September 30

"We need not just a new generation of leadership, but a new gender of leadership."

William J.Clinton, 42nd President, 1993-2001 Address before the Democratic Women's Caucus, July 15, 1992. It was a short address given just the day before Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination for President in New York. He said, in part, "I am the grandson of a working woman, the son of a single mother, the husband of a working wife...I am the father of a daughter who wants to build space stations in the sky." He vowed to support the feminist agenda, saying," We need not just a new generation of leadership, but a new gender of leadership."

September 29

"When special interests put their thumb on the scale, and distort the free market, the people who compete by the rules come in last."

Barack Obama, 44th President, 2009- , remarks of Senator Barack Obama at a town-hall meeting on the economy in St. Petersburg, Florida, August 1, 2008."...People are starting to lose faith in the American dream, which is the idea that if you work hard, you can build a better life not just for yourselves but for your children and grandchildren. A lot of people feel like that dream is slipping further out of reach. That’s why I’m running for President of the United States – because America is supposed to be the place where you can make it if you try. And a lot of people are trying, but they’re having a tough time making it. Part of it has to do with changes in the way our economy works. Over the last few decades, revolutions in technology and communication have made it so that corporations can send good jobs wherever there’s an internet connection. Children in St. Petersburg aren’t just growing up competing for good jobs with children in Boston or Chicago, but with children in Beijing and Bangalore. But what we also have to remember is that our economic problems aren’t simply due to changes in how our economy works, and they aren’t just a normal part of the business cycle. They’re also due to irresponsible decisions that were made on Wall Street and in Washington. In recent years, we have relearned the essential truth that in the long run, we cannot have a thriving Wall Street and a struggling Main Street. When wages are flat, prices are rising, and more Americans are mired in debt, the economy as a whole suffers. When a reckless few game the system, as we’ve seen in this housing crisis, millions suffer and we’re all affected. When special interests put their thumb on the scale, and distort the free market, the people who compete by the rules come in last. And when our government fails to meet its obligation – to provide sensible oversight and stand on the side of working people and invest in their future – America pays a heavy price.". Obama went on to lay out his platform of providing more financial oversight, more accessible health care, development of "green energy", and a reformed education system.

September 28

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book."

Ronald Reagan, 40th President, 1981-1989, Apparently uttered at Business Luncheon in Los Angeles in 1977. Along the same lines, Reagan said, "You know, it has been said that politics is the second oldest profession and I've come to realize over the last few years, it bears a great similarity to the first."(from a speech at Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan (November 10, 1977)). Reagan was one of the most charming, if not controversial, Presidents of recent times. He was loved for his "less government" philosophy and homespun humor. His logic often confounded critics who believed his statements were many times not backed up by the facts. One stated, "In the Reagan years, more federal debt was added than in the entire prior history of the United States." (Richard Darman (Reagan adviser), Who's in Control? Polar Politics and the Sensible Center). Another wrote, "Ronald Reagan is the first modern President whose contempt for the facts is treated as a charming idiosyncrasy." (James David Barber, presidential scholar, On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency) Yet he succeeded in the political arena. When he ran for his second term in office against Walter Mondale, former President, Richard Nixon, predicted a Reagan victory; stating Mondale would win the debates, but Reagan would win the audience. (May 9, 1984, Speech to The American Society of Newspaper Editors, New York.) In Reagan's farewell speech to America on January 11, 1989, Reagan, himself, stated, "Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts."

September 27

"It ought to be known whether the President is the registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States."

James A. Garfield, 20th President, 1881- Statement made after the appointment of Garfield's choice for Collector of the New York Custom's House, 1881. Garfield took office on March 4, 1881 and was President for less than a year, but was a seasoned veteran in Congressional maneuvering, having served as a representative from Ohio for 18 years. Before the enactment of any Civil Service acts, Presidents, for the most part, appointed party allies to various positions. The process was very political and had evolved to the point where the President nominated those who the senators from each state had chosen. Garfield believed such a practice was corrupt and nominated his own choice, William H. Robertson, for the position of Collector for the Port of New York. Robertson was the rival of New York Senator, Roscoe Conkling, who was considered the "dispenser" of patronage in New York. Conkling tried to defeat the nomination by several measures. First, he attempted to persuade the senate to vote on all nominations except for that of the port commissioner. Garfield countered by withdrawing all nominations except for that office, leaving Congress with the pivotal choice of deciding between Conkling's now one single selection or following Garfield's desire to bring more control to the Office of the President. Such a move would have denied positions to even more of Conkling's underlings. Conkling then mis-calculated and countered by resigning his position, thinking the Senate would re-appointment him. Instead, it approved Garfield's choice and appointed someone else to the Senate seat from New York. Garfield had won the battle. Victorious, he stated, "This...will settle the question whether the President is registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States.... shall the principal port of entry ... be under the control of the administration or under the local control of a factional senator." Several weeks later, on July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot by an rejected office seeker, who had been judged to be unqualified for the diplomatic position he had tried to obtain. Garfield died mainly from infection on September 19. In an attempt to find and remove the bullet lodged in Garfield's body, Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, tried to locate the bullet with the aid of a metal detector he developed. In 1883, under Garfield's successor, Chester A. Arthur, Congress passed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.

September 26

"When there is lack of honor in government, the morals of the whole people are poisoned."

