The Weekly Standard’s William Kristol harkened back to the following in the May 12, 2014 issue, referring to the current dearth of presidential leadership and the need to rally the troops, even if it means sounding the alarm. Of course Mr. Kristol is talking about the need for Republicans to be more aggressive as they approach the mid-term elections and then 2016, but as I’ve been writing in my “Week in Review” columns for years, it’s about the failure of leadership in the White House to rally America as President Obama falls back on the idea that the nation is “tired of war.” We’re fatigued. Heck, we were never asked to sacrifice one bit, going back to President George W. Bush. It’s a joke to say we are fatigued. Over what? It’s a small minority that is bearing the pain.
Ronald Reagan, in accepting the Republican presidential nomination in 1980:
Never before in our history have Americans been called upon to face three grave threats to our very existence, any one of which could destroy us. We face a disintegrating economy, a weakened defense, and an energy policy based on the sharing of scarcity.
The major issue of this campaign is the direct political, personal, and moral responsibility of Democratic Party leadership – in the White House and in Congress – for this unprecedented calamity which has befallen us. They tell us they have done the most that humanly could be done. They say that the United States has had its day in the sun; that our nation has passed its zenith. They expect you to tell your children that the American people no longer have the will to cope with their problems; that the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities.
My fellow citizens, I utterly reject that view. The American people, the most generous on earth, who created the highest standard of living, are not going to accept the notion that we can only make a better world for others by moving backwards ourselves. Those who believe we can have no business leading the nation.
I will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership that drifts from one crisis to the next, eroding our national will and purpose. We have come together here because the American people deserve better from those to whom they entrust our nation’s highest offices, and we stand united in our resolve to do something about it.
Hot Spots will return in a few weeks.
Brian Trumbore
