The Most Important Election...Again

American Thinker ^ | August 19, 2016 | Bruce Walker

[Kaslin]

Every presidential election in the last fifty years has been called, in the heat of the campaign, the "Most Important Election of Our Lifetime," or something like that. We live so much in the ephemeral moment, the endless cascade of "important news," which is neither important nor news, that it is easy for us to believe that this election really, really matters.

Who honestly can say that if Romney or McCain beat Obama or that if Kerry or Gore beat Bush or that if Dole beat Clinton or Ford beat Carter or Humphrey beat Nixon, that our world – especially the messes in our world – would be very different from how they are today? JFK, had he not been killed, would have likely lost in 1964 and would today be as inconsequential as Herbert Hoover in our view of American history.

The vast majority of presidential elections have been modestly important but never really important, except for Reagan in 1980 and, to a lesser extent, Reagan's 1984 re-election. The next elections that matter were Lincoln's election and reelection in 1860 and 1864, although the legacy of Lincoln, though important, is also mixed (especially the usurpation of supreme power by Washington).

FDR did dreadful things…but Hoover planned to do many of those dreadful things himself in a second term, and Hoover had begun many of the long reaches of federal executive power as secretary of commerce and then as president. Both men were captives of their time, when all the smart people were talking about the need for planning and intervention and increasing federalizing programs.

[The Truth Will Make You Free]

Watched a PBS documentary on George H. W. Bush last night. His special talents at the international level led to the peaceful dismantling of the Soviet Union, German reunification, and getting Iraq out of Kuwait. He also resolved the S & L crisis. His budget and tax increase led to 60% of the economic growth during Clinton's years, but was political suicide going back on his "no more taxes" promise. He was an effective President.

McCain and Romeny were leftist Republicans. They would have done some of damage of Obama, and probably little good. So if Obama is -100%, we could say they'd be -33%. In this election we have ultra leftist Clinton at -100% and rightest Trump at +75%. So this election has the most difference between candidates and therefore is more important. McCain and Romney were both horrible candidate, being leftist Republicans.