Herbert Hoover, 31st President, 1929-1933. Most likely from an interview with the New York Times just before his 90th birthday on August 9, 1964. He died only two months later on October 20, 1964. Other parts of the articles contained his thoughts on America and freedom. "Freedom is the window from which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and of human dignity. With the preservation of these moral and spiritual qualities and with God's grace will come further greatness for our country." Around him in 1964 swirled headlines of the Presidential election pitting Lyndon Johnson against Barry Goldwater, the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement and its violence, Nelson Mandela being imprisoned in South Africa, and the growing popularity of the Beatles.

September 25

"You don't win campaigns with a diet of dish water and milk toast."

Richard Nixon, 37th President, 1969-1974- It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Vice-Presidents and Vice-Presidential candidates seem to be the ones to stir up controversy while the Presidents(here Eisenhower)stay above the fray. From a talk at a Republican campaign fundraiser September 30, 1958 in Indianapolis. Nixon Blasts Cheap Cracks Made by Truman INDIANAPOLIS Vice-President Richard M Nixon told Hoosier Republicans last night to came out slugging in the Congressional campaign by warning voters election of Democrats will result in higher taxes. Nixon said he disagreed with some Republican friends who suggested he pass up the congressional campaign to avoid being associated with a losing cause. "I can think of nothing more contemptible than running from a fight when things are tough.", the vice president told an Indiana Republican fundraising rally. "We will lose", Nixon said, "if we continue to backpedal and to allow ourselves to be a punching bag for the cheap cracks of Harry Truman and his like. We aren't going to win by giving the voters a diet of dish water and milk toast." He said, "If Democrats strengthen their hold on Congress this year it will be through election of radical Democrats who...drunk with visions of votes and pink but dead elephants means you are voting to raise your taxes, cheapen your money...and to say no the new investment and enterprise which means more and more progress for the American people. Under the Truman administration prices went up 38 per cent. The Truman prosperity, he said, was a war prosperity which occurred only in war years while the Eisenhower prosperity is a peace prosperity." From The El Paso Herald Post

September 24

"The law is the only sure protection of the weak and the only efficient restraint upon the strong."

Millard Fillmore, 13th President, 1850-1853. From his First Annual Message (December 2, 1850) Fillmore, as Zachary Taylor's Vice-President, ascended to the Presidency after Taylor's sudden sickness and death in the summer of 1850, most probably from food poisoning. Fillmore, from New York, generally opposed slavery but supported its extension into new territories as provided for in the Missouri Compromise. The law was unpopular and divisive and he was not re-elected in 1853. "...But it must be borne in mind that the country is extensive; that there may be local interests or prejudices rendering a law odious in one part which is not so in another, and that the thoughtless and inconsiderate, misled by their passions or their imaginations, may be induced madly to resist such laws as they disapprove. Such persons should recollect that without law there can be no real practical liberty; that when law is trampled under foot tyranny rules, whether it appears in the form of a military despotism or of popular violence. The law is the only sure protection of the weak and the only efficient restraint upon the strong. When impartially and faithfully administered, none is beneath its protection and none above its control."

September 23

September 23- We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs.Bill Clinton, 42nd President, 1993-2001 From President Clinton's State of the Union Address, January 27, 2000. Although the quote pertains specifically to international trade agreements, the principal can be extended to us on an individual level, as well. At the end of his Presidency, the U.S. was at a high water mark in terms of the economy and peace. It was, however, the calm before the storm as a new administration was to come into office to face the 9/11 attacks and a slide into a severe economic downturn. "...I ask Congress to give businesses the same incentives to invest in America's new markets that they now have to invest in foreign markets (and)...we must reach beyond our own borders, to shape the revolution that is tearing down barriers and building new networks among nations and individuals, economies and cultures: globalization. It is the central reality of our time. Change this profound is both liberating and threatening. But there is no turning back...We must be at the center of every vital global network, as a good neighbor and partner. We cannot build our future without helping others to build theirs....open markets and rules-based trade are the best engines we know for raising living standards, reducing global poverty and environmental destruction, and assuring the free flow of ideas. There is only one direction for America on trade: We must go forward. And we must make developing economies our partners in prosperity..."

September 22

"The President of the United States of necessity owes his election... to the zealous labor of a political party...but he should .... be always mindful of the fact that he serves his party best who serves the country best."

Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President, 1877-1881 Inaugural Address of Rutherford B. Hayes, MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1877, Twelve years after the Civil War, the nation was still in a state of upheaval after the controversial administrations of Andrew Johnson followed by Ulysses S. Grant. To make matters worse, Hayes was declared the next President after a highly disputed election whose outcome was decided by a tribunal. It was believed that the nation was not ready for a southern democrat to lead the nation and such sentiment swung the election to Hayes. Along with his very authority being questioned, Hayes and the country still faced burning issues of a poor economy, voting rights, education, and assimilation of former slaves, state's rights, civil service reform, and foreign relations with the now "re-united" states. "...Many of the calamitous efforts of the tremendous revolution which has passed over the Southern States still remain. The immeasurable benefits which will surely follow, sooner or later, the hearty and generous acceptance of the legitimate results of that revolution have not yet been realized. Difficult and embarrassing questions meet us at the threshold of this subject. The people of those States are still impoverished, and the inestimable blessing of wise, honest, and peaceful local self-government is not fully enjoyed. Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to the cause of this condition of things, the fact is clear that in the progress of events the time has come when such government is the imperative necessity required by all the varied interests, public and private, of those States. But it must not be forgotten that only a local government which recognizes and maintains inviolate the rights of all is a true self-government... The President of the United States of necessity owes his election to office to the suffrage and zealous labors of a political party, the members of which cherish with ardor and regard as of essential importance the principles of their party organization; but he should strive to be always mindful of the fact that he serves his party best who serves the country best.

