YankeeTarheel wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 12:06 pm
I think like all ex-Presidents his relevancy will fade much more rapidly. None of the former Presidents of our lifetime, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, have been particularly relevant. Even Obama doesn't yet shine like Carter has, who built a whole, new magnificent career that won him a Nobel Prize. Only William Howard Taft had a post-POTUS career that outdoes Carter--as Chief Justice of the SCOTUS for 9 years.
What did the ex-Presidents of my lifetime achieve? I can't answer that but:
Hoover--died when I was a young child in 1964. He figured FDR would fail so miserably, that, like Cleveland, the country would turn back to him.
Truman--left office highly unpopular and I'm not much aware of anything significant he did afterward. He died when I was in HS in 1972.
Eisenhower--He actually was called in by JFK for advice after he had completely fouled up the Bay of Pigs travesty. Apparently Ike dressed him down about mis-using advice and advisors, and Kennedy took it to heart. Ike died in the spring of 1969--I was in middle school.
LBJ: Died just 3 years after leaving the White House, also in 1972.
Nixon: Managed to completely sabotage his whole attempt to rehabilitate his reputation when his interview with lightweight David Frost went totally thermonuclear "If the President does it, it's not illegal" Oops. He did, however, negotiate a truce between Ford and Carter when all 3 were sent to represent Reagan at Sadat's funeral. Unlike Trump, Nixon really was a skilled and talented deal-maker. He died in 1994 when he had left "do not resuscitate" instructions.
Ford: Strained for relevancy in the Republican Party with the one last gasp being a 2nd run at VP with Reagan, only to be cast aside for Bush. I give him credit for pushing HARD to bring his party back from fanaticism and obstructionism, and to recognize that Democrats ARE just as "patriotic" simply with the "wrong" policies to help the nation. Unfortunately, we all know he failed at that. He died in 2006.
Carter: Habitat for Humanity here in the USA, and the Carter Center as the ONE American NGO trusted to monitor suspicious elections abroad. If Trump and the GOP TRULY believed the election was going to be "rigged" they should have called on the Carter Center! Naturally, since it was all bullshit, they couldn't afford the risk...oops! President Carter is now very frail, and I wish him a recovery and many more years!
Reagan: His post-presidency was inconsequential, other than, in 1994, while he was still relatively lucid, announcing to the world that he had Alzheimer's and was withdrawing from public life. He died in 2004. Nancy Reagan became quite the activist for stem cell research into causes and cures for Alzheimer's going against the Party. Then there' Ron Reagan "Avowed Atheist, not afraid of going to Hell"!
Bush I: Became involved with some rather shady investment groups, and advised his son to use tried-and -true advisors: Cheney and Rumsfeld. Didn't work out so well. But he did successfully shepherd 2 sons to becoming governors and one to the Presidency (if you think that's a positive). He died 2 years ago.
Clinton: Not sure what Clinton has himself achieved since leaving office.
Bush II: Paints, has made it clear he does NOT approve of Trump, but generally stays out of the limelight.
Obama: He would have stayed working on quiet charities, but the vulgar boor, totally violating all precedents NOT to criticize predecessors, has blamed EVERYTHING that has gone wrong on Obama, even things that didn't go wrong, has taken credit for anything that has gone right, has accused Obama falsely of "the greatest crime in our history", namely, properly, and appropriately, investigating Trump's ties to Putin. This has forced Obama to come out and openly fight back at the slanderous garbage and work hard for Biden. Who Knows what he'll do going forward?
Which brings me back to Trump. He'll make noise, whine, complain that Biden's "incompetent" for not being able to fix what Trump DELIBERATELY has broken and keeps on breaking, but not being nearly as sharp as Limbaugh, or even Hannity, he'll be more like Alex Jones--and he WILL get sued for slander, unprotected by being POTUS, because he just cannot stop telling lies about people. Presuming, of course, he's not in prison.
Because THAT would poison Trump's 2024 chances!
