Presidents Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan*

Presidents Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan*
In pursuit of the truth – www.cinopsbegone.com – Sunday, February 20, 2011

George
Washington:

“Presidential greatness is often defined by the magnitude and depth of events that challenged a president during his reign of office. The first of any organization, let alone a new nation, deserves a special place for all the challenges that creating something new entails. Historians have written volumes, attempting to categorize the degree of difficulties that a nation’s first president endured. It is an indisputable fact that had it not been for Washington, America might never have survived its infancy.

“Washington was the dominant military and political leader of his time. He led the colonists to victory over Great Britain in America’s Revolutionary War. When the founding fathers first met in Philadelphia to address the struggling colonies’ needs, there was a great diversity of opinions, embedded in geography, economics, religion and politics. For five long months George Washington not only held his colleagues together, but also kept them focused until the Constitution was written and approved.

“Therefore it is no exaggeration to call Washington the father of his country. It came as no surprise that he was the natural choice to serve as the country’s first president in 1789. As the nation’s only unanimous choice to serve as President of the United States, Washington developed the forms and rituals of government that have been usually used ever since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address…

Abraham Lincoln:

“Lincoln was truly destined to be a man for the ages and the country’s divided house gave him the opportunity to test his mettle against the consuming flames of rebellion and disunity. Both slavery and its derivative civil war defined Lincoln’s presidency, As early as the 1850s, at a time when most political rhetoric focused on the sanctity of the Constitution, Lincoln redirected the people attention to the Declaration of Independence, which he believed provided the brick and mortar for the foundation of American political values. The Declaration’s emphasis on freedom and equality for all … His Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 led to the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery, eventually making the Declaration more of a reality.

Lincoln believed in a strong central government that became even more necessary with the outbreak of war in 1861…Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is one of the most often quoted speeches in history. It was delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863…

Ronald Reagan:

“Many historians agree that Reagan practiced a conservatism that melded ideology with the constraints of politics… His fluent and optimistic tones quickly earned him the appellation as the Great Communicator. .. Reagan’s economic policies were founded on the twin pillars of supply-side economics and a classic laissez-faire philosophy… One of Reagan’s greatest accomplishments was his role in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War...

“On March 30, 1981, Reagan almost died at the hands of a crazed assassin, John Hinckley. He was certain God had spared his life for a larger purpose. His thoughts were reaffirmed in June when the Reagans dined with Mother Teresa, who told him, that she and her sisters had stayed up for two straight nights praying for you after you were shot. She believed that he had suffered the passion of the cross and had received grace…

George H. Kubeck, *Mindszenty Report, Feb. 2011, Vol. LIII- No. 2 – W.A. Borst, Ph.D. @ BBPROF@sbcglobal.com