Mileage Psycho Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 Good comparison of previous presidents responses to crisis as compared to the resopnses of our current president. Quote Trump's evident character flaws leave him unable to meet the historic moment Analysis by John Harwood "In a president, character is everything," wrote the renowned speechwriter Peggy Noonan. And therein lies President Donald Trump's inability to meet this American moment. Noonan referred, in an essay commemorating her old boss Ronald Reagan, to the human qualities behind successful leadership in the White House. Empathy, courage, vision, decency, candor -- these traits have yielded the presidential moments that resonate through history. The evident absence of those qualities in Trump leaves him uniquely ill-equipped to handle the intertwined challenges of a public health pandemic, economic collapse and racial conflict that the nation now faces. The results have inflamed enmity, division and hardship across the nation. Consider some of the signature events that helped define chief executives over the last century. They etch an unflattering contrast with today's incumbent. After Pearl Harbor, Franklin Roosevelt girded Americans for the struggle ahead by leveling with them: "It will not only be a long war, it will be a hard war." Trump has misled Americans about many aspects of the current crisis -- downplaying the coronavirus threat, exaggerating chances for rapid economic recovery, distorting the nature of protests by describing participants as "arsonists, looters, criminals and anarchists wanting to destroy ... our country." Harry Truman demonstrated presidential accountability by avowing "The buck stops here." Trump dodges the buck, insisting in the White House Rose Garden that, "I don't take responsibility at all" for coronavirus failures. Dwight Eisenhower used the extraordinary powers of his office for paramount national purposes by sending federal troops to protect black students integrating Arkansas schools. Trump sent federal officers to forcibly disperse Americans peacefully protesting the police killing of an unarmed black man. John F. Kennedy summoned the nation to shared purposes: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." When the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba on his watch turned into a fiasco, Kennedy accepted personal responsibility. 'I alone can fix it' Trump makes self-aggrandizement his constant theme, telling Americans "I alone can fix it" and publicly thanking himself for positive developments. Unerringly, he responds to setbacks on coronavirus, civil unrest and anything else by blaming others. Lyndon Johnson advanced the American ideal of equality with civil rights legislation, even as he predicted accurately that it would undercut his political party in the South. The white voters repelled by that decision helped Republicans dominate presidential elections for a generation. Now that a transformed national electorate prefers Democrats, Trump joins fellow Republicans in opposing efforts to ease voting during the pandemic threat. He acknowledges that higher voting levels hurt Republicans. Ronald Reagan inspirited a beleaguered nation with the vision of America as a "shining city on a hill." His first inaugural placed "idealism and fair play" at the core of the country's strength. Trump defended the Russian autocrat whose intelligence services aided his campaign by deriding America itself, telling an interviewer, "You think our country's so innocent?" His inaugural accused predecessors of inflicting "carnage" on constituents for their personal gain. George W. Bush sought to shield Muslim Americans from bigotry by visiting a mosque after al Qaeda's 9/11 attacks. Trump places racial division at the heart of his political strategy, using the pandemic as a pretext to restrict visas for new entrants and expel asylum-seekers. Barack Obama used religious faith to comfort a nation shaken by the 2015 Charleston church massacre, delivering a eulogy and leading his audience in "Amazing Grace." Trump, once protesters in his path had been forcibly removed, walked a block from the White House simply to be photographed in front of a church, holding a Bible aloft. Richard Nixon, who as a result of Watergate crimes, became the only president ever to resign, styled himself a "law and order" commander-in-chief, defending America's "silent majority." Trump invokes those slogans as he emulates Nixon's polarizing tactics. But even Nixon, however awkwardly, once left the White House in the middle of the night to talk with anti-war protesters at the Lincoln Memorial, no cameras present. Last week, troops were sent to block the memorial's steps. Leadership void Without naming him, Trump's predecessors in both parties have sought to fill the leadership void they see by speaking out. George W. Bush answered Trump's blasts against Democrats on coronavirus this spring by asserting "we rise or fall together." After Monday's violent crackdown on protesters outside the White House, Bush declared that "those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America." Separately, Obama offered a reminder that "this country was founded on protest -- it's called the American Revolution." Trump responds to such criticism with personal attacks. But the president's sagging poll numbers show most Americans judge his leadership harshly. So do some of his former top aides. In a withering blast last week, Trump's first Defense Secretary James Mattis cast Trump's purposeful division as fundamentally antithetical to the nation's Constitution and its values. Former White House chief of staff John Kelly agreed. "I think we should look at people who are running for office and put them through the filter," Kelly said on Friday. "What is their character like?" More than three years as president have made the holes in Trump's character unmistakable. They render other flaws, such as his ignorance of history and public policy, trivial by comparison. "A president doesn't have to be brilliant," Noonan wrote 25 years ago. "He doesn't have to be clever. You can hire clever. "But you can't buy courage and decency, and you can't rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him." https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/07/politics/donald-trump-leadership/index.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 hoodlums and dipshits tearing down their own cities and allowing self hating honkies to tear them down also....liberal run I might add. But, DRUMPH!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Highmark Posted June 7, 2020 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted June 7, 2020 Poor Vince. