Happy President's Day

Fire of Liberty

Today we celebrate our past President's and their outright devotion to the "shining city on the hill" known as the United States. While we have had 42 Presidents (Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms so George W. Bush is technically the 42nd President- darn semantics). Anyway I'd like to devote a bit of my post to several Presidents who have had a significant influence on the US and myself.

First of all, I have to give my most heartfelt adjulation to the head hancho George Washington. Aside from being the best general of this nation and the First President, Washington also brought a sense of strength and stability to a young and emerging nation. While lesser men might have opted to rule this nation as a king, Washington had the foresight and knowledge to refuse such an offer. Through his reading of history, political commentaries, and plays like Cato as well as his manning of the Revolutionary Army, Washington knew full well the dangers of one individual accumulating too much power thus he refused the honor. His love of the republic was so profound that he was cautious of his actions and continued the concept of limited government thus setting precedents for future leaders to follow. Well most of our leaders seem to have forget this concept, but I'll abstain from naming names because it's President's Day. Anyway, a big huzzah to the father of our nation.

The second president I'd like to give a cheer to is Abraham Lincoln. I know that Lincoln and Washington are general fare for President's day but the "rail-splitter of Illinois" deserves the same adjulation as Washington. Come to think of it, Lincoln could also be considered a father of this nation. Stay with me here, I'm about to deposit some of my "down South" reasoning to the mix. Think about Lincoln and the problems that he endured and eventually resolved during the Civil War. One could think of these warring factions as two brothers fighting with each other in a giant house known as the United States. While the brothers started off just picking on one another they continually progressed further and further down the path of action/re-action until they came to barbs with each other forcing dad, in this case Lincoln, to step in and end the fighting. Through the mobilization of the Union forces and the eventual hiring of competent commanders, (Grant & Sherman) Lincoln stepped up and nipped the family feud in the bud thus bringing this nation back together. Therefore, I'd have to say that Lincoln was a de-facto father of this nation. He showed his strength as a leader/statesmen when he took a stand to re-emerge this nation and push it towards greatness. Oh, and he freed a lot of people from bondage. While he would pay the ultimate sacrifice for his actions at the hand of John Wilkes Boothe, President Lincoln demonstrated how much he loved this great republic thus earning our overwhelming adjulation. So, Thank You Mr. Lincoln!!!

Thirdly, I would like to give a hand to President Calvin Coolidge. As a conservative, I find "Silent Cal" as the true embodiment of American Conservatism. Unlike other sons of Vermont, Coolidge actually believes in small government, tax cuts and a hand a great Protestant work ethic. Lets begin with his belief in small government. As with Washington and past presidents, Coolidge was well aware of the problems that a large and lumbering government would have on the nation and its people. Since he was a strong believer in the constitution that assigned limited powers to the federal government while reserving the rest for the states(read the constitution), Coolidge reasoned that the less intrusive the federal government was the better off the nation was. The man might have been named "Silent Cal" but when he spoke people listened. Take his ideas on using the intrusive federal government to solve the nations problem. Here's a few gems I've grown to love:

"If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you."

or

"Four-fifths of all our troubles would disappear, if we would only sit down and keep still."

Awesome, if I'd said so myself. As for tax cuts, President Coolidge believed in the idea that people worked harder and acquire wealth when they are able to take more of their money home and give less to government. President Coolidge would captain this nation through extensive tax-cuts that reduced the top rate from 73% in 1921 to 25% in 1925. This enormous tax-cut would open up the US economy to a massive growth spurt and created an enormous boost to the federal treasury thus laying the groundwork of modern day supply-side economics promoted by Art Laffer. His tax policy could easily be described in his famous quote: "Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery." Coolidge has become the true embodiment of what our leaders should aspire to become.

As for the Protestant work ethic, I'd suggest the late Robert Sobel's excellent book Coolidge due to my own time constraints. While Coolidge ranks low in most historian lists, I'd say he's a good President. So go silent Cal.

Lastly, my most favorite President is Ronald Wilson Reagan. Why do I like this man, lets me say several words. He defeated the USSR without firing a shot, restored America's confidence by improving our military and creating a situation that was suitable for the growth of our economy. He's so awesome that I'm just lost for words (He would probably call for me to keep him off such a great list). My best advice is for us to keep on keeping on for "the Gipper".

Anyway, raise a glass or two to the men who have served our nation to their utmost ability. Make mine an American brew.

Here's my honorable mention list: Madison, Jackson, Polk, Grant, Hayes, McKinley, TR, FDR (War leader not domestic), Truman, Kennedy and George W. Bush.