Reading Jim Ross Lightfoot性视界传媒檚 recent column on the Forum page (March 29) gave me pause when he waxed about how 性视界传媒渢he sky has darkened性视界传媒 over America and some people are 性视界传媒渟cared性视界传媒 for the future.
How can this be true coming from a former congressman who served in the shadow of Ronald Reagan性视界传媒檚 性视界传媒渟unny morning in America?性视界传媒
Yes, there are many things to worry about 性视界传媒 getting a good education, finding useful employment, raising a healthy family and leading a productive life offer a lot of challenges, especially for those climbing from the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.
But this is America, where opportunity still abounds. Just look at the four Democratic presidents still alive or serving in office starting with Jimmy Carter, now in hospice at age 99 after a remarkable post-presidency.
Carter was the son of a Georgia peanut farmer who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at the end of WWII. He served as governor of Georgia before making an improbable run for the White House in 1976. Although heavily criticized for the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, even his critics agreed that he was a devout family man who won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to bring about the first peace accord in the Middle East.
Bill Clinton has an equally improbable story. His father died while his mother was pregnant with him so he grew up as a stepson in Arkansas after his mother remarried. Smart and ambitious, he graduated from Yale Law School and started an early career in politics. He was elected several terms as governor and won the presidency in 1992 when Ross Perot became a spoiler in George H.W. Bush性视界传媒檚 bid for re-election.
Clinton was hardly a good family man. He was a womanizer, and his affair with a White House intern led to his impeachment. He is best remembered for presiding over a major economic expansion in the 1990s and driving down the budget deficit. In fact, the last budget he submitted had a $236 billion surplus that was quickly consumed by George W. Bush性视界传媒檚 tax cut that favored the wealthy.
Barack Obama has an incredible story unmatched in American politics. The son of a Kenyan immigrant and American mother, Obama was equally smart and ambitious, graduating at the top of his class at Harvard Law School. He started as a community organizer in Chicago and won election first to the Illinois state senate and then the U.S. Senate.
His campaign for the presidency in 2008 energized millions of new voters and even today, he could easily win another term if the Constitution allowed.
His signature achievement was passage of a national healthcare plan that has enrolled nearly 25 million people, mostly Americans without insurance. Republicans have bitterly opposed this law, and even this year Donald Trump continues the call to repeal and replace Obamacare. Trouble is, the GOP has never had a realistic replacement plan.
President Joe Biden is the son of a working-class family from Scranton, Penn. He also is a law school graduate and served more than 30 years in the U.S. Senate before becoming Obama性视界传媒檚 vice president. His early life was marred by tragedy when his wife and daughter were killed in an accident, leaving him with two sons to raise.
He remarried many years ago to an accomplished educator and has a son and daughter as part of a large extended family. Unfortunately, his son Beau, a captain in the National Guard who served in the Middle East, died of cancer while he was vice president.
Should I contrast the life stories of these chief executives with Trump, who was born into a very wealthy family? Look also at his two oldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, whose main goal in life seems to be enriching themselves and shooting big game trophies. No public service here.
Just one question for Jim and all those Christian conservatives: Will you hold your nose and vote for Trump who poses an even darker future for America? For salacious details, read the news about Trump性视界传媒檚 trial in New York for illegally paying hush money to a porn star from his business account.
Correction: I made a typographical error in my last column. The election listed for 2016 was erroneously listed as 2026