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoughnut Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 5 minutes ago, Zambroski said: hoodlums and dipshits tearing down their own cities and allowing self hating who ties to tear them down....liberal run I might add. But, DRUMPH!!!!!!!!! Don’t forget about Vince’s hero Bill Clinton, he got a blowjob in the WH and made Chelsea proud.........huge character moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mileage Psycho Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 4 minutes ago, Highmark said: Poor Vince. I take it you don't care for our president being sized up against his predecessors, it doesn't look good and you don't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mileage Psycho Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 3 minutes ago, snoughnut said: Don’t forget about Vince’s hero Bill Clinton, he got a blowjob in the WH and made Chelsea proud.........huge character moment. Do you have any concept of how stupid it sounds to compare a BJ to the disastrous responses our president has had to Covid 19 and George Floyd? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said: I take it you don't care for our president being sized up against his predecessors, it doesn't look good and you don't like it. Just now, Mileage Psycho said: Do you have any concept of how stupid it sounds to compare a BJ to the disastrous responses our president has had to Covid 19 and George Floyd? Your words mean nothing. You’ve spent too many years crying wolf. Nobody cares anymore. Spread this fact to your fellow TDS sufferers. It may help them save their time. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry ginger Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 5 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said: Do you have any concept of how stupid it sounds to compare a BJ to the disastrous responses our president has had to Covid 19 and George Floyd? Trump at all cost vince- none of the resident trumpers here will get the message and will deflect as usual. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 Vinny is having a 'broken clock is right twice a day' moment. Trump himself has cucked and is feeding the lie himself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoughnut Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 7 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said: Do you have any concept of how stupid it sounds to compare a BJ to the disastrous responses our president has had to Covid 19 and George Floyd? TRUMP 2020!!!!! Tell your son he has my sympathies. 1 minute ago, Angry ginger said: Trump at all cost vince- none of the resident trumpers here will get the message and will deflect as usual. What’s the message in libtard land? Go Joe Biden!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin_dry Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 30 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said: Good comparison of previous presidents responses to crisis as compared to the resopnses of our current president. Absolutely spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 1 minute ago, snoughnut said: What’s the message in libtard land? Go Joe Biden!!!!!! This is the question none of them has the balls to answer. Let them prove me wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry ginger Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 6 minutes ago, snoughnut said: TRUMP 2020!!!!! Tell your son he has my sympathies. What’s the message in libtard land? Go Joe Biden!!!!!! how would I know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmo Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 (edited) 14 minutes ago, snoughnut said: What’s the message in libtard land? Go Joe Biden!!!!!! If there was a message Joe forgot it already. Edited June 7, 2020 by Edmo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 10 minutes ago, spin_dry said: Absolutely spot on. What exactly is the “crisis”? Libtwat leaders allowing their own cities to be destroyed. In fact, encouraging it? Is that it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 6 minutes ago, Edmo said: If there was a message Joe forget it already. His message for the past 40 has been, “Keep electing me and paying me, I can fix stuff!!” Hey, it worked. Gotta give him credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 Good to see the liberal bend of the forum is keeping CNN in business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecat Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 Everyone agreed Trump was an asshole before the election. Except many here thought having an asshole for president was a good thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 36 minutes ago, Snake said: Good to see the liberal bend of the forum is keeping CNN in business. I remember when CNN would get called out as being Fake and the truth was shown here. The ones posting it would try to run to other sources and act like they weren’t getting it from CNN. It’s nice to see them all just doing what we’ve all known they’ve been doing: taking orders from their CNN mother ship and ensuring their little echo chamber stays intact. At least they are true to their lies about it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 2 minutes ago, Mainecat said: Everyone agreed Trump was an asshole before the election. Except many here thought having an asshole for president was a good thing. A big asshole squashes a lot of little ones. Glorious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roosting Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 Can someone point me to the quote where trump saying the protests are not allowed? Or saying Floyd murder was ok or somehow justified? All I saw was pointing out destruction was not going to be allowed and guess what all the violence was somehow shut down and we still have protests but they are as they should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainecat Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 6 minutes ago, Roosting said: Can someone point me to the quote where trump saying the protests are not allowed? Or saying Floyd murder was ok or somehow justified? All I saw was pointing out destruction was not going to be allowed and guess what all the violence was somehow shut down and we still have protests but they are as they should be. Try CNN first. They’ll have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DriftBusta Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Snake said: Good to see the liberal bend of the forum is keeping CNN in business. I see MSNBC added Lisa Page to their lineup, you know, to just balance out the commentary 12 minutes ago, Roosting said: Can someone point me to the quote where trump saying the protests are not allowed? Or saying Floyd murder was ok or somehow justified? All I saw was pointing out destruction was not going to be allowed and guess what all the violence was somehow shut down and we still have protests but they are as they should be. CNN reports it was all white supremacists. We should go with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 7 minutes ago, DriftBusta said: I see MSNBC added Lisa Page to their lineup, you know, to just balance out the commentary CNN reports it was all white supremacists. We should go with that. I think she was with Brian when their chopper was shot down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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