Rating "First Ladies" Since 1933, And Now Dr. Jill Biden!
The position of "First Lady" has become a role of growing significance in the past century since The New Deal years of Franklin D. Roosevelt, with all scholars agreed upon that Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest serving First Lady (1933-1945), was by far the most active and engaged of all First Ladies, and setting a standard for the century since the Great Depression.
We have had 13 First Ladies since Eleanor Roosevelt.
If one were to rank First Ladies in significance after Eleanor Roosevelt, the list, while debatable, would likely be in the following order:
Laura Bush
Pat Nixon
Bess Truman
And now, we have Dr. Jill Biden about to become First Lady, and assuredly would be high on the list, based on her past activities as "Second Lady" and her credentials as an educator, and a very supportive wife and mother.
One thing is certain, that the First Lady position, which has been in total collapse under Melania Trump, will be restored with dignity under Dr. Jill Biden, just as Joe Biden will restore the dignity of the Presidency, which has been in total collapse under Donald Trump!
News and Politics	Barbara Bush, Bess Truman, Betty Ford, Donald Trump, Dr. Jill Biden, Eleanor Roosevelt, First Ladies, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Great Depression, Hillary Clinton, Jacqueline Kennedy, Joe Biden, Lady Bird Johnson, Laura Bush, Mamie Eisenhower, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Nancy Reagan, New Deal Era, Pat Nixon, Rosalynn Carter
Joe Biden Victory Looking More Impressive As Vote Count Has Reached 99 Percent!
Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the Presidential Election of 2020 looks more impressive by the day, and now, 99 percent of the vote is in, and Biden has 80.1 million votes to Trump's 73.9 million votes, so a lead in popular votes of 6.2 million!
Assuming the same division of votes in the remaining one percent not yet tabulated, the final vote should be 80.9 million votes for Biden, and 74.6 million votes for Trump, a margin of 6.3 million votes.
This is nearly two and a half times the popular vote lead of 2.85 million that Hillary Clinton had over Donald Trump in 2016, and it makes Trump on the losing side of the popular vote in the two elections by a total of 9.1 million!
So Trump in the popular vote was twice a massive loser, with George W. Bush the loser in 2000 by 540,000; Rutherford Hayes in 1876 the loser by about 250,000; Benjamin Harrison the loser in 1888 by about 90,000; and John Quincy Adams the loser in 1824 by about 38,000.
And Joe Biden won the Sun Belt states of Arizona and Georgia, and retook the Midwest states that Hillary Clinton lost by small margins in 2016—Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin!
When Donald Trump won in 2016, he declared it a landslide with 306-232 in the Electoral College, but now that Joe Biden has accomplished the same electoral vote by taking five states from Biden, suddenly it is sore loser behavior, very infantile, on the part of Donald Trump, but the plans for the inauguration and setting up of the government over the next 53 days will continue to move forward!
Trump may never concede, but it does not matter, and only makes him look terrible in the eyes of history. And he may not show up at the Inauguration, which only John Adams in 1801, John Quincy Adams in 1829, and Andrew Johnson in 1869 failed to do!
And let us be honest, who cares if Trump shows up or acts civil, since that is NOT his nature, and his presence would actually besmirch the festivities, as we finally have dignity, decency, competence, knowledge, compassion and empathy back in the White House, which is sorely needed after the nightmare disaster of the corrupt Trump regime!
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Joe Biden Victory As 46th President More Impressive By The Day As The Final Two Percent Is Tabulated
November 17, 2020 Ronald 2 Comments
With votes still being counted in the Presidential Election of 2020, it is clear that the Joe Biden victory is more impressive by the day.
Biden has now twice as large a popular vote lead over Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton had in 2016, and gained the exact same result in the Electoral College that Donald Trump had four years ago, 306-232.
Biden will end up winning 80 million votes, in an election where it seems 18 million more people will have voted than in 2016. He has a 3.6 percentage point lead over Donald Trump as the final two percent is tabulated.
The fact that Biden won back the Midwest (Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania) that Hillary Clinton narrowly lost in 2016 is a massive accomplishment.
Winning two Sun Belt States (Georgia and Arizona) is also a major event, and shows signs that the Sun Belt will move toward the Democratic Party as the 2020s go by, and once that happens, the Republican Party, unless it changes its racist and nativist agenda, will never win the Presidency again!
News and Politics	Arizona, Democratic Party, Donald Trump, Electoral College, Georgia, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Michigan, Midwest States, Nativism, Pennsylvania, Presidential Election Of 2016, Presidential Election Of 2020, Racism, Republican Party, Sun Belt States, Wisconsin
"Socialism" And "Defund The Police" Killed Democratic House Numbers, Endangering Majority In 2022
The Democratic Party needs to realize that if it goes too far to the Left, it will doom President Joe Biden's efforts for success!
Unfortunately, the Congressional Elections of 2020 demonstrated that the nation is still very split on what is desirable to accomplish, as the Republican opposition and Donald Trump utilized fear of the word "Socialism", as if Joe Biden and the Democrats are equivalent of Communist leaders in Cuba, China, the Russian Federation, and other left wing regimes, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua!