September 21

"The passion for office among members of Congress is very great, if not absolutely disreputable, and greatly embarrasses...the government. They create offices by their own votes and then seek to fill them themselves."

James K. Polk, 11th President, 1845-1849-from The Diary of James K. Polk During His Presidency, 1845 to 1849 ..., Volume 1, Monday, June , 22, 1846.-How's your Monday going?" This entry was written as the Mexican-American War was in its initial stages. The conflict erupted over the dispute of the annexation of Texas from Mexico by the United States. Polk and others also desired to expand to the Pacific, believing to be justified by the concept of "Manifest Destiny", and in order to prevent England and other countries from gaining a foothold in the west. The war, however, was not universally supported by all Americans. Partially in opposition to the war (and slavery), Henry David Thoreau wrote his famous essay, "Civil Disobedience". Here President Polk writes in his diary,"...I had a very busy day...I was chiefly engaged in considering the matter of executing the act of the 18th Instant making further provision for the prosecution of the war against Mexico...two Senators and several of the Representatives from the State of Illinois called today and presented their joint recommendation in writing in favour of persons to fill the staff offices of Illinois volunteers... They recommended Hon. Mr. Douglas of Illinois (of the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858- my insertion) to be Brigade Major, an appointment which by the act I am not authorized to make...The truth is...several members of Congress who are militia officers desire to get commands for themselves, and therefore oppose any amendment of the act of June 18th, 1846 which requires me to select the Brigadier and Major Generals from the officers now in command of the the militia in the States. The passion for office among members of Congress is very great, if not absolutely disreputable, and greatly embarrasses the operation of the government... I shall refuse to appoint them, though it be at the almost certain hazard of incurring their displeasure. I am aware that by refusing their applications I may reduce my administration to a minority in both Houses of Congress, but if such be the result I shall have the high satisfaction of having discharged my duty in resisting the selfishness of members of Congress, who are willing to abandon their duty to their constituents and provide places for themselves. I will not countenance such selfishness, but will do my duty, and rely on the country for an honest support of my administration."

September 20

"The right thing to do never requires any subterfuge, it is always simple and direct."

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President, 1923-1929- "Fifteen times he was nominated for public office and never failed of election. After he retired from the Presidency, he wrote of his career: "There is only one form of political strategy in which I have any confidence, and that is to try to do the right thing." from "On This Day" Calvin Coolidge obituary January 6, 1933, http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0704.html One of the themes in his administration, and his life for that matter, is that, with freedom, responsibility and honesty are required of those in government and by the people as well. In an address on Decoration Day,(now called Memorial Day), May 30, 1928, he states, "...While the people of the United States as a whole are peaceful and law-abiding to a remarkable degree, it can not be denied that we have had sporadic outbreaks of crime, especially those of violence, which are exceedingly disturbing. It is very easy to cast the blame upon the...authorities. But if a criminal condition continues to prevail, the blame goes beyond these officials...If the people themselves show that they are determined to have crime stamped out, there will be no lack of vigilance on the part of the police, no lack of energetic action on the part of prosecuting attorneys, and no lack of adequate penalty on the part of the courts. If the people are careless and indifferent, if they look with complacency on crime and assume a sentimental attitude toward criminals, little reform can be hoped for. (http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/address-at-gettysburg-battle-field.html#sthash.LLGDmcCd.dpuf) The United States was in the midst of Prohibition in 1928. Perhaps Coolidge indirectly refers to the lack of general popularity and weak enforcement of the law which gave rise to bootleggers and organized crime. In the same address, he speaks of the legislature; "... For the purpose of promoting a reign of law in the world there is a special obligation resting upon all public officials. In our own country, and in most others, the government is one of limited powers. The purpose, as has been so well expressed, is to provide a government of law and not of men...(Those in office) derive their authority directly from constitutional sources. None of these are all-powerful, but are held within strict limits...The chief temptations to go beyond the bounds which the people have set arise in legislatures. In their desire to take some action which they conceive to be in the public interest, they oftentimes manifest a disposition to exceed their constitutional authority. Such action is a larceny of power. Responsibility for it can not be evaded by the weak plea to let the law be passed and the courts can decide its constitutionality. Legislators are required to qualify upon their solemn oath. That oath is not that they will leave the Courts to defend and support the Constitution, but that they themselves will defend and support it...(they) should not attempt to evade it or strain it by subterfuge and misconception." We see similar situations in this decade as the public opinion seemingly grows in favor of the legalization of marijuana. Also congress has passed laws regarding NSA surveillance and Public health care and the legality of those laws has been challenged and brought to the Supreme Court to interpret.

September 19

"Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There's nothing to do but to stand there and take it."

Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President, 1963-1969 From a September 22, 1966 talk given to Democratic congressional candidates..."He talked about the presidency as a kind of national lightning rod: "Someone asked me the other day-a reporter- do I consider myself a President in trouble?" And they're sadistic," he (Johnson)said. "They kind of hoped I was. And I said, 'Well, what do you think a President's for?' " He (Johnson) talked about all the commotion that just a handful of critics can make: He said that Huey Long used to refer to the old farmer down in Louisiana who couldn't sleep at night because of the noise the frogs were making. "He finally got mad and went down there and took his disc plow and just cut a hole in that dirt tank and emptied all the water out of it so he could get rid of those frogs." The President's voice went down almost to a whisper and he said, "And he found two." He paused to let it sink in. "Been keeping him awake all night." Remember this," he said, "Anybody who criticizes the President always gets attention.... The easiest thing for them to do to get into the newspapers is to say that something is wrong with their own President." He brought the audience to its feet when he said, "So I'm doing the best I can and it's almost like the old man in my county that said he felt like a jackass in a hail storm: He just has to hunker up and take it."from The LBJ the Nation Seldom Saw by Robert L. Hardesty President Southwest Texas State University

September 18

"Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion."

