I was born under the reign of Truman. He’d delivered the A-Bomb to end the World War three years before I arrived. I was born in the beginning of the Cold War but also the bloom of baby boomers. There were electrical appliances, televisions, monster movies, automobiles and single-family homes called the suburbs.
Ike, the famous general who oversaw D-Day, followed ( for General Doug was too controversial when he wanted to start WWIII and was fired by the haberdasher to fade away) and started the highway system so all the cars could use cheap gasoline and travel through the states to promote tourism and easily move the military.
He was followed by JFK who seemed like a young good-looking speaker who convinced the republic as a Catholic he was better than a vice president who looked bad on black and white television.
My parents didn’t talk about politics and the local newspaper was concerned about liberal civil rights taking over Dixie and commies. None of my friends talked about politics so we just went merrily on our way until the president got his head blown off in Texas.
On the way back to Washington, the vice president, LBJ, got sworn in next to the bloodied widow. After a few days out of school watching the parade of a caisson carrying a flag draped box followed by a riderless horse to the constant thump, thump, thump drum beat, we moved onto the Beatles.
LBJ decided he didn’t want the problems of the Vietnam War (Truman had already gotten us into the Korean war to fight the commies, who were our allies in WWII, but had a more authoritarian agenda after their Bolshevik revolution and when dividing up the spoils of war, wanted a bigger piece of the pie) with Ike using the same goal of defeating the commies in Vietnam, which he handed to JFK, but he also had to worry about Cuba so he decided not to run for the next election. That was in 1968. That was my first voting experience.
I voted for Humphrey because I thought he could further the War on Poverty and Civil Rights agenda LBJ was pushing through congress; but he lost to Nixon who learned how to shave.
In 72, Nixon got reelected though I think my vote went to McGovern or John Hospers (Libertarian) received one electoral vote from a faithless elector in Virginia?
After tricky Dicky couldn’t find a way out and resigned, Jerry Ford pardoned him from his transgressions but will be remembered for his bad golf game, fumbling upstairs and getting shot at by Charlie Manson’s girlfriend. He lost the next election to a peanut farmer from Georgia.
Carter got wrapped up in an oil embargo while trying to find a peace process for Israel and Egypt, but the American Embassy in Iran was invaded with all personnel held hostage.
An actor came on the stage and was elected in 1980. Regan was a good speaker and greeted the hostages back from Iran. He tried to get rid of the commies in south America, but that didn’t work well either. His wife wanted a war on drugs, but elected officials don’t do well at fighting wars. By now I’d settled into a polling station of my ole elementary school two blocks away, though I may not have voted for the winner.
Ronnie got reelected in ‘84 but the democrats’ Mondale was a wuss (a problem that befalls them). Regan brought down the Berlin wall as the Soviet Union fell apart. Getting wounded in an assignation attempt just endeared him to the population as Ronnie lost his mind.
After his two terms, his oil baron vice president was elected over another weak democrat. Bush, the elder, continued the conservative agenda and enjoyed the Gulf War, but regrated not finishing off Hussain. He’d leave it for his son.
A strong democrat huckster from Tennessee came along and got the attention of America with a campaign of promise and Fleetwood Mac. Clinton showed the youth factor and was a good speaker and seemed to get along with everyone. He had enough energy to get reelected but ran into problems with an intern and lost all credibility.
At the turn of the century, HW’s son, George W was elected over Clinton’s vice president by hanging chads. Then 9/11.
As the country collected in horror of being attacked, the president had to become more than a cowboy to commander in chief. Invade other lands trying to wipe out the evil from ‘terrorist ideology’ that would convince someone to strap a bomb vest on and blow up whoever was around. Can we pay for it? Don’t worry about debt, we’ve got caves in mountains to bomb.
By 2008, the country was ready for a change. A black man from Hawaii (yes, that is a state) came along with the campaign of hope and America turned a page. A young man named Obama with a vice president Biden, who had worked congress the way LBJ did for Kennedy, was overwhelmingly elected over weak republicans. He tried to set up a universal health system but the congress wasn’t so quick to spend more money. After two terms, he turned the democratic party values to the wife of a former adultery president and it did not go well.
On the scene came a real estate mogul and another television actor with no political experience, but with a forceful threatening message won the hearts of the misguided and set about renovating the people’s house to his grandiose taste. For four years, the news was filled with Trump’s actions to the joy of some and the horror of others. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic happened and he didn’t know what to do. He assigned his vice president to inform the public of the plague, but he kept stepping in throwing politics and accusations before the well-being of the public. The daily reports with the charts and graphs and the log lady and Yoda, only wasted air time. “Wear a mask”. “Stand 6’ apart”. “Don’t worry we have plenty of ventilators”.
The next election in 2020 did not go so well for him, so he complained and people listened, to the point when his vice president with the fly on his head was to officiate the transfer of power, his MEGA band attacked and invaded the halls of Congress.
The next four years were Clinton’s vice president Joe (now rightly elected president after some ague) trying to repair foreign trade agreements. Inflation was high but there were more jobs and the stock market grew. In the background, the constant complaining by the former president kept the social media busy.
I’ve watch several of these inauguration procedures on black and white television. Many old white folk get bundled up (because it is cold outside in January on the Congress steps) and quietly wait for some old preacher or judge reach out a book (could be the holy scripture or the Sear’s cataloged) to take the oath and swear before all that are present and before whatever mystical religious spirit that following the words said through the ages that he (so far) will abide to the ancient constitution and the laws of the land and proceed to take the office of the leader of the free world with the purpose of providing safety for all the nation and a promise to further the prosperity of all people who live here.
In most of these procedures the previous president attends to give a hand shake and past the torch to the new administration. This transition passes the atomic codes and the keys to the White House.
Following in the swearing in to the oath of office, everyone sits back to enjoy a parade. Every state in the union is represented by a marching band or military unit (no tanks) but no floats or balloons like Macy’s. After all these proud Americans walk by, the ‘new’ president and his entourage of hanger-on’s and security personnel climb into armored limos to drive to the White House to the frozen cheers and flag waving watchers who have been waiting to see someone wave at them. It is free to stand on the sidewalk and wait in the cold.
There is a formal dance at the end of the day, but most television has moved onto the nightly roundup of sitcoms and commercials.
From what I remembered, the presidential transition was the promise of a new idealism and a hope for better days to come. The ‘new’ CEO of the United States of America has to settle down in the Ovel Office with a new staff of folks who will advise and provide current data to help make positive decisions. We will all stand when he walks in the room.
Yet this election has been so controversial and the citizens of this nation are so polarized fired by religious fervor and constant media productions of violence and death on screen. There is anticipation for the inauguration and what follows, but I have no control over the future.
As the podcasters speculate what tomorrow holds, I will settle back and watch the show and hope to live long enough for all of this mess to be over. One step at a time.
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