The one sane choice

It may be hard to believe, given not many alive now lived or remember this time period. Yet, the 1980s were not halcyon days for the United States or even the rest of the world. If or when Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman decide to do a documentary series about the eighties, I would expect people's perception of so called good times to be completely shattered. A great deal of the Republican mindset that engulfed America in the 1980s and early 1990s can be attributed to a 1979 Address to the Nation from then President Jimmy Carter. Nominally, it was the 14th in a series of Addresses involving energy usage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kakFDUeoJKM My apologies for not directly embedding the video; I am using Microsoft Windows 10 and its new browser Microsoft Edge. I will see if Chrome does things differently. None the less, the speech I linked to was and still is unique in that President Carter pretty much told the American people to stop blaming their leaders for their problems and start blaming themselves. What a concept: taking responsibility for one's own actions and thoughts! How it related to energy was effectively consume less and perhaps, maybe, turning off the heater once in a while and wearing an extra sweater. Well, within the next year, much of the American public rejected these recommendations for self preservation and much like someone being told not to do anything stupid; they tripled down on their stupidity and elected President Ronald Reagan. The Reagan era lasted a total of 12 long years. I think the only reason why it lasted this long was because it became clear, after the Iran-Contra scandal blew up in everyone's face, that an actual third term campaign for President Reagan would have resulted in a defeat. So in came George H.W. Bush to be President in 1988, retaining many of the Reagan brain trust without the public image of a failed leader. Four years later, and with the "Cold War" now extinct, the Republican Party, and with that much of the bipartisan bull crap in maintaining a "war" mindset, began to shatter immensely. I can remember those times; Dan Rather every night for a month in early 1992 introduced reports on a false and troubling U.S. financial economy. Lawrence Walsh, independent counsel investigating Iran-Contra, obtained grand jury indictments for key Reagan-Bush officials, and likely was going to indict both Presidents if possible. I do remember on Halloween Eve a re-indictment of Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger was obtained. It was also the year of the South Central L.A. Riots, among other social justice issues coming into view. Into this social political chaos emerged then Gov. Bill Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas and by all accounts a Southern Centrist Democrat. And for the first time in 12 years, people were not only needing to hear the truth about their lives; they were willing to listen and make changes. If you need a visual aide on why the Clinton campaign and subsequent Presidency from 1992-2000 was successful; I would suggest watching once again the D.A. Pennebaker film The War Room, now a part of the Criterion Collection. Also of interest is Robert Downey Jr.'s opinion documentary The Last Party; though be aware this was when Downey was zonked out on booze and pills half the time. I have already alluded to and made note of the eight years of relative peace and security when William Jefferson Clinton was President. I, like you, are aware of what the past 15 years post-Clinton have been like. In short, apart from flashes of sanity within the Senate and the State Department, nothing good has come forward. You know, in only my second week as a student at Hofstra University, 9/11 occurred. One of my fellow travelers saw, like nearly all of us, the aftermath of the destruction and she said out loud "This would have never happened if Clinton was still President." And this woman, whose name I forget, was right. Indeed, there are certain times I play a what if game. That being, what if Bill Clinton decided to run for a third term? We know President Clinton would have easily been re-elected. Yet, as we know, a Clinton third term was set aside to focus on Hillary Clinton's 1999-2000 run for the Senate. She of course was elected. And I would say from that point forward, many of us that effectively were given the double deuce by the Cheney-Bush people, culminating in the 9/11 Inside Job, wanted to have the tide turn in favor of us once more. I had hoped Sen. Hillary Clinton would have ran for President in 2004. She did not, instead focusing on her 2006 Senate re-election bid. Fortunately after that election, Sen. Clinton began a process of running for the Presidency to which she was and still is entitled to I might add. In 2008, Sen. Clinton won the national Democratic Primary. Yet due to a myriad of reasons all found to be not worth my time, Clinton was barred from receiving the nomination in what amounted to a retread of the old back-room party bosses deals. We were left with then Sen. Barack Obama, the perpetual disappointment. None the less, President Obama was elected in 2008: the Clinton family's endorsement and a certainty for Sen. Hillary Clinton to be involved in the Cabinet was what sealed the deal for at least my voting for him. Yet Sec. Of State Clinton would not be in that title at the State Department for that long of a time. Sec. Of State Clinton left in 2012, which was followed as we see today of another Presidential run. Now, let me remind you I did vote for President Barack Obama again in 2012. However, I voted for Pres. Obama thinking that he would be defeated. It was more of an approval of the four years having gone by rather than the four years to come. We have seen though a continuation of a weak, egotistical, self-centered prick being a President more in line with wanting to be a celebrity more than anything. I do not know what a Republican presidency would have been like if one was elected in 2012. I sure as shit was not going to give the Romney and Paul people there fantasies. And I frankly have never liked Gov. Chris Christie; Now most people hate him, but it was not that easy being a lone voice at the time showing my disapproval on that lard. None the less, Pres. Obama winning re-election in 2012 assured a continuation of Democratic leadership for decades to come. We all were convinced after eight years of Obama there would be: Eight years of Hillary Clinton Eight years of Cory Booker Eight years of Chelsea Clinton Eight years of one of the Obama daughters. Well, now once again, there is a probability this will not happen. I have said before that Pres. Obama is actively seeking a third term. With the likelihood that he might lose, Obama and his people are setting up Vice President Joe Biden to fill the void. Interestingly, I think after Beau Biden passed away, there has been more of an incentive for VP Biden to run; fulfilling the last wishes of his son to have a Biden become President. I am not pleased with VP Biden running. This now means at least 8 Democrats are running for President! I expect Mayor Bill De Blasio to announce his candidacy shortly, and I am thinking there will be a Donald Trump equivalent for Democrats to consider before the year is out. My money is on Sen. Elizabeth Warren to make a move. By the way, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has come out in support of Sen. and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. So too has Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Indeed, most of the Senate Democrats and nearly half of all House Democrats are endorsing Hillary Clinton. Same goes for several Diplomats, a number of businesspeople and quite a huge list of celebrities. Go look at the Clinton 2016 page on Wikipedia for an ever evolving list of endorsements. Each of these endorsees have one mindset in common: they want their political party back to where it can be in being effective in its leadership and trustworthiness. In short, they want the 1990s back. As do I. In 2008, after being given the double deuce by party bosses, we were assured that President Barack Obama would promise us everything us Clinton Democrats wanted and even more. Apart from the four years of relative decent International Diplomacy, we have been disappointed in most areas. Even certain beneficial acts like "Obama Care" were compromised from its needed intentions. I for one will not be led down a path of abject disappointment and voting for style over substance, celebrity over leadership. Taking a page from the misguided fanatics Dr. Ron Paul still continues to have, albeit in a mercifully dwindling number; my choice for President, the Only Same Choice for President, is Hillary Clinton. Should Sen. Clinton not receive the nomination, even before the primaries, if possible I will write her name in. If a write-in is not possible, then I will vote for the Democrat; albeit it will be nothing more than a protest vote. Hillary Clinton for President 2016 or no one at all. Our lives may just depend on it, Robert