Franklin Pierce, 14th President, 1853-1857-Attributed to Pierce,sometimes to Millard Fillmore.- “In a body [like Congress] where there are more than one hundred talking lawyers, you can make no calculation upon the termination of any debate.” It is hard to find favor with Pierce's Presidency and his policies. Like his fellow Presidents of the 1850's, Pierce strove to uphold the Constitution as written and his policies were ineffective in maintaining peace and a cohesive union. Hailing from New Hampshire, he was himself a lawyer and familiar the law and political process. His father was governor of New Hampshire and Franklin was elected to the state legislature in 1829 and the U.S. House of Representatives in 1832. A Democrat, he was a supporter of President, Andrew Jackson. Pierce held the belief that as the country expanded, it should be guided by the principles set forth in the Constitution. He advocated the status quo position of limited federal government and that the states had rights with which the federal government should not interfere, including the "right" to own slaves. Such a position lumped him into the category of those given the nickname of "a doughface", a northerner who supported southern slavery. He believed abolitionists were a threat to the stability of the nation and that the best way to preserve the union was to continue to abide by the law as it then existed. In his first State of the Union address, he stated, "In like manner, as a manifestly indispensable condition of the perpetuation of the Union and of the realization of that magnificent national future adverted to, does the duty become(s) yearly stronger and clearer upon us, as citizens of the several States, to cultivate a fraternal and affectionate spirit, language, and conduct in regard to other States and in relation to the varied interests, institutions, and habits of sentiment and opinion which may respectively characterize them. Mutual forbearance, respect, and noninterference in our personal action as citizens and an enlarged exercise of the most liberal principles of comity in the public dealings of State with State, whether in legislation or in the execution of laws, are the means to perpetuate that confidence and fraternity the decay of which a mere political union, on so vast a scale, could not long survive."- His belief that the states should decide the issue of slavery resulted in the acceleration of the onset of Civil War when the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed in 1854. People flooded into Kansas to vote for and against slavery which led increased tension and violence, leading to the term, "Bleeding Kansas."- "Violence occurred in May 1856 when the town of Lawrence was looted and burned by proslavery "border ruffians" from Missouri. A few days later, militant abolitionists under John Brown murdered five proslavery men at Pottawatomie in retaliation for attacks on free-soil communities." (http://millercenter.org/president/pierce/essays/biography/4). Pierce lost control of the situation and subsequently was not re-nominated for a second term as James Buchanan won the Democratic nomination in 1856.

September 17

"The distribution of patronage of the Government is by far the most disagreeable duty of the President."

James Buchanan, 15th President, 1857-1861-from The President's Second Protest Message against the Covode Committee. Published: June 27, 1860. - Congress seems to have been impeachment happy in the mid 1800's as they attempted to impeach John Tyler in 1843,Buchanan in 1860, Andrew Johnson in 1867 and 1869, and Ulysses S. Grant in 1877. The U.S. constitution states that the President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States may be impeached and removed only for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Before the Pendleton Civil Service Act was passed in 1883, Presidents spent time listening to job applicants, requests to "grant" government jobs for friends and allies, or granted jobs in exchange for votes or support in Congress. Such was the norm of the era and even Abraham Lincoln was not above this type of "politics." Buchanan had not been a popular or strong President and apparently members of Congress were looking for ways to oust him from office. "In March 1860, the House created the Covode Committee to investigate the administration for evidence of offenses, some impeachable, such as bribery and extortion of Representatives in exchange for their votes. The Committee...was accused by Buchanan's supporters of being nakedly partisan; they also charged its chairman, Republican Rep. John Covode, with acting on a personal grudge (since the president had vetoed a bill that was fashioned as a land grant for new agricultural colleges, but was designed to benefit Covode's railroad company. The committee was unable to establish grounds for impeaching Buchanan; however, the majority report issued on June 17 exposed corruption and abuse of power among members of his Cabinet as well as allegations (if not impeachable evidence)... that Buchanan had attempted to bribe members of Congress..." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Buchanann). Buchanan defended himself with this message to Congress..."I protested against this because it was destitute of any specification, because it referred to no particular act to enable the President to prepare for his defense...In their examinations the Committee violated the most sacred and honorable confidences existing among men. Private correspondence, which a truly honorable man would never even entertain a distant thought of divulging, was dragged to light...The distribution of the patronage of the Government is by far the most disagreeable duty of the President. Applicants are so numerous, and their applications are pressed with such eagerness by their friends both in and out of Congress, that the selection of one for any desirable office gives offence to many. Disappointed applicants, removed officers, and those who for any cause, real or imaginary, had become hostile to the Administration, presented themselves, or were invited by a summons to appear before the Committee. These are the most dangerous witnesses..." (http://www.nytimes.com/1860/06/27/news/the-president-s-second-protest-message-against-the-covode-committee.html?pagewanted=2). Buchanan finished his term in office, but when Lincoln was elected to office in 1860 seven states, beginning with South Carolina, left the union and formed the Confederate States of America before Lincoln was inaugurated. Ft. Sumter, in Charleston, South Carolina became the flashpoint and in April, 1861 the Civil War began.

