Thursday, April 30, 2009

Herbert Hoover---America's Greatest President

With many economists saying that the financial crisis America faces now is the worst since the Great Depression, a lot of comparisons are being made between Barack Obama and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Especially now that each of their first 100 days in office have taken place, the initial push of New Deal legislation is being compared to the economic stimulus package that is now being put to work.

However, there is an alternative view of Obama’s nascent presidency now being bandied about by conservative commentators. While they readily compare Obama to FDR, they claim that the Great Depression was lengthened if not exacerbated by the increase of federal spending starting in 1933. This minority of columnists and broadcasters somehow contend that if we had just stayed the course with Herbert Hoover’s policies of allowing the financial market to recorrect itself without government intervention, then perhaps to his prediction, prosperity really would have been found just around the corner.

Although this is a clear rewrite of accepted history, in the spirit of bipartisanship, I’ve decided to try to embrace this theory and see how it may apply to other periods of American politics. When I continue to reflect on this radical yet surprisingly obvious understanding of history, I realize that many of the presidents we have come to admire have actually done this country great harm.

First take George Washington. A war hero? I think not. After fumbling through a battle victory at Yorktown, he allowed Lord Cornwallis to escape. By ending the war prematurely, he enabled the British military to leave America and regroup, giving the United Kingdom a continued colonial stranglehold of vast amounts of lands in the world for more than a century later. Because he didn’t “finish the job,” America would be forced to again to fight the British a generation later in the War of 1812, or what I like to call, Revolutionary War II.

A real American commander would have pursued the fleeing Red Coats across the Atlantic and established a military occupation of Great Britain, liberating the English from the tyranny of their monarch. After allowing American-trained British jurists to put King George III on trial for war crimes, control of the United Kingdom would have been handed over to the descendants of Oliver Cromwell until warring ethnic factions on the British Isles could be brought to peace and an educated populace could conduct elections for a freely chosen chief executive.

Yet because of Washington’s inaction, to this day Canada is forced to bear the likeness of Queen Elizabeth II on their currency and the island of Bermuda must still fly the Union Jack. The oppression is unjustifiable, and if freedom were allowed to reign, Canadian currency would feature Wayne Gretzky, and Bermudans would have a variety of summer clothes to wear. Who likes short shorts? Bermudans like short shorts.

Now let us look at Thomas Jefferson who is clearly to blame for America’s current housing market crisis. In 1803, he doubled the size of country by negotiating with Napoleon the Louisiana Purchase of 828,800 square miles for only $15 million. Jefferson may have thought this was a good deal, but wasn’t this all just risky real estate speculation? Perhaps Jefferson was only going to hold onto what is now some or all of 14 states for a few years and then try to sell it for a higher price to the British or Spaniards? Yet what he did was even more dangerous. He opened up the new lands for Americans to build homes, establish farms and ranches, and then try to flip for a profit. This model gave Americans the false belief that real estate would always rise in value, and now the housing bubble that began at the beginning of the 19th century finally burst.

Lastly, let’s look at Theodore Roosevelt who affixed his name to the Meat Inspection Act of 1906, actually putting the federal government in the position of being able to regulate what we eat. This overreaching bill put federal bureaucrats in charge of the quality of the steaks and hot dogs that we eat. Why should some desk jockey in Washington decide the quality of pork roll on the Jersey Shore? This kind of government regulation is strangling the Mom and Pop stores out of business. At the same time, he establishes the first national park. Can you imagine how much cheaper gas would be in America now if we could have explored Yellowstone for oil?

We can’t change history, but we can change how we feel about it. Maybe we should rethink the memorials in Washington. Let’s take Lincoln off his marble chair and replace him with a real American leader, Millard Fillmore. Why should a statue of Thomas Jefferson grace the national mall when a statue of Warren G. Harding would be much more fitting.

Let’s salute the real leaders of America, the leaders who were smart enough to do nothing


Fred Williams said...

Cmon Joey, EVERYONE knows that JFK was the greatest President, right?

JFK allowed the building of the Kinzua Dam which FORCED the RELOCATION of the Native Americans of the Seneca Nation. Kennedy made a campaign promise NOT to break the 1794 treaty but in the end he screwed those poor people over. Please see for more info.

