Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Good ol' Harry Truman

Harry Truman once said, "I had two choices, playing piano in a whore house or being a politician. There is very little difference." This man made tough decisions when he was President, a job he did not seek, and felt that the roof, sky, and moon had fallen on him when FDR died and he became President. I wish there were more like him today. I liked his honesty, his pleasure in playing poker (Foxy's dad was coerced into playing poker with him one night), and his Hawaiian shirts he liked to wear. He took a daily walk and walked so fast that the newsmen of the day could hardly keep up with him. Best of all, when his responsibility was over, he and Bess got in their car and drove themselves home to Independence, Missouri. What modern day person in that office behaves this way? Maybe George W. Bush comes close, since neither he nor Laura seek to remain in the limelight but continue doing things they believe in, like greeting returning service men and women coming home from Iraq. No fanfare there, just caring people, glad to see them back home safely.

There is an election that will occur this fall and a chance for all voters to vote their beliefs and send a message to the career politicians in Washington. If it were left to me, there would be term limits, and we would take professional out of their titles, only letting citizens do the country's work and retire quietly and gracefully with no entitlements like lifetime benefits.

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