September 16- Mexican Independence Day

"Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder."

John F. Kennedy, 35th President, 1961-1963- From Address Before the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. May 17, 1961-Upon further research, these remarks are directed to the United States neighbors to the north rather than to the south. Despite the differences in the formation of the relationships between the United States and Canada and Mexico, this statement can be extended to all the American continent. Kennedy was also involved with the Organization of American States, formed to promote regional solidarity and cooperation. He goes on to say, "... The warmth of your hospitality symbolizes more than merely the courtesy which may be accorded to an individual visitor. They symbolize the enduring qualities of amity and honor which have characterized our countries' relations for so many decades. Nearly forty years ago, a distinguished Prime Minister of this country (Canada) took the part of the United States at a disarmament conference. He said, "They may not be angels but they are at least our friends." I must say that I do not think that we probably demonstrated in that forty years that we are angels yet, but I hope we have demonstrated that we are at least friends. And I must say that I think in these days where hazard is our constant companion, that friends are a very good thing to have....What unites us is far greater than what divides us. The issues and irritants that inevitably affect all neighbors are small deed in comparison with the issues that we face together--above all the somber threat now posed to the whole neighborhood of this continent--in fact, to the whole community of nations. But our alliance is born, not of fear, but of hope. It is an alliance that advances what we are for, as well as opposes what we are against...So let us fix our attention, not on those matters that vex us as neighbors, but on the issues that face us as leaders. Let us look southward as part of the Hemisphere with whose fate we are both inextricably bound. Let us look eastward as part of the North Atlantic Community upon whose strength and will so many depend. Let us look westward to Japan, to the newly emerging lands of Asia and Africa and the Middle East, where lie the people upon whose fate and choice the struggle for freedom may ultimately depend. And let us look at the world in which we live and hope to go on living--(that) ours is the unity of equal and independent nations, co-tenants of the same continent, heirs of the same legacy, and fully sovereign associates in the same historic endeavor: to preserve freedom for ourselves and all who wish it. To that endeavor we must bring great material and human resources, the result of separate cultures and independent economies. And above all, that endeavor requires a free and full exchange of new and different ideas on all issues and all undertakings. For it is clear that no free nation can stand alone to meet the threat of those who make themselves our adversaries--that no free nation can retain any illusions about the nature of the threat--and that no free nation can remain indifferent to the steady erosion of freedom around the globe...At the conference table and in the minds of men, the Free World's cause is strengthened because it is just. But it is strengthened even more by the dedicated efforts of free men and free nations. As the great parliamentarian Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." And that in essence is why I am here today. This trip is more than a consultation--more than a good-will visit. It is an act of faith--faith in your country, in your leaders--faith in the capacity of two great neighbors to meet their common problems--and faith in the cause of freedom, in which we are so intimately associated. "John F. Kennedy: "Address Before the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.," May 17, 1961. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=8136."

September 15

"Don't write so that you can be understood, write so that you can't be misunderstood."

William Howard Taft, 27th President, 1909-1913, born this day in 1857
Attributed to Taft.- Taft was the only President to have also served as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, to a prominent family. Taft received his undergraduate from Yale University and was a member the debating society and the secret "Skull and Bones Society", founded by his father, Alonzo Taft. Taft proved to be an apt student and in 1878 he graduated second in his class of 121. A large man, Taft was also the university intramural wrestling champion. He graduated from law school in Cincinnati in 1880. In adulthood, Taft reached the weight of 351 pounds and may have started a trend in enlisting a doctor's care in going on diets in order to become more slim. In 1890, he was appointed United States Solicitor General by President Benjamin Harrison, who was also from Ohio. As his career progressed, President William McKinley, another President from Ohio, appointed Taft chairman of a commission to form a civilian government in the Philippines after it was acquired in the Spanish-American War. He served in Theodore Roosevelt's administration until 1908 and was elected President when Roosevelt decided not to run again. He served only one term until 1913 and was appointed Supreme Court Justice in 1920, which had been his ultimate goal throughout his career. Never fond of Presidential politics, when asked which job he preferred, he is quoted as having said, "I do not remember that I ever was President." Today's quote, "Don't write so that you can be understood, write so that you can't be misunderstood.", is an apt phrase for any lawyer. It has been attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), the famous Scottish writer of the same generation. It is, however, originally credited to the Greek Philosopher, Epictetus, a powerful speaker and sage who taught in Rome and was born around 55 A.D. in what is now modern day Turkey.

September 14

I remember when I first came to Washington. For the first six months you wonder how the hell you ever got here. For the next six months you wonder how the hell the rest of them ever got here.

