People were sick and tired of the Progressives. Although open to them at first, the Progs overstepped their bounds. The European War, Mexican excursion, Palmer Raids, and “big government” pushed people to their limits. On top of this, there was a Red Scare, race riots, and a flu pandemic that killed 20 million. The government fanned the flames of the Red Scare, the riots were a product of black soldiers returning home in uniform, and the flu occurred as a result of a confluence of events including the unsanitary conditions from the war. In response, the country made a right turn.

Just a couple of things today...

Item: In my last post, I accused the White House of lying about the unemployment numbers. The number of claims went up, but the overall unemployment rate dropped.

Thoughts: Turns out I was correct. A former Obama economic advisor claims the real unemployment rate is 10% and the White House is under counting the unemployed. So, yes they are lying.

Item: Zeke Emmanuel, Rahm's brother, is one of the president's health care advisers. He has written about placing an economic value on people's health care. Once a person reaches a certain dollar amount, their health care would be cut off.

Thoughts: Isn't this what the left accuses insurance companies of doing? If government health care passes, people that would survive under the current system will die because a government bureaucrat will want to keep costs down.

Item: The left claims 47 million are uninsured.

Thoughts: This is technically correct. However, once the temporarily unemployed, illegal immigrants, and people that don't want insurance are factored out, the real number is 10 million. Why not deal with them as opposed to trying to herd the rest of us into a plan NO ONE wants?

Item: The Birthers

Thoughts: Obama was born in Hawaii. His newspaper birth announcement is available for all to see. So, unless there was a conspiracy to have this biracial child run for president at the moment of his birth, Obama is indeed an American.

Items: 42% support Obamacare and Obama's approval rating drops to 49%.

Thoughts: Seniors are overwhelmingly against this. If this passes, the Democratic Party may never recover.

Item: The Democrats and the White House have attacked the town hall participants as angry mobs and claim the health insurance industry it behind the opposition.

Thoughts: The right can't organize a bake sale right now and the insurance industry supported health reform. This is coming from below. The Democrats are tone deaf by insulting nearly 60% of the electorate. The townhall opposition has caused Obamacare to collapse. People at home see the townhalls and realize they are not alone in their opposition.

Item: Democrats are recruiting people to go disrupt the protesters.

Thoughts: I have received three emails in the last week from the Dems requesting my assistance in disrupting the protests. I have not received anything from the right or the GOP asking me to go to Townhalls. Who is the organized mob?

Item: Nancy Pelosi calls the protesters "Nazis."

Thoughts: If anyone knows Nazis, it's Nazi Pelosi.

Item: Democrats refuse to talk about end of life counseling at the townhalls.

Thoughts: Why?

Item: Unemployment continues to rise, yet the White House claims the unemployment rate dropped.

Thoughts: Fuzzy Math. The White House is lying about the rate drop.

Item: More Americans consider Obama a failure than consider Bush a failure.

Thoughts: Six months down! 42 more to go!

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909): Roosevelt was a reformer and a progressive. Despite his own party’s protestations (and Glen Beck for that matter), he was no radical. With the exception of Conservation, Roosevelt steered a middle course between do-nothing conservatives and liberal overreaction. As a result, it can be argued TR was a moderate as president.

When Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, people demanded action against the meat packing industry. While socialists wanted a government takeover, and more conservative elements thought the government had no right regulating business, Roosevelt passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. The government would regulate, but not run these industries. Roosevelt protected the consumer while angering the right and the left.

Likewise, he steered a middle course during the Anthracite Coal Strike. Roosevelt forced a settlement on the owners. However, he steered a middle course during the negotiations. Government had always sided with business, so neutrality was a departure. TR made sure people had coal for the winter. That was his concern.

Roosevelt departed from his middle path with the environment. He believed in conservation. This should not be confused with modern environmentalism. TR wanted to preserve nature for future generations while today’s environmentalists believe that the Earth’s resources are finite and need protecting. Roosevelt did not believe this.

Roosevelt’s legacy consists of more than Consumerism and Conservation. Roosevelt oversaw a burgeoning world power. The Spanish American War made America an imperial power. Roosevelt decided that power brought responsibility. So, he pursued policies some consider controversial. When Japan decimated Russia in a war, Roosevelt mediated the peace. The Treaty of Portsmouth was a middle path agreement ending the war. Both Japan and Russia left New Hampshire unhappy. Roosevelt got the Noble Prize. Shortly thereafter, Roosevelt sent the American fleet to the Far East to intimidate Japan. The Japanese were an expansionist power with their eyes on the Philippines. The Great White Fleet was sent to remind Japan of American Power. Additionally, he issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, better known as The Big Stick Policy, designed to keep Germany out of the New World. However, it allowed American intervention in Latin and South America. Lastly, Roosevelt built the Panama Canal. He overthrew the Panamanian government to get it built. American national interest overrode all other concerns.

Theodore Roosevelt ushered in the Progressive Era. While TR was a reformer, he was not the wide eyed Progressive portrayed by some. Instead, he steered a middle course designed to help Americans. He remained neutral in labor matters and sided with consumers as opposed to big business. When it came to conservation, Roosevelt did not take the middle course. He set aside more land for future generations than any other president. Additionally, his foreign policy was similar to Ronald Reagan’s. National security overwhelmed all other concerns. After leaving the White House, TR ran for president again in 1912. During that campaign, he took a hard left turn.
Whether that left turn was real or an effort to differentiate himself from Taft and Wilson will never be known.

I have decided I was wrong. We need Obamacare and we need it now. After doing the research and crunching the numbers, here are my reasons why WE NEED National Health Care and why we need it now!

1. Because 80% of Americans like their health care and 90% are insured.

2. Because the President keeps his promises like not raising taxes on the poor. We can forget about that cigarette tax which disproportionately affects them. We can also forget that his administration is considering raising taxes on the middle class. Oh! I forgot! We can forget that if we taxed everyone making $75,000 a year or more at 100%, the government still could not pay its bills.

3. Because a trillion dollar budget deficit isn’t so bad.

4. Because national health care has created a two-tiered system wherever it’s tried. Poor people get government health care while the rich pay to see whomever they need to see.

5. Because the government runs Amtrak and the Post Office so well.

6. Because government programs force costs up and the numbers Obama uses to frighten people about the costs of health care without his help do not take something called inflation into account.

7. Because countries with national health care allow people to get life-saving medicines…but only if they are cheap. If they cost too much, then death is the best option!

8. Because bureaucrats make better decisions than people that go to med school.

9. Because they will offer end of life counseling to alleviate what one Democratic Congressman called a “guilt trip” placed on families that wish to help their older family members live. Heck, maybe they will even offer a Soylent Green style send-off for Nana. Oh and since they are so concerned about life, they will be kind enough to cover abortions.

10. Because we will have choices…watch the clip…

http://www.breitbart.tv/uncovered-video-obama-explains-how-his-health-care-plan-will-eliminate-private-insurance/

We need to thank President Obama for his wise leadership. I never thought I would live to see the day when one of our Presidents would offer a vision for the future based on late night science fiction/horror movies!