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During the recent presidential campaign, Donald Trump made a number of promises that his supporters readily embraced. There are so many, it would be impossible to list them all herein. So I will just note that Mr. Trump promised a lot that would all happen within his first 100 days of office. (See: www.wsj.com/articles/trump-touts-first-100-days-plan-for-presidency-1477157650). As we all probably know, he hasn't delivered on any big promises (I can't count the Gorsuch confirmation because the GOP-led Senate had to destroy centuries old rules to accomplish this task or anything he has done via Executive Orders - something the GOP continuously labeled as "Tyrannical" when Obama used them).
Now that the first 100 days of his Administration are about to pass, the standard Trump himself used as a benchmark of his promised successes no longer seems to be so important to him or his supporters (See: www.politico.com/story/2017/04/21/trump-criticize-100-days-standard-237446). Seems the President now believes the 100 day benchmark is "ridiculous", even after publicly stating in Wisconsin April 18 “No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days”. (See: www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/04/20/trumps-claim-that-no-administration-has-accomplished-more-in-the-first-90-days/?utm_term=.69d3a4711970). So I could get into what is very wrong with the president's inconsistent view of events as they relate to his presidential tenure, but to claim he's done more than any other president is an insult to all American Historians!
You see, we once had a candidate that ran against an incumbent in very tough economic times. Things were very bad in America and nothing appeared on the horizon that would give hope of improving. The sitting president, running for re-election admitted that he was "at my wit's end" when it came to solving the economic crisis. The contender promised nothing except a batch of vague new approaches to deal with the problem. After the election (inauguration back then was still in April not January), the sitting president slammed the President-Elect because the economy was experiencing the biggest tailspin of all, and where was the new guy and his great ideas no one had ever been told about? The new guy? He was publicly shown sailing on yachts with his friends who would later become his advisors. Asked what he would do to cure the country's ills, the new guy simply said, "I'm not president yet." Nothing infuriated the sitting president more. To him, it appeared he lost his re-election bid to a fraud, a Con man, a Showman! As the country continued its nose dive into the Great Depression, the new guy promised nothing specific.
But instead of making hollow promises, the new guy, Franklin D. Roosevelt was preparing to reinvent how we look at the Federal Government and what had to be done to cure the damaging ill-effects of a depressed nation (and World). FDR promised only to work towards reaching solutions, famously telling the American public in one of his first "Fireside Chats" that he would try things to see if they worked, and if they did not, he would try something else that might. He promised nothing except to work diligently to restore the faith in the American government. And the rest is history. For those that like to revise history and paint FDR as some sort of Commie or Socialist (which is it?) whose New Deal only made matters worse - I say at least accept that WWII saved our Nation from the Great Depression - and THAT was a HUGE federal program if there ever was one!
So before Trump supporters buy into the LIES now accepted as normal rhetoric from President Trump, learn your American History. It sure is hard to believe your patriotism if it isn't based upon actual reality.
Trump can't have it both ways. Either he is or isn't getting things done as he promised. Unlike the entertainment industry, you simply can't edit bad takes and try again. Words matter Mr. President. Integrity matters and is required of the office. As Republican President Herbert Hoover once wrote referring to the presidency; "This is not a showman's job. I will not step out of character." Have a great week!
Now that the first 100 days of his Administration are about to pass, the standard Trump himself used as a benchmark of his promised successes no longer seems to be so important to him or his supporters (See: www.politico.com/story/2017/04/21/trump-criticize-100-days-standard-237446). Seems the President now believes the 100 day benchmark is "ridiculous", even after publicly stating in Wisconsin April 18 “No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days”. (See: www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/04/20/trumps-claim-that-no-administration-has-accomplished-more-in-the-first-90-days/?utm_term=.69d3a4711970). So I could get into what is very wrong with the president's inconsistent view of events as they relate to his presidential tenure, but to claim he's done more than any other president is an insult to all American Historians!
You see, we once had a candidate that ran against an incumbent in very tough economic times. Things were very bad in America and nothing appeared on the horizon that would give hope of improving. The sitting president, running for re-election admitted that he was "at my wit's end" when it came to solving the economic crisis. The contender promised nothing except a batch of vague new approaches to deal with the problem. After the election (inauguration back then was still in April not January), the sitting president slammed the President-Elect because the economy was experiencing the biggest tailspin of all, and where was the new guy and his great ideas no one had ever been told about? The new guy? He was publicly shown sailing on yachts with his friends who would later become his advisors. Asked what he would do to cure the country's ills, the new guy simply said, "I'm not president yet." Nothing infuriated the sitting president more. To him, it appeared he lost his re-election bid to a fraud, a Con man, a Showman! As the country continued its nose dive into the Great Depression, the new guy promised nothing specific.
But instead of making hollow promises, the new guy, Franklin D. Roosevelt was preparing to reinvent how we look at the Federal Government and what had to be done to cure the damaging ill-effects of a depressed nation (and World). FDR promised only to work towards reaching solutions, famously telling the American public in one of his first "Fireside Chats" that he would try things to see if they worked, and if they did not, he would try something else that might. He promised nothing except to work diligently to restore the faith in the American government. And the rest is history. For those that like to revise history and paint FDR as some sort of Commie or Socialist (which is it?) whose New Deal only made matters worse - I say at least accept that WWII saved our Nation from the Great Depression - and THAT was a HUGE federal program if there ever was one!
So before Trump supporters buy into the LIES now accepted as normal rhetoric from President Trump, learn your American History. It sure is hard to believe your patriotism if it isn't based upon actual reality.
Trump can't have it both ways. Either he is or isn't getting things done as he promised. Unlike the entertainment industry, you simply can't edit bad takes and try again. Words matter Mr. President. Integrity matters and is required of the office. As Republican President Herbert Hoover once wrote referring to the presidency; "This is not a showman's job. I will not step out of character." Have a great week!
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