Harry S. Truman, 33rd President, 1945-1953-attributed to Truman. Born in 1884, Truman first came to Washington in 1934 having been elected to the U.S. Senate from Independence, Missouri. He certainly did not arrive with any great fanfare or high expectations of ever becoming President. Missouri was not known as a spawning ground of Presidents as almost half of our Presidents were born in or were affiliated with four states- Ohio, New York, Virginia, and Massachusetts. Only one- Truman hailed from Missouri which was far from east coast or mid-west "civilization." Independence was seen as an outpost leading to the west. In the westward expansion of the 1800's steamboats were able to travel up the Missouri River as far west as Independence and from there people ventured overland on the Santa Fe Trail. Thus Truman did not have the political "advantage" of being raised in the east nor the mid-west, nor was he educated in those parts of the country. In fact, he was the last President to not have a college education at all. However, despite his lack of of a college degree, he was, in fact, very well read. He was an excellent student and a voracious reader of history and biographies. It is said he had read every book in the Independence Library by the time he graduated from high school in 1901. He applied to West Point Military Academy but was turned down due to his poor eyesight. When his family could not afford to send him to another college, he took jobs on the railroad, then as a bank teller, and eventually ran the family farm when his father passed away. He did join the National Guard and served in France when the United States entered World War I in 1917. There he rose to the rank of captain and was a successful and popular commander. Afterwards, he became involved in Kansas City and Missouri politics for several years before he was elected to the Senate in 1934. In 1940, he rose to prominence and made a name for himself as head of a senate committee to investigate the National Defense Program. In that capacity, he rooted out wasteful spending and corruption, possibly saving up to $15 billion in taxpayers' money. He was chosen to be Franklin Delano Roosevelt's running mate for his fourth term even as Roosevelt's health was deteriorating. Only 82 days after becoming Vice-President, Truman assumed the office of the Presidency when Roosevelt passed away on April 12, 1945, a month before World War II ended in Europe and six months before the conflict ended in the Pacific.

September 13

"Legislation can neither be wise nor just which seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and the injury of many and varied interests."

Andrew Johnson, 17th President, 1865-1869- From his Veto Message regarding the proposed Copper Bill, February 22, 1869.- Johnson, barely surviving an impeachment attempt by Congress in 1868, was ever at odds with the legislature. A former governor of Tennessee, Johnson had been advocated as a unifying Vice-Presidential candidate from the South for Lincoln's second term. Johnson did support the Constitution and favored keeping the union together, but wanted to keep the Constitution as written, still permitting slavery. Now, however as the leader of the entire country, such a position certainly would not gain him favor with the general population from the north. Furthermore, he saw himself as a man "of the people" and did not support the Southern land owning aristocracy, nor the northern industrialists. Set against the seething political turmoil of the time, Johnson did not not have much chance to be an effective leader. In part, here is the text of his veto: To the House of Representatives: The accompanying bill, entitled "An act regulating the duties on imported copper and copper ores," is for the following reasons, returned, without my approval. Its immediate effect will be to diminish the public receipts, for the object of the bill can not be accomplished without seriously affecting the importation of copper and copper ores, from which a considerable revenue is at present derived. While thus impairing the resources of the Government, it imposes an additional tax upon an already overburdened people, who should not be further impoverished that monopolies may be fostered and corporations enriched....The enactment of such a law is urged as necessary for the relief of certain mining interests upon Lake Superior, which, it is alleged, are in a greatly depressed condition, and can only be sustained by an enhancement of the price of copper. If this result should follow the passage of the bill, a tax for the exclusive benefit of a single class would be imposed upon the consumers of copper throughout the entire country....the legislative intervention proposed in the present instance will diminish, not increase, the public receipts...and by increasing their cost to expose them most unfairly to the effects of foreign competition. Legislation can neither be wise nor just which seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury of many and varied interests at least equally important and equally deserving the consideration of Congress. Not surprisingly, Johnson's veto was overridden and this copper tariff measure was passed by Congress. Two weeks later Ulysses S. Grant became the 18th President on March 4, 1869.

September 12

"As to the Presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it."

Martin Van Buren, 8th President, 1837-1841-Attributed to Van Buren. From Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren was elected after serving as Vice-President under irrascible, yet popular, Andrew Jackson. Van Buren and the country did not fare well during his one term in office. Only three months after his election, the country entered a five year depression called the Panic of 1837. He continued Jackson's financial policies of opposing a national bank and declaring land had to be purchased by hard currency, which led to "runs" on the banks, with thousands of banks and businesses failing and people losing their lands. Another controversial continuation of Jacksonian policy was the 1838 expulsion of the Cherokee nation from the southeast to Oklahoma in 1838 in what is called "The Trail of Tears". In 1839, kidnapped Africans went on trial and were declared not guilty for their rebellion against and overtaking of the crew of the slave trade ship, Amistad, now memorialized in the movie of the same name. Opposed to slavery, Van Buren blocked the annexation of Texas, because it would lead to a larger area of the country where slavery would be allowed. Van Buren was defeated by William Henry Harrison, nicknamed "Old Tippecanoe." After Van Buren's term, political upheaval continued as Harrison died after only one month in office and John Tyler became the first Vice-President to ascend to the office of the Presidency with much uncertainy regarding his actual role and status.

9/11

"I have seen the sea lashed into fury and tossed into spray, and its grandeur moves the soul of the dullest man, but I remember that it is not the billows, but the calm level of the sea from which all heights and depths are measured."

James A. Garfield, 20th President, 1881 His Speech Nominating Sherman for President, 1880 "Bear with me a moment. “Hear me for my cause,” and for a moment “be silent that you may hear.” Twenty-five years ago this Republic was bearing and wearing a triple chain of bondage. Long familiarity with traffic in the bodies and souls of men had paralyzed the consciences of a majority of our people; the narrowing and disintegrating doctrine of State sovereignty had shackled and weakened the noblest and most beneficent powers of the national government; and the grasping power of slavery was seizing upon the virgin territories of the West, and dragging them into the den of eternal bondage. At that crisis the Republican party was born. It drew its first inspiration from that fire of liberty which God has lighted in every human heart, and which all the powers of ignorance and tyranny can never wholly extinguish." In a time where the nominating conventions really did nominate Presidential candidates, the convention of 1880 was especially tumultuous. The Republican party was in the midst of a power struggle where party bosses wanted to renominate U.S. Grant after he had been out of office for four years. Other Republicans wanted to move on and reform the party and political system. Garfield stood and gave an eloquent, convention calming speech nominating John Sherman of Ohio. The balloting continued for two days. After dozens of attempts, the tide turned away from the original candidates and Garfield, himself, became the nominee, much to his chagrin. He was eventually elected President and was tragically assassinated only months after taking office.

