1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 37

  On this date in 1977 history, a former actor and governor of California gave a speech in  front of the CPAC- the Conservative Political Action Conference. The man in question was Ronald Reagan. In another 4 years, Reagan would become our 40th President, defeating Jimmy Carter who had just been sworn in a few days prior. But it's at this speech that political commentators and historians as the turning point in which the Republican party became the party of Reagan conservatism. 
   

Reagan, greeting the crowd at CPAC,
February 6, 1977.

    The point of today's article isn't to delve into Reagan's politics or even the subject matter of the speech. Nor am I trying to make parallels between Reagan's being an outsider to the Republican Party in 1977 with that of Donald Trump. No, the point of A Madman Turns 40 is to reflect on things from my birth year and how they impacted my life. Well, Ronald Reagan was a big part of my life as a child.

    My mother loved Reagan and she actually worked on his re-election campaign. I did too. At age 7, I remember stuffing envelopes and working at the Republican headquarters in Raleigh, NC. Why I was even taken to election rallies, voter registration drives, and a victory party at the Raleigh Hilton on election night. 

   Apparently, my mother also wanted me to experience the Reagan White House, because in 1988, my mom cashed in some political favors and got VIP tickets to tour the President's House. We never got to meet Reagan, but we got to go to extra rooms to nobody normally gets to tour, including the Lincoln Bedroom and at tour's end, we each got a small bag of Red, White, and Blue jelly beans that were President Reagan's favorite. 

    I guess my parents really wanted me involved in the political process. 

    I'm not entirely sure about that, but I have no doubt that things like the events of the 1984 election inspired me to become a history major and teacher. Though I am a chef instructor, I still love history and it plays a very large part in my lectures. You can't talk about food culture without learning the historical impacts that craft them.

JFK- another Presidential favorite of mine.

   By the way, in case you are wondering, my 5 favorite President's of the United States are-
1. Ronald Reagan
2. John Kennedy
3. Harry Truman
4. Teddy Roosevelt
5. James Garfield

   Those first 4 Presidents it's not hard to see what I like them but why Garfield? Well, fun fact- if the Final Jeopardy category is about US Presidents, over 70% of the time, the answer is James Garfield. Don't know why, but it's true!

James Garfield, Republican, President, Final Jeopardy Answer.

   Well, until tomorrow- Good Night and May God Bless America!
    

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 20

President Carter's official Presidential Portrait,
National Gallery.

         40 years ago today, America got a new leader as Jimmy Carter became the 39th President of the United States. In one of his first acts as Supreme Leader, Carter will dive headfirst into a very tricky subject- the pardoning of Vietnam-Era draft dodgers. Due to his Christian values, Carter was personally compelled to showing others some mercy and as a result, pardoned thousands of draft dodgers who fled to Canada. Though many veterans protested this move, the act played a large part in helping the nation heal from the Vietnam War.

     Had he ran for President four years earlier, Carter probably wouldn't had won. But changes to the primary system for selecting the candidates made it more of a personable experience allowing for a little known governor from Georgia to beat out a Kennedy. Doesn't matter if the Kennedy was Teddy, Carter still beat him in a David and Goliath political battle of the ages.

      The Democrat Carter was a very controversial President. Not because he had some major scandal or was a total dirt-bag; he was pretty decent choir-boy of a fella. Not the debate over whether Carter was a good or bad President is because he was cursed with some rather bad luck. I'm not even talking about the Iranian hostage crisis or the flap with the Summer Olympics, or even the fuel crisis and huge rise in unemployment as a result of both international issues. 

     The bad luck I'm mentioning are things like how Carter fainted once during a jog from heat exhaustion on live TV. Plus, there's Carter's 'I lusted in my heart' Playboy interview that made him the subject of much ridicule over his morals and mockery as to his manliness. Let's also not forget the time that Carter was whisked away by Secret Service agents who protected the POTUS from a rabid bunny! (Seriously!) All three of which episodes were listed as reasons by one of my college professors as to factors that lead to the President being soundly defeated 4 years later by Republican Ronald Reagan. (BTW- she was a staunch Democrat and a biographer of Carter's presidency.)

The President and Mrs. Carter walking in the Inaugural Parade.

       It wasn't all bad for Carter. His ability as a master negotiator helped him foster a peace between Egypt and Israel. Plus Carter's  tenure in the Navy's nuclear program put him in the right position to deal with Three Mile Island, the closest we've ever come to a complete nuclear meltdown.

Carter's improbable run to the White House lead to him being named
Time's Man of the Year, January 3, 1977.
The same thing happened just recently with Donald Trump.
Both are sworn in on the same day, too!
Cue Twilight Zone theme...

       Jimmy Carter's career actually got better after his only term as President. He helped make Habitat for Humanity become a household name and even personally built some of the houses himself. He's written several best sellers including a children's book. His personal dedication to his fellow man has lead to him supporting dozens of humanitarian causes to which he won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. Plus, if there's an international crisis that a President needs personal help with, Carter is the man current Commander's-In Chief will call on to lead a diplomatic envoy.

      Being a liberal and Christian has resulted in Jimmy Carter being a very complicated man. For example, he's personally against abortion but has lead many campaigns to defend it's constitutionality and legality. Carter's never been afraid to criticize any of his predecessors, Republican or Democrat. Oddly enough, he's also the only former President to RSVP to be at Trump's inauguration today. (Obama doesn't count as until Trump is sworn it, he's still the current POTUS. And Bill Clinton is coming not as a former POTUS but as Hillary's Plus-One!)

Picture from January 11th, speaking on the eradication of
Guinea Worm Disease, another cause championed by the former President.

      40 years and 2 Dark Horses come out of nowhere and become Presidents. Coincidence? With election being every 4 years, maybe not. Or is it that after 8 years of one political parties way of thinking, people desire a change? In 1976, Carter defeated incumbent Gerald Ford because the people spoke that they were tired of the same-old same-old of the GOP with their vote. (Like with Trump, it was a very close election. Carter got more popular votes at 50.1% but carried less states than Ford.)

     I don't know why it is that Carter and Trump's road to the White House seem to have taken similar paths. I only hope that Trump's presidency doesn't go as bad or worse as Carter's did. Because if it does, God help us all!!!
   

A current and future President meet.
Photo from circa 1979.

Where Do Presidents Come From?: And Other Presidential Stuff of Super Great Importance

   I love presidential history. So, when I found this book, I leaped for it, even though it’s clearly geared towards children. The book features just about everything a person should know about how a person becomes president. There is extensive looks at the Constitution, the life of George Washington, the election process, and the role of the Commander-In-Chief.

   What I wanted was a book that offered some fun facts about presidents with a humorous slant. There are some 'FFs' here, but not nearly enough for my liking. The humorous slant is pretty juvenile and the jokes are used over and over and over. It’s like that knock-knock joke about the banana. The writer uses bunnies and monkeys a lot for the majority of the jokes and it gets old pretty fast.

   The age range for this book is very narrow. The political info is too old for kids under 9 and the jokes are too goofy for kids over 13. It would make a good summer read for parents wanting their kids to learn and read during school break.

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.