Tim Alatorre Online » Barack Obama http://www.talatorre.com Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:30:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= The Morning After http://www.talatorre.com/2008/11/the-morning-after/ http://www.talatorre.com/2008/11/the-morning-after/#comments Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:23:54 +0000 admin Barack ObamaI’m not usually at a loss for words but today might be a rare exception… well, maybe not. To be honest the events of yesterdays election and the two year campaign running up to it have left me unexpectedly dazed.

Two years ago if you had told me that our next president would be a pro-abortion, anti-military, socialist I would have said “sure, could happen, after 8 years of uncontrolled Bush hating how can a conservative win?”

If you had told me that this person had spent his youth smoking pot and hanging around with anarchists, spent 20 years in a black power, hate America church, had a wife who had never been proud of America until the day her husband started running for president, and had land deals and associations with crooks and unrepentant domestic terrorists, I would have said, “sounds like a stretch, no way he’d get the nomination.”

Had you then told me that the major US television news networks and newspapers would unapologetically praise this candidate at every opportunity, suppress any story that was negative while making even the mildest of controversies of his opponent into hour long specials, that they would refuse to do any investigative journalism into his past or present affiliations yet would demonize even his opponent’s supporters, I would have said, “you’ve been reading too many George Orwell novels, sure the US media is biased but they still have some professional decency.”

Here we are the morning after and surprisingly all of that came true. My only consolation is that we are in 2008 and not in 2004. Yes, we still are at war, but I am very grateful that George W. Bush led us to victory in Iraq. I can only imagine what might have happened had John Kerry won four years ago and we had not stayed the course. I look back at what I was thinking prior to the 2004 election and I still feel that four years ago we were at a very crucial point in our history. Today, I don’t feel that we are in the same state of peril that we were four years ago. Al-Qaida has been decimated and scattered, their training camps have been obliterated and they have seen resounding defeat in their primary objective, winning in Iraq. We are much safer than we were four years ago, conservative heads of state are now seated in Great Britain, France, Germany, and Canada, and if the US takes a four year break from fighting the war on terror they will hopefully pick up the slack, right?

Now we face a repeat of 1976. The country has rebuked the former republican administration. Like Gerald Ford, John McCain has been made scape goat for his predecessor. Barack Obama is the Jimmy Carter of my generation, the long awaited savior from the corruption of the republican machine. Just like in ’76 the main stream media picked their candidate and gave him the key to the White House. The real question is, what happens from here?

So this is where I get to make my predictions for the next four years. Given that Obama is the most liberal president we’ve had since Carter I see his administration faring much the same way. As Obama and his majority controlled congress push through their agenda I see inflation and an immediate decline in the overall state of the economy. Energy shortages will soon follow as Obama seeks to bankrupt the coal industry and force the nation off our oil addiction. I’m sure the international crisis that Biden promised will occur in the early part of 2009, probably Russia invading another small country, or Iran flexing it’s muscles. Obama will most likely respond with a weak statement or a plea to the U.N. Maybe a missile strike or two, but he will be actively engaged in reducing the military and won’t want to overextend our resources. I predict a number of speeches, failed diplomacy, an attempt at nationalizing health care, and a lot of fun sound bites from Joe Biden.

2012? Like with Carter, I see the country waking up and refusing Obama a second term. Then again, my good friend Dan (a big Obama fan) might have it right. The world will be ending in 2012 so we better live it up these next four years! Let the good times roll, but please Mr. Obama, I really want that “tax cut” you promised me.

]]> http://www.talatorre.com/2008/11/the-morning-after/feed/ 2 Facebook and Politics http://www.talatorre.com/2008/10/facebook-and-politics/ http://www.talatorre.com/2008/10/facebook-and-politics/#comments Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:42:04 +0000 admin Facebook DuelI love Facebook. I have been able to connect with so many past acquaintances and friends it is amazing. What I love most about Facebook is the ability for me to share my life with my friends in a way that I have never been able to before. I see a window into their experiences and beliefs, and they into mine. Lately I have had a number of really good discussion with some of my friends, for those who are not in on the Facebook scene, I thought I’d re-post some of them here.