September 10

"A government is like fire, a handy servant, but a dangeous master.

George Washington, 1st President, 1789-1797 This is a good, wise, and popular quote; however, its source and validity appear to be in dispute. The complete quote reads: Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action. According to Wikiquotes, 'it is attributed to "The First President of the United States" in "Liberty and Government" by W. M., in The Christian Science Journal, Vol. XX, No. 8 (November 1902) edited by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 465. No earlier or original source for this often quoted statement is cited, nor has such yet been found in research done for Wikiquote.' We may have to put this one in the same category as another legendary quote attributed to Washington, when as a child he was asked what happened to a fallen cherry tree. His reply: "I can not tell a lie; I did it with my little hatchet."

September 9

"Stand with anybody that stands RIGHT. Stand with him while he is right and PART with him when he goes wrong."

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, 1861-1865 Speech at Peoria, October 16, 1854 The build up to the Civil War and emancipation was long, emotional, and convoluted to say the least. Much like today's party evolutions, the Democratic Party was splitting into northern and southern factions and the Whig Party was giving way to the Republican Party. In this speech, given in reply to one given by Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln lays out a history of expansion of the United States in the context of The Declaration of Independence and what he perceived Thomas Jefferson's vision of Freedom was for America. He speaks of the Louisiana Purchase and the expansion into those states and territories, into California after the Gold Rush, and into Texas after the Mexican-American War which ended in 1848. Of course, the burning question was whether slavery should be allowed to expand further, much less exist any longer. "Some men, mostly whigs, who condemn the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, nevertheless hesitate to go for its restoration, lest they be thrown in company with the abolitionist. Will they allow me as an old whig to tell them good humoredly, that I think this is very silly? Stand with anybody that stands RIGHT. Stand with him while he is right and PART with him when he goes wrong. Stand WITH the abolitionist in restoring the Missouri Compromise; and stand AGAINST him when he attempts to repeal the fugitive slave law. In the latter case you stand with the southern disunionist. What of that? you are still right. In both cases you are right. In both cases you oppose [expose?] the dangerous extremes. In both you stand on middle ground and hold the ship level and steady. In both you are national and nothing less than national. This is good old whig ground. To desert such ground, because of any company, is to be less than a whig—less than a man—less than an American."

September 8

"The bud of victory is always in the truth."

Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President, 1889-1893 From a speech thirteen years after the end of the Civil War, on September 18, 1888 in Indianapolis, Harrison's home town. Harrison had been nominated as the Republican Presidential candidate on July fourth. As was customary of that time, candidates did travel to make speeches but also received and spoke to delegations who themselves travelled to visit and hear the candidates speak. After a speech from A.E. Willson, of Louisville, Harrison responded to the delegation of about one thousand Kentuckians. In part, he said: My Kentucky Friends There have been larger delegations assembled about this platform, but there has been none that has in a higher degree attracted my interest or touched my heart. [Applause.] It has been quite one thing to be a Republican in Illinois and quite another to be a Republican in Kentucky. [Applause] Not the victors only in a good fight deserve a crown ; those who fight well and are beaten and fight again, as you have done, deserve a crown, though victory never yet has perched on your banner. [A voice, "It will perch there, though, don't you forget it !''] Yes, it will come, for the bud of victory is always in the truth...In the late war for the Union, spite of all distraction and defection, Kentucky stood by the old flag. [Applause.] And now that the war is over and its bitter memory is forgotten, there is not one, I hope, in all your borders, who does not bless the outcome of that great struggle. [Applause.] Surely there are none in Kentucky who do not rejoice that the beautiful river is not a river of division. [Great applause.] And now what hinders that Kentucky shall step forward in the great industrial rivalry between the States? "Speeches of Benjamin Harrison", compiled by Charles Hedges, United States Book company, successors to John W. Lovell Company, New York , 1892, p 129.

September 7

"No man can act with rugged independence in serious crises, nor strike at great abuses, nor afford to make powerful and unscrupulous foes, if he is himself vulnerable in his private character."

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President, 1901-1909 from:,Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography, MacMillan, New York, 1913, Chapter III, Practical Politics paragraph 48 Traps were set for more than one of us, and if we had walked into these traps our public careers would have ended, at least so far as following them under the conditions which alone make it worth while to be in public life at all. A man can of course hold public office, and many a man does hold public office, and lead a public career of a sort, even if there are other men who possess secrets about him which he cannot afford to have divulged. But no man can lead a public career really worth leading, no man can act with rugged independence in serious crises, nor strike at great abuses, nor afford to make powerful and unscrupulous foes, if he is himself vulnerable in his private character. Nor will clean conduct by itself enable a man to render good service. I have always been fond of Josh Billings's remark that "it is much easier to be a harmless dove than a wise serpent." There are plenty of decent legislators, and plenty of able legislators; but the blamelessness and the fighting edge are not always combined. Both qualities are necessary for the man who is to wage active battle against the powers that prey. He must be clean of life, so that he can laugh when his public or his private record is searched; and yet being clean of life will not avail him if he is either foolish or timid.

