27/01: Time to Govern
Category: American History and Politics
Posted by: A Waco Farmer
What do Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt have in common?
I would have voted against every one of them. As a conservative Federalist-Whig-Republican, given the opportunity to cast a vote, I am fairly confident I would have selected John Adams over TJ in 1800, John Quincy Adams over Old Hickory in 1828, Henry Clay over Jackson in 1832, William Howard Taft over Wilson (and Teddy) in 1912, Charles Evans Hughes over Wilson in 1916, Hoover over FDR in 1932, and Landon, Wilke, and Dewey in 1936, 1940, and 1944.
Want to hear something crazy? Even knowing everything I know now, I would still vote the same way given the chance.
What else do Jefferson, Jackson, Wilson and Roosevelt have in common?
They were American heroes and great (or near-great, at the very least) Presidents.
Barack Obama is not out to destroy the United States. Yes. He identifies with the Democratic Party--and that fact of life carries a distinct meaning, but, taken in the long view, hopefully, he is no more a threat to American liberty than the other aforementioned Democratic standard-bearers.
That is, even though Hamilton and Adams felt certain that Thomas Jefferson was a wild-eyed Jacobin who would carelessly squander the hard-won gains of the Revolution, Jefferson's political opponents were wrong. Even though John Quincy Adams sincerely believed that the boorish frontiersman, Andrew Jackson, lacked the refinement or capacity to govern the United States, and Henry Clay genuinely thought that the Hero of New Orleans was a dangerous "man on horseback" along the lines of Caesar, Cromwell, and Napoleon, Jackson's opponents were wrong.
You get my point. In the heat of the battle, we Americans are inclined to believe some fairly unreasonable things about our opponents.
Let's all take a deep breath. The campaign is over. It is time to govern.
Footnote (just for the record): it is possible that I might have voted for Jefferson in 1804.
UPDATE: Thanks to HNN for linking us as one of the "quotes of the week."
I would have voted against every one of them. As a conservative Federalist-Whig-Republican, given the opportunity to cast a vote, I am fairly confident I would have selected John Adams over TJ in 1800, John Quincy Adams over Old Hickory in 1828, Henry Clay over Jackson in 1832, William Howard Taft over Wilson (and Teddy) in 1912, Charles Evans Hughes over Wilson in 1916, Hoover over FDR in 1932, and Landon, Wilke, and Dewey in 1936, 1940, and 1944.
Want to hear something crazy? Even knowing everything I know now, I would still vote the same way given the chance.
What else do Jefferson, Jackson, Wilson and Roosevelt have in common?
They were American heroes and great (or near-great, at the very least) Presidents.
Barack Obama is not out to destroy the United States. Yes. He identifies with the Democratic Party--and that fact of life carries a distinct meaning, but, taken in the long view, hopefully, he is no more a threat to American liberty than the other aforementioned Democratic standard-bearers.
That is, even though Hamilton and Adams felt certain that Thomas Jefferson was a wild-eyed Jacobin who would carelessly squander the hard-won gains of the Revolution, Jefferson's political opponents were wrong. Even though John Quincy Adams sincerely believed that the boorish frontiersman, Andrew Jackson, lacked the refinement or capacity to govern the United States, and Henry Clay genuinely thought that the Hero of New Orleans was a dangerous "man on horseback" along the lines of Caesar, Cromwell, and Napoleon, Jackson's opponents were wrong.
You get my point. In the heat of the battle, we Americans are inclined to believe some fairly unreasonable things about our opponents.
Let's all take a deep breath. The campaign is over. It is time to govern.
Footnote (just for the record): it is possible that I might have voted for Jefferson in 1804.
UPDATE: Thanks to HNN for linking us as one of the "quotes of the week."
an okie gardener wrote: