Presidential Politics...

I have a question...

I am only 39 years old, and have only been politically aware for about 30 years or so, so my own personal perspective only goes back to the mid-seventies.

I vaguely remember the Watergate hearings, (they pre-empted the "Gilligan" re-runs that I liked to watch after school,) (I HATED politics back then...) so I remember some of the things that were said about President Nixon.

I remember seeing President Ford fall down every other week, and I remember how he was portrayed on the News.

I vividly remember the Carter Years, and at that early stage of my development, I was provided with an undeniable example of an appeasing, bed-wetting, hand wringing Liberal, and experienced first hand how quickly living conditions will crash when a Country embraces Liberalism, and how severe that crash will be.

Don't get me wrong. It wasn't all President Carter's fault. Whether you like the President or not, Policy is set in the House and Senate. It wasn't Carter's ideas that caused the crash, he didn't have any. He just couldn't lead, so everyone's confidence tanked, and he went along with whatever the Democrat controlled Legislature wanted.

Then there was Reagan.

I remember how he was revered by the Right (and still is), and roundly despised and ridiculed by the Left. I remember the short-lived sit-com featuring the ridiculously ugly "Spitting Image" puppets making fun of how stupid President Reagan was. I remember the outrage in the Media over the "Evil Empire" comment, and all of the talk about President Reagan's "disasterous Economic Policies".

But I also remember that those Policies created an Economic Boom almost equal to the one we are currently experiencing. He revamped the tax code (Tax Cuts for "The Rich",) and got Government out of the way of industry, and jobs magically appeared out of thin air. He inspired National Confidence and pride by portraying strength and firm belief in Ideals.

He made the commitment to end the Cold War by whatever means necessary.

And he did it.

But then we read George H.W. Bush's lips, and elected him. He was the "kinder, gentler" President. The "Compassionate Conservative."

He remembered the bashing that President Reagan took for eight years, and wanted people to like him, and not make fun of him that way. So he tried to compromise with the other side, and went back on his "no new taxes" promise, and his approval ratings dropped from the highest any President had ever had, to the lowest ever, in less than two years. EVERYBODY hated G.B. 41.

He let the U.N. dictate how America would prosecute a War, and subsequently left Saddam Hussein in power for someone else to deal with at a later date. (A policy which Bill Clinton adhered to as well.)

Clinton. "The First Black President". The first Co-President. (The first President who couldn't even tell his wife, "Leave me alone, I'm trying to work!") (Depending on what he was working on...)

Clinton was the recipient of the "Peace Dividend" brought on by the end of the Cold War, and was able to surf the Reagan Economic Wave all the way to the beach. Through slashing Military spending on things like body armour for the troops and up-armoured Hum-Vees, cutting troop numbers to dangerously low levels, and creative book-keeping, Clinton was able to create the perception that he and his policies generated a huge surplus in the National Treasury. (There NEVER was any surplus.) (But that's another post.)

Clinton was impeached over lying to a Grand Jury, and to the American People. (Not about the Sex. I don't blame him for that. Have you SEEN Hillary?)

Then along came G.B. 43, and stole the Florida Election. Somehow, even before he was selected President, he was able to control the Supreme Court, and cause them to stop Al Gore from assuming his rightful place in the White House.

This Evil Warmonger assumed power, and immediately began to transform our Country into Nazi Germany at a break-neck pace. He worked secretly with Al-Qeada and Osama Bin Laden to arrange the 9/11 attacks, so that he could then overthrow the benevolent, innocent Dictator, Saddam Hussein, who was minding his own business, not hurting anyone and was universally loved and admired.

"Dubya" manufactured and manipulated intelligence to fool the Democrats into supporting his unwarranted agression against Iraq for about two minutes, in order to give Iraq's oil to Shell and Exxon, just to make his buddies richer, and in order to give Haliburton, (which belongs to the EEE-VILL Dick Cheney,) the contracts to rebuild and repair the damage that he did there, without even offering the contracts to one of the myriad of other Corporations who wanted them, like... like... well, there is... what's the name of that other... company...

Anyway...

My Question is this.

Have HALF of the people in America always blindly hated the President, no matter who he was?
Or is this something new that has come about during my lifetime, or just before?

Has it always been this severe?

Does it HAVE to be?