September 6

My experience in government is that when things are non-controversial and beautifully coordinated, there is not much going on.

John F. Kennedy, 35th Presiedent, 1961-1963 The President's News Conference June 28, 1961 17.] Q. Mr. President, there's been some criticism of our handling of inter-American affairs- THE PRESIDENT. "Well, we have in the White House a number of people who have responsibilities in various areas... Secondly, we are particularly interested in Latin America. My experience in government is that when things are non-controversial, beautifully coordinated, and all the rest it may be that there isn't much going on. ... Now we haven't done so much in Latin America in the last decade. It has not been a matter of great priority. We are attempting to do something about it... The whole refinancing of the Brazil debt, which could have been a most serious crisis in that very vital country, was handled in cooperation between the Treasury, the White House, the State Department, the Export-Import Bank, Food for Peace and ICA. We've also given particular attention to the economic problems of Bolivia. So we are attempting to do something about Latin America and there's bound to be a ferment. If the ferment produces useful results then it will be worthwhile. But I must say I don't think--my experience is you can't get very much done if--when things are very quiet and beautifully organized, I think it's the time to be concerned, not when there is some feelings and interest and concern."...Other issues addressed in this conference were the partioning of West and East Berlin, economic competition with the Soviet Union and its leader, Kruschev, dealings with Cuba, and import/export ratios.

September 5

"Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor."

Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President, 1869-1877 Remarks at Birmingham England to the Midland International Labor Union on October 10, 1877. Grant was very much the popular Civil War hero around the world. His Presidency, however, was marked by scandal and he was seen as an ineffectual leader. Despite his political shortcomings, he did secure some rights for African and Native Americans. After his two terms in office were over, Grant and his family embarked on an around the world trip and they would be greeted by the national and local leaders. On most stops, the dignitaries would make their remarks and Grant would reply in kind. Birmingham, England is the second most populous city in England; London having the largest population. Birmingham was known as the "City of a thousand trades" and was a center of innovation as well as manufacturing. Hence, it would have been an appropriate site for Grant to visit while in England.

September 4

A decent and manly examination of the acts of government should be not only tolerated, but encouraged.

William Henry Harrison, 9th President, 1841 First and only Inaugural Address, Thursday, March 4, 1841 "Old Tippecanoe's" speech lasted one hour and forty five minutes and was delivered in a snowstorm. Harrison has the distinction of giving the longest inaugural speech and serving the shortest term as President. Shortly after his address, the sixty-eight year old President subsequently caught pneumonia and died one month later. This paragraph deals with "The Fourth Estate"- the Press. "There is no part of the means placed in the hands of the Executive which might be used with greater effect for unhallowed purposes than the control of the public press. The maxim which our ancestors derived from the mother country that "the freedom of the press is the great bulwark of civil and religious liberty" is one of the most precious legacies which they have left us. We have learned, too, from our own as well as the experience of other countries, that golden shackles, by whomsoever or by whatever pretense imposed, are as fatal to it as the iron bonds of despotism. The presses in the necessary employment of the Government should never be used "to clear the guilty or to varnish crime." A decent and manly examination of the acts of the Government should be not only tolerated, but encouraged."

September 3

It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes.

Andrew Jackson, 7th President, 1829-1837 Andrew Jackson's Veto of Legislation Chartering the Bank of the United States, 1832 A Bank of the United States is in many respects convenient for the government and useful to the people. Entertaining this opinion, and deeply impressed with the belief that some of the powers and privileges possessed by the existing bank are unauthorized by the constitution, subversive of the rights of the states, and dangerous to the liberties of the people, I felt it my duty, at an early period of my administration, to call the attention of Congress to the practicability of organizing an institution combining all its advantages, and obviating these objections. I sincerely regret that, in the act before me, I can perceive none of those modifications of the bank charter which are necessary, in my opinion, to make it compatible with justice, with sound policy, or with the constitution of our country...It will make the American people debtors to aliens, in nearly the whole amount due to this bank, and send across the Atlantic from two to five millions of specie every year to pay the bank dividends. It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of heaven, and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law. But when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages, artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer, and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society, the farmers, mechanics, and laborers, who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government. There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses... In 1832, just 43 years after Washington took office as our nation's first President, Jackson sees the moneyed and special interest groups taking control of the economics of the country. He exerted the right of the Presidential veto many times during his Presidency.

You got that right...

September 2 "No man will ever bring out of the Presidency the reputation which carried him into it."

Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President, 1801-1809 This quote was part of a letter written upon the election of John Adams as the new nation's second after the retirement of George Washington. "These are hard wages for the services of all the active and healthy years of one's life. I had retired after five and twenty years of constant occupation in public affairs and total abandonment of my own... I know well that no man will ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it. The honey moon would be as short in that case as in any other, and it's moments of extasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred... our Eastern friend (Adams)will be struggling with the storm which is gathering over us, perhaps be shipwrecked in it. This is certainly not a moment to covet the helm." - Thomas Jefferson to Edward Rutledge, Monticello, December 27, 1796(Rutledge, from South Carolina, was a fellow signer of The Declaration of Independence.) In 1796, Jefferson had been elected Vice-President, coming in second place to Adams in the electoral college balloting. Jefferson soon had his personal life and political reputation questioned as he moved himself into position to be elected President in place of Adams in 1801.