President Donald John Trump loves to boast that his administration has accomplished more than any other in our storied past. OK. But may we take a stroll down history lane?
Thomas Jefferson subdued the Barbary pirates, authorized the Lewis and Clark expedition, and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.
James Polk extended the nation’s border south to the Rio Grande River while annexing present-day Arizona, New Mexico, portions of Nevada, Utah and Colorado, plus all of California after victory in the Mexican War.
Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union while emancipating the slaves; Ulysses S. Grant oversaw the completion of the transcontinental railroad; Teddy Roosevelt initiated our national park system, brokered peace in the Russo-Japanese War and pioneered construction of the Panama Canal.
Franklin Roosevelt guided our nation through the Great Depression and World War II. Harry Truman presided over the creation of NATO and the United Nations while initiating the Berlin Airlift and integrating the military. Dwight Eisenhower was responsible for our interstate highway system.
John Kennedy made the Russians back down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Lyndon Johnson ushered through the Civil Rights and Voting Acts. Richard Nixon put an American on the moon. Ronald Reagan became a legend in his own time.
Trump’s alleged “accomplishments” are anemic in comparison, if that.
Today I canceled my cable service because I couldn’t stand any more of the lies of our president and his sycophants. In the middle of the 20th century there was a messianic world leader who was eviscerated for his “pathological reaction to the impressions of the moment.” Today we are dealing with his twin.
Jim Harger
New Kensington