Election Day Reflections

In January 1949, I marched with the Brigade of Midshipmen in Truman’s inauguration. In 1961, I put together an evangelistic dinner for the Corps of Cadets from West Point and the Brigade of Midshipmen from the Naval Academy following Kennedy’s inaugural parade.

My history with presidents includes: 2 years under Calvin Coolidge, 4 years under Herbert Hoover, 12+ years with Franklin Roosevelt, almost 8 years with Harry Truman, 8 with Eisenhower, 2 with John F. Kennedy, 6 with Lyndon Johnson, 6 with Richard Nixon, 2 with Gerald Ford, 4 with Jimmy Carter, 8 with Ronald Reagan, 4 with George HW Bush, 8 with Bill Clinton, 8 with George W. Bush, 8 with Barak Obama, and 1 now with Donald Trump.

For many of my years, I looked at the President of the United States as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Each president swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

This year is not a presidential election, but here are the qualities I have looked for in presidents and politicians in the last forty years (not in order of importance): integrity, sexual morality, good economic policy, small government, states’ rights, socially conservative. I also look at their religion, family, and profanity. If I consider these at all, it is difficult to find a qualified man. I did not vote for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

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Roots by the River

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