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Post by bookworm on Sept 19, 2011 23:27:06 GMT -5
The first presidential election that occured after I turned 18 was in 1980. I voted for Ronald Reagan. Who did you vote for in your first presidential election?
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JP Cusick
New Member
Mr Know-it-all, sir.
Posts: 258 
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Post by JP Cusick on Sept 20, 2011 8:46:41 GMT -5
The first presidential election that occurred after I turned 18 was in 1980. I voted for Ronald Reagan. Who did you vote for in your first presidential election? I was born in 1956, and my first Presidential election was when I voted for Jimmy Carter in 1976. I remember that time very well, as many people including particularly myself felt that President Ford giving a pardon to Nixon was reprehensible, so that was my biggest reason for voting against Ford, while Carter seem to offer renewed energy and enthusiasm. Later in 1980 I was not liking Carter any more and Ronald Reagan seemed like some super hero coming to town and I voted for Reagan. Now in hindsight I say Jimmy Carter was a truly inspired President and Ronald Reagan was a belligerent personality. So for now on I regret my own failure to support Carter and my greater failure of cheering on Reagan.  |
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Post by bookworm on Sept 20, 2011 23:07:54 GMT -5
[I remember that time very well, as many people including particularly myself felt that President Ford giving a pardon to Nixon was reprehensible, so that was my biggest reason for voting against Ford, while Carter seem to offer renewed energy and enthusiasm. From what I understand, the pardon of Nixon saved the country from a drawn-out period of strife and bitterness which would have occured with a trial of Nixon. Ford sacrificed his own political future for the good of the country. If you were looking for a superhero in the midst of the Carter presidiency, then what was it about that presidency that now makes you say Carter was "a truly inspired president"? What one person views as "belligerent" could be viewed by someone else as "having strong convictions." |
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JP Cusick
New Member
Mr Know-it-all, sir.
Posts: 258
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Post by JP Cusick on Sept 22, 2011 9:15:32 GMT -5
From what I understand, the pardon of Nixon saved the country from a drawn-out period of strife and bitterness which would have occurred with a trial of Nixon. Ford sacrificed his own political future for the good of the country. I do agree now that Nixon did not need nor deserve to be prosecuted and now I am glad that he was not, but you asked about my first Presidential election and back then I was an 18-20 year old hot-head (born 1956) and I felt differently back at that time. Also the way the pardon for Nixon was done was obvious that Nixon gave Ford the seat of Vice President and onward to be the President in exchange for that Nixon pardon and that was a bitter pill to swallow in the USA at that time - the 1976 Presidential election. I see myself as more mature now and now I see what Nixon did was really a small minor crime and his resignation was a powerful punishment in itself. Today I see the last George W. Bush Administration took us into wars based on lies and they ordered the torture of prisoners under our American flag, and yet Bush and Cheney are not prosecuted, so Nixon did nothing in comparison with that blatant criminality of the Bush Presidency. If you were looking for a superhero in the midst of the Carter presidency, then what was it about that presidency that now makes you say Carter was "a truly inspired president"? As I said: I was a young hot-head back in those days, and now I am more mature. Jimmy Carter negotiated and signed the SALT 2 treaty, and Carter orchestrated the treaty between Egypt and Israel, he rightfully gave up the Panama Canal, his Administration improved the treatment of the mentally ill nationwide, and even more especially is that from beginning to the end of the Carter Administration his number one outspoken policy was for the promotion of "human rights" throughout the world in all affairs under his watch. I now see all of that (and more) as inspired leadership from President Carter. What one person views as "belligerent" could be viewed by someone else as "having strong convictions." I agree that Ronald Reagan did indeed have strong convictions and I myself at that time liked his "John Wayne" attitude and his gun-boat diplomacy, but now again I am more mature and now I see and know that Reagan with his MX missiles and 600 ship navy and his "Star Wars" agenda, then that means Reagan was risking and provoking a war with the USSR which could have killed us all and could have destroyed all life on the planet earth. The fact that "mutual assured destruction" did not happen is because of the restraint by the Soviet Union and NOT because of Reagan. And it was Reagan who first started the super size national debt, and Reagan increased our taxes on everyone including that Reagan started taxing Unemployment Compensation payments. Yet still the worse of Reagan is saved for last, in that Reagan was the one who paved the way and the ideology for the later criminal Bush Administration, and even the Republican challengers of 2012 are all cheering on the old Reagan policies which means again our entire world is still in danger based on that horrible legacy from President Reagan.  |
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