This shows total ignorance of the term "Socialism", and the reality that America is a mixed Capitalist-Socialist nation, with the Socialist party of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas in the first half of the 20th century contributing many ideas, which over time, were part of the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson, and many other progressive reform since then.
But it is clear that had Bernie Sanders somehow been the Democratic nominee for President, he would NOT have been able to win, as only a moderate centrist with a tip to the Left, as Joe Biden has been his whole life, could possibly have won back the Midwest states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, along with the Sun Belt states of Georgia and Arizona, and not lose any of the 20 states that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.
Also, while there have been too many outrageous examples of police abuse and brutality, and particularly against African American males and Latino males, and really even females, the answer is police reform and accountability, not "Defund the Police", as they are still essential.
Sadly, the Senate only saw two Democrats elected (Mark Kelly, John Hickenlooper), while one (Doug Jones) was defeated, gaining only one seat, to 48, although Georgia creates an opportunity in its runoff election for the chance to have a 50-50 Senate, that Vice President Kamala Harris could organize as a Democratic Senate, with Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader, instead of the horrible Mitch McConnell.
But there is danger of the House of Representatives, in a midterm election, going back to the Republicans, since they have gained at least 5-7 seats in the 117th Congress, and with the reality, that the party in the White House usually loses seats in the following midterm election.
The Senate will have, again, twice as many Republican seats up for election in 2022, but this scenario did not work out in 2020, so no assurance there either of retaining or gaining a Democratic Senate majority, which is so urgent to make Joe Biden a successful President!
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Joe Biden The Sixth Vice President To Be Elected President
Joe Biden is the sixth Vice President to be elected President.
Four of the six were elected from the Vice Presidency:
John Adams after George Washington 1796
Thomas Jefferson after John Adams 1800
Martin Van Buren after Andrew Jackson 1836
George H. W. Bush after Ronald Reagan 1988
Richard Nixon was elected eight years after losing the Presidency in 1960, and was the first Vice President to be elected President in 132 years.
And now, Joe Biden was elected President four years after leaving the Vice Presidency, not attempting to run due to the death of his son, Beau Biden.
Many have speculated that had Beau Biden not passed away, that Joe Biden would have competed with Hillary Clinton for the 2016 nomination, and might have defeated her, and gone on to win over Donald Trump.
Sadly, if that had happened, the nation would have avoided the horrible tragedy of Donald Trump and the damage he has perpetrated.
But at least, now, Joe Biden can right much of the wrong of Donald Trump, and he will carry on the Barack Obama tradition!
Additionally, four of the nine Vice Presidents who succeeded to the Presidency due to the demise of the President, went on to be elected to a full term—Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, Calvin Coolidge in 1924, Harry Truman in 1948, and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
The other five Vice Presidents who succeeded to the Presidency were not elected on their own—John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester Alan Arthur, and Gerald Ford, who succeeded Richard Nixon after his resignation, and was the only Vice President not elected to either the Vice Presidency or the Presidency, as he lost to Jimmy Carter for a full term in 1976.
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Kamala Harris Becomes Highest Ranked Woman Leader In American History, With Nancy Pelosi Next!
November 8, 2020 Ronald 1 Comment
Vice President Elect Kamala Harris will become the highest ranked woman leader in American history, when she takes the oath as Vice President on January 20, 2021.
She will be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and right behind her in the line of succession will be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
And if President Elect Joe Biden decides to choose a woman to be Secretary of State, then three of the top four in the line of succession will be women, with only the President Pro Tempore of the Senate being male, either Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa or Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, depending on what happens with the two Georgia Senate runoffs on January 5, 2021.
Already, we have had three women serving as Secretary of State—Madeleine Albright under Bill Clinton in his second term; Condoleezza Rice under George W. Bush in his second term; and Hillary Clinton under Barack Obama in his first term.
The bet is that former National Security Adviser and Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who is African American, will be chosen by Joe Biden to be his Secretary of State, although Wendy Sherman, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, who is white, serving from 2011-2015 under Barack Obama, is also a possible choice, and certainly will be utilized in some way by Joe Biden.
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The News Media And Public Opinion Polls On Trial On Election Day: Are They Reliable?
November 3, 2020 Ronald 6 Comments
Today, Election Day 2020, it is clear that the news media, particularly the establishment media–the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC–need to be demonstrated to be reliable and accurate in their coverage of the 2020 election campaign.
Or will they have "egg in their faces" again, as in 2016, when there was total shock at the result of the election, the victory of Donald Trump?
And the same goes even more with the multitude of public opinion polls, which misjudged what was about to happen, and also the prognosticators, many well known, and some like this author and blogger, NOT well known, who all believed Hillary Clinton would win the Presidency!
A one time blunder, or error, can be explained, as it was in 1948 when no one thought Harry Truman would defeat Thomas E. Dewey!
A second time, when all evidence is that Joe Biden will likely win a landslide victory over Donald Trump, would be fatal in many ways, making Americans unwilling to believe the major news media and public opinion polls in the future!
