How come GOP ex-Presidents SHRINK and Democrats GROW?
OK, there is no rule that says an Ex-President is required to remain active as a statesman in service to his country. But the pattern is more than coincidental. Let's look at the last 50 years.
[font color = "darkred"]NIXON[/font] - Left office a crook. Lived a good while after that but never really made much of an effort to rehabilitate his image. Never contributed anything to society after leaving office.
[font color = "darkred"]FORD[/font] - Lived for 20 years after leaving office. Nobody ever hear a peep from him.
[font color = "darkred"]REAGAN[/font] - Had dementia his last 6 years in office, so he gets a pass.
[font color = "darkred"]BUSH I[/font] - Lost his second term. Has rarely been seen. Seems mostly a bitter old man.
[font color = "darkred"]BUSH II[/font] - Left the country in shambles with historically low popularity and has done absolutely nothing constructive since then. Hangs out in the Cayman Islands with billionaires.
[font color = "blue"]CARTER[/font] - Lost second term, not well liked when leaving office. For 30 years has remained highly active on the world scene, always a statesman, doing everything from Habitat for Humanity to election monitoring in new democracies (we need him to check out our own elections.) Steadily has grown in popularity and is now beloved by the majority.
[font color = "blue"]CLINTON[/font] - Faced charges of impeachment, yet he left the country with a booming economy, a budget surplus, and relative world peace. He was highly popular when leaving offices and has continued to grow from there, remaining extremely active with his Global Initiative and many other efforts.
This is not a coincidence, folks. My theory is that the modern Republican Party truly is an operation run by the rich and powerful for the benefit of the rich and powerful. They don't want statesmen. They really don't even want leaders. They want henchmen to do their bidding. And when their time is up, they are assured of a comfy retirement way out of public view.
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Words cannot express what Bill and Hillary have done for our country. I have not always been a big fan of either Bill or Hillary. But dammit, these are two great Americans. Both of them could have sulked after Obama beat Hillary in 2008. But they did not. Instead Hillary has served as one of our best Secretaries of State ever. She has performed under great pressure in a turbulent world, always with grace and dignity, always making America a country we can be proud of and other nations can look up to. And what Bill did in this campaign is truly extraordinary. Obama might have won without Bill's help -- Maybe. But there is no doubt that Bill was the true X factor that turned this into an historic election -- a strong repudiation of the far right agenda the Republicans have been pushing. In this sense, Bill is helping finish some unfinished business from his term.
A fond hope of mine is to see all three of our great living Ex-Presidents (Carter, Clinton, and Obama) standing hand-to-hand in 2016 when we inaugurate the next great statesman to lead this country.
Jimmy Carter will be 92.
Godspeed.
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