Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/06/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I must admit, I'm always fascinated by the benchmark that "Americans" set for defining how good their presidents are or were. It seems to be only based on social/political/economic philosophy instead of reality. ...and even then it seems to be selective. "Outsiders" (even when you have Republican relatives and Democratic colleagues) certainly scratch their heads when they hear American's talk about how great and wonderful this or that president was ...or wasn't when hard evidence to the contrary is available. Especially when it comes to the US economy. Social issues tend to be a little more subjective. In my lifetime and as a journalist who either covered US politics directly or indirectly (and using Leica's !) by chasing the results of US foreign policy, I have come to believe that the USA was a much better place (economically and internationally) under Carter and Clinton yet I often get spit on or laughed out of the room when I dare speak this observation. ...and by most western European and Canadian standards these "liberal" Democratic presidents are still very conservative politicians. To "us" the USA is certainly a place of contradictions and extremes while most other western democracies have discovered that the middle ground and centrist policy makes for a more stable and progressive society. I guess you have to an insider to understand the nuance. It's really funny to be talking to my uncle and cousins (very Republican) one day and then get email from my more social minded friends and colleague in Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, San Francisco, Vermont and wonder if these people live in the same country. What gives? ...for the record, I was covering Nicaragua and El Salvador in 1984-86 (and thus US politics). I saw no good come out of the Reagan years. Greg Locke St. John's, Newfoundland www.greglocke.com ----JUST RELEASED------- NEWFOUNDLAND ...journey into a lost nation by Greg Locke and Michael Crummey McClelland and Stewart ISBN # 0-7710-6142-0