Hopefully, the right wing news media, notorious for lies and deception, most notably Fox News Channel, the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal, all Rupert Murdoch owned and operated, will be repudiated beyond any redemption! The same applies to right wing talk show radio hosts, including Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Mark Levin, and a host of other extremists who exploit the American people on a regular basis!
Hopefully, we will know sometime tomorrow, Wednesday, November 4!
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Final Projection On Presidential Election Of 2020
October 30, 2020 Ronald 2 Comments
On April 30, I did an early projection on the Presidential Election of 2020.
Six months later to the day, and after having gone through so much pain and suffering as a nation, with a President who is totally uncaring and incompetent, as well as corrupt and despicable in personality and policies for the past four years, I look forward to a massive landslide victory of Joe Biden. He is a very decent, compassionate man who can bring us together after the four year nightmare we have experienced.
My estimate is based on my knowledge and perception of what has been going on politically in this nation, and my historical perspective over a half century of teaching, writing, publishing and speaking.
The judgment of what will happen has been slightly changed, but not by much.
So let's make it clear that I fully expect Joe Biden to win a massive landslide, with about 54-55 percent of the national popular vote to Donald Trump's 43 percent, less than he gained in 2016.
The Electoral College will end up, I believe, as 413-125, and 30 states for Biden and 20 states for Trump.
One might be surprised that Trump would win 20 states and ONLY get 125 electoral votes, but that is so because none of the 20 states has a large population, with only Tennessee and Indiana having 11 electoral votes each, and four small rural states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska) having a minimum 3 electoral votes each.
So Trump wins rural America, which is dying more every decade as young people leave for better opportunities, and that means these states, heavily consisting of poor people, white and minority, has no long range future, and will be further trivialized in future decades. Only Mormon Utah is growing rapidly in population, and only a few medium sized cities are in these states, including St Louis and Kansas City in Missouri; Nashville and Memphis in Tennessee,: New Orleans in Louisiana; Indianapolis in Indiana; and Salt Lake City in Utah. One can believe that over time, some of these 20 states will turn Blue and give up on the Republican Party, if they have any sense of the future, and this might happen over time with Missouri and Tennessee.
So my estimate is that Joe Biden easily wins the Electoral College, simply by winning the 20 Hillary Clinton states in 2016, and adding the three Midwestern states she lost by very small margins—Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, and also winning the 2nd Congressional District of Omaha, Nebraska, for a total of 279 electoral votes. That is all that is needed, but it seems highly likely that Joe Biden will also win the Southern states of North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Texas, as well as win the Midwestern states of Ohio and Iowa, and add the Southwestern state of Arizona, adding up to 413 electoral votes from 30 states.
We will see how accurate this blogger and author is, but a reminder that in 2008, I was one electoral vote off, thinking Barack Obama would win Missouri (10 electoral votes) and lose Indiana (11 electoral votes), and just the opposite happened.
And in 2012, this author and blogger was totally accurate on the Electoral College, so I hope I am proved correct in 2020.
But the most important point is that IF Biden just wins 23 states, he will become the 46th President of the United States!
News and Politics	Donald Trump, Electoral College, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Presidential Election of 2008, Presidential Election of 2012, Presidential Election Of 2016, Presidential Election Of 2020, Rural States
Fascinating Electoral Map Of Americans 18-40 Shows Bright Future For Democrats, Gloom For Republicans!
October 25, 2020 Ronald Leave a comment
The Atlantic Magazine has just published an electoral map based solely on American expected voters ages 18-40, known as Millennials (born 1980-1996) and Generation Z (1997-2012) with those born from 1997-2002 able to vote in the Presidential Election of 2020!
It is astounding in detail, as if it pans out and is true, it means a bright future for Democrats, and gloom for Republicans!
According to this electoral map, Joe Biden has 295 electoral votes locked up among those under 40; and 63 more likely; and 70 less likely but favored, for a grand total of 428 electoral votes!
Donald Trump has 49 electoral votes insured, with 44 other electoral votes highly likely, and 17 electoral votes undecided, so it would be a grand total of 110 electoral votes, or 93 insured, with Utah and Indiana questionable.
That last fact is shocking, as one would think Utah would be insured Republican, and Indiana as well, particularly with Vice President Mike Pence being from the Hoosier State.
The Biden states have dark blue for such states as Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, all four states having gone for Trump in 2016.
Interestingly, Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, and Arizona are all medium blue, making them likely strongly Democratic by lesser amounts now and in the future, and all Trump states in 2016. Additionally, Virginia, which voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 is also medium blue.
Georgia, Texas, Montana, and imagine this, Alaska are all light blue, a good sign for the future as well! But so is Missouri, which few see as going back to the Democrats, after having lost their status as a "reliable" state to be with the winner, starting in 2008 and continuing through 2016. As much as the first two states listed are seen as long shots, the last three are even more so, in theory!
Looking at the Trump states, 15 in total, we have West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma as strongest, while South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Dakota, Kansas, Wyoming and Idaho are weaker in support among young people.
So, in conclusion, 33 states for Biden, 15 for Trump, and 2 probably Trump but not certain, mirroring what seems to make sense for the national election, with the only real surprises being Alaska and Missouri, and possibly Indiana and Utah, in the estimate of this scholar and blogger!
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