Kennedy backed a coup to overthrew Iraqi leader General Abdel Karim Kassem in favor of the Abdul Salam Arif of the Baath party. Hmmm the Baath party... where have I heard of them before?

Kennedy also backed the 1963 coup against president Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes of Guatamala; helping to kick off one of the longest civil wars any country has ever had to deal with. Thanks JFK.

And need I remind you of Kennedy's involvement in South Vietnam and supporting the coup against Diem? A quote from the infamous Pentagon Papers states "In making the choice to do nothing to prevent the coup and to tacitly support it, the U.S. inadvertently deepened its involvement." Need I also remind you of the paper's reference where Kennedy first authorized the use of napalm? Boy JFK sure is a great guy.

And who can forget JFK's failed attempt to overthrow Cuba; leaving those Cubans exiles to die on the beach or face the inhuman punishment by Micheal Moore's favorite "health care provider" Fidel Castro. Those poor exiled Cubans didn't realize that when Kennedy said, "pay any price, bear any burden" he really talking about them.

And THIS is the man whose Presidency Democrats call "Camelot" and who you built a shrine and eternal flame for?!?! So forgive me Joey... Forgive me if I don't drink the koolaid you are serving. You run around insulting our intelligence by saying how great Franklin "Japanese Internment" Roosevelt was ... or should I call him Franklin "I refuse the WJC's request to bomb the Auscwitz cremetoria" Roosevelt?

Even Stalin would blush with embarrassment at the historical revisionism the Democrats have spoon-fed us with. All you need is a video camera and you will be NJ's answer to Michael Moore.

And by the way.... it was economists at UCLA, that "bastion of conservatives/neo-con" thought, that proved Roosevelt's New Deal did indeed cause the depression to last longer than it should have. Please read

Linda said...

Hey, Fred, I thought, per the brilliant conservative thinker Michelle Malkin, that the Japanese internment camps were a good thing and we should just get over it. Now they are bad? Please, make up your minds.

Hmmm, JFK made stupid mistakes. So did every president. No one deserves a pedestal. Let me see you list the CRIMES of the Bush Administration.

That would be great.

Fred Williams said...

First, Michelle Malkin is an idiot along with Ann Coulter, Keith Olbermann, and every other mind numb "party first" robot that spews obnoxious hate filled rhetoric.

Now Linda said, "JFK made stupid mistakes."

Stupid mistakes you say? He purposely left Cubans to die at the Bay of Pigs and that was just a mistake to you?? You are either a candiate for Orwell's Ministry of Truth or you are pathetically racist towards Cubans. You'd make a great propagandist; Goebbels would be impressed.

Oh and I will name a crime that racist Bush has made... he gave $15 billion to fight AIDS in Africa. Even Bono was shocked (just in case you do happen to read the TIME article on the subject of Bush and Bono is rather enlightening).

Well Linda, my first impression of you is that you are in the category I mentioned above. A good old fashion "Orwelian double-thinker".

Guess you and Joey will be dragging me down to room 101.

Fred Williams said...

Hey Linda,

Read this:

"The struggle to defeat the ultra-right and turn our country on a positive path will not end with Obama’s election. But that step will shift the ground for successful struggles going forward.

One thing is clear. None of the people’s struggles — from peace to universal health care to an economy that puts Main Street before Wall Street — will advance if McCain wins in November.

Let’s keep our eyes on the prize."
Wonder what Democrat said this? This came right from the CPUSA (Communist Party of the USA) web site at

Wow... and to think Kennedy made all those "mistakes" to stop Communism and for what? Not only did they take over Vietnam it seems they took over the Democrat party as well.

I am confused... I thought the Democrats were only controlled by Socialists such as the PES. Maybe they finally made the peace to gang up on the filthy "bourgeois".

Anonymous said...

History repeats itself it seems. Gov Patterson of New York is trying to break the exact same treaty with the Seneca's by imposing a tax on them.

Funny... why doesn't Joey and Linda complain about how Patterson is treating the Seneca's?

Oh I know why... because that doesn't advance their agenda. If Patterson has an R after his name Joey would probably have made a comment about it.

But it is OK for a Democrat to break 200 year old treaties.

Just another 'little mistake'.

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