Are You Kidding Me?

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich admitted in front of a conservative Christian group today that he was having an affair at the same time he was leading the charge for Bill Clinton to be impeached. When I read that, I asked myself, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Gingrich did not call his actions hypocritical, as he did make a valid point that Clinton perjured himself in front of a federal judge. The thing is though, Newt, that the whole impeachment thing and independent counsel Ken Starr were not looking into Clinton’s illegitimate comments in front of the judge, but instead were running a witch hunt comparable to the Salem Witch Trials. Newt and the gang were out to crucify Clinton for anything and when they couldn’t succeed on an actual legal premise, they played the moral card.

Newt, who fancies himself a potential presidential candidate in 2008 (I ask myself again, ‘Are you kidding me?’) has campaigned in the past on a generic GOP platform of family values and morals, evidently something he forgot that he lacks (he forgot to look in the mirror). He has been divorced twice, with his most recent divorce in 2000. Newt now resides with his third wife, a former congressional aid who is 20 years his junior (robbing the cradle) and the one whom he had been having the affair with. One can sense that I have a lot of pent up hatred towards Newt Gingrich and for good reason. Like a lot of his GOP friends (Rush Limbaugh- OXYCONTIN and Bill O’Reilly- BEATOFF) who tout the family values and morals line, Newt is what I term a hypocrite.

This is a man that even Bill Clinton despises and Bill Clinton does not despise many. Say what you want about Bill, but I did not see Newt’s approval rating through the roof when he resigned from Congress (his approval rating as speaker was at 28% and he resigned for violations of ethics and hypocrisy rules). I am firmly aware that humans are not perfect, trust me. But when you’re a politician and you attempted to crucify a man for his moral values and you committed the same act, I believe it becomes necessary for Newt to cease to chatter, much less run for president. If Newt does indeed run for president, there is a good chance he will receive a taste of his own medicine, either from the Democrats or the media, as I am sure that he has a few more infidelities somewhere in the closet. Newt, your 15 minutes has been up for a few years now; drop the politician act, it’s not your thing.

President for a Day?

What would you do if you were president of the United States for a day? Maybe drop some bombs on an ex-girlfriend’s house? The possibilities could be endless with the amount of power that POTUS wields. Ever heard of David Rice Atchison? Not too many Americans have; I’ll admit that I had never heard of the man up until tonight. Atchison’s story is worth telling though, as his chronicle has become a renowned urban legend over the past century. The urban legend states that Atchison was president for exactly one day, March 4, 1849, which would have made him the 12th president instead of Zachary Taylor.

The legend states that Zachary Taylor was set to be inaugurated the 12th president on that very day, March 4, 1849. But the trouble was that Taylor refused to be inaugurated because it was a Sunday, the Sabbath, so the inauguration was moved up a day to March 5, 1849. The trouble with moving up the “big day” was that the 11th president, James K. Polk’s term expired on March 4th. Essentially then it left a 24 hour period in which the U.S. lacked an elected president. What about the vice-president you ask? George Dallas, Polk’s VP had resigned as president of the Senate on March 2nd, which along with the end of Polk’s term, ended his constitutional right to the presidency.

So with the president and vice-president’s legal terms ending on March 4th and Taylor refusing to be sworn in until the next day, someone technically had to be in charge of the executive branch. At the time the line of succession was different. Unlike today, if the president cannot perform his duties and there is no VP, the speaker of the House is next in line for the presidency. But in 1849, the president pro tempore of the Senate was next in line and guess whom it was? That’s right, it was David Rice Atchison. But again, there is more controversy. He was the president pro tempore for the 29th Congress, but Congress had already let out for the session.

But he was elected president pro tempore for the 30th Congress, but he had not been sworn in yet as of March 5, 1849. When asked what he did on that fabled day, Atchison, being the hardworking politician he was had a long night closing out the 29th Congressional session; so he slept all day. But sadly this story is not “that” true. Legally he was not president for a day, but he was president for about 7 minutes. Before Taylor was sworn in, Atchison was sworn in as president pro tempore; so he technically had power for a few minutes. If that happened today, I would wager that the media would collectively have a heart attack and World War III would break out.

A Gap in the System

On Monday witnesses testified of the abysmal conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital, as well as the thick bureaucratic red tape that delayed the recovery of countless soldiers wounded in battle before a congressional panel. News of the horrid conditions in building 18, a building where recovering soldiers and their families reside came to the attention of the media and since then the outcry has been loud and to the point. So much to the point that the army’s top civilian, Francis J. Harvey, Secretary of the Army resigned this past Friday. Defense Secretary Robert Yates had already fired the Walter Reed’s commander, Major General George Weightman before Friday, but the damage has already been done to the Army’s reputation for medical care.

More fallout may occur due to the scandal, as Lt. General Kevin Kiley, the Army Surgeon General seemed to be testifying for his job on Monday. He essentially admitted that the Army dropped the ball, but in so many words as not to make it appear that things were as bad as the media would lead us to believe. Besides the conditions of the hospital, witnesses also testified to the fact that extreme gaps exist in the system. One witness testified that it took months for a vital test result to come back, which typically only takes a few days. Others testified that the wait for services and support took months, sometimes appearing as if the Army did not know that these people existed. Lt. General Kiley acknowledged that gaps existed and that they would be fixed.

It appears as if the Army hasn’t exactly been prepared for the sharp influx of severely wounded troops to enter their facilities. In turn this has led to a sharp decline in the quality of care that some of our wounded soldiers are getting, which is inexcusable. I may disagree with the war, but I do not disagree with the troops. The troops deserve the best care available, no matter what the situation may be. A Congressman asked Lt. General Kiley is he had the appropriate funding in order to ensure that this would never happen again. Kiley responded yes, but the Congressman reiterated that Congress is fully behind supporting the medical care of troops, damn the costs. If Congress is behind the funding of the medical system and the funds are there, one must ask, what in the hell went wrong?