Oct 8th, in response to my posting of:

Barack Obama Lies To America 6:38pm

All politicians lie in one form or another. But i don’t think flip flopping over his pastor is that important. I also hope people don’t vote solely on the candidates religious beliefs.
No Matt, I hope people don’t vote solely on any one issue. I don’t view the Rev. Wright issue as a religious one but rather political. Wright is more of a politician than preacher in many respects. His anti American and pro black supremacy rhetoric concern me more that any of his religious beliefs. The fact that Barack used his affiliation with the church to advance his political career, lie about it, then dump his friend like a stinking fish when politically convenient tells me a lot about his character.
either way, just because obama was a part of this church, it doesn’t mean he was a strong believer in EVERYTHING Wright was preaching. neither you nor i can really prove or disprove that. i can honestly say i dont know everything on this issue. but from what i have researched, your youtube video doesn’t point out the fact that in between these two interviews, Wright gave raciest public speeches to deliberately hurt obama’s campaign because obama was distancing himself from the pastor’s raciest comments. Of course he is going to dump him a “stinking fish”.
I’ve always been mad that all politicians tend to lie in one form or another, it’s the one thing that turns me off from politics. Really we need to stop the name calling and tearing down of either candidate in a way like that, and realize that both conservatives and liberals have a lot to contribute. It’s not about good and evil, it’s about our personal views on stability and change, the former being a more conservative viewpoint and the latter more liberal. Both sides have very good logical reasons to be fighting for that cause, and both causes are necessary for a better world.

Okay, I’ll bite. This is going to be out there for everyone to see.

Tim, I’ve been seeing your pro-Romney, then pro-McCain posts show up in my feed here for some time now (PS – look up the White Horse prophecy, it has been widely repudiated). These posts and twitters have primarily amused me. But this is a serious race, and I think you are ignoring a large number of issues here, so I am going to try to address some of them.

I’m going to start by saying that I, too, am disturbed by Jeremiah Wright, and Obama’s connection to him. Really, what kind of guy picks that kind of person as a spiritual leader? Where is his judgment? Is he completely devoid of any spiritual capacity, if he thought that was inspiring? These are completely valid and damaging points against Obama. Let me also state that I’m voting for neither Obama or McCain.

But let’s go deeper. First off, Obama and McCain, as candidates, are almost identical to each other. We have a one-party system in this country. They are almost exactly the same, and they try to magnify minute differences to make it appear that they’re wildly different, but they’re not. If you can’t see this, take a look at their foreign policy: Their differences on Iraq and Afghanistan are excruciatingly minor! We’re talking about a difference of withdrawal times as a matter of months in Iraq, and virtually no difference on Afghanistan. They both want to send troops in for nation-building. Or the economy: They both voted for the $800 billion bailout package that was full of pork barrel spending. Thousands of economists have said it is probably unnecessary and that we have time to study the situation, yet neither party or candidate even attempted to look at other possible options such as forcing bankruptcies, stock ownership, or any of the other plans that have largely been ignored by the mainstream media.

Both Democrats and Republicans are afraid to stand out. I voted for McCain in the 2000 primaries, but since then, he’s flip-flopped on over 75 issues. Seventy-five! Here’s the link: http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/flipflops He couldn’t even vote against waterboarding this spring, he voted ‘present’. And if we’re concerned about Obama’s judgment and morals, don’t forget that McCain ditched his first wife because she got overweight, then he cheated on her with his second while he was still married.

And now he announced his plan to buy up every bad mortgage in the country and resell it at a loss. This is obviously insanely stupid. Now to make it interesting, this was similar to something Biden said in last week’s debate, claiming it was an Obama idea to “re-negotiate mortgages”. But now that McCain is being ridiculed for suggesting the government take on trillions more dollars of bad debt, Obama is calling him ‘Out of Touch’ and is distancing himself from that plan.

If you want to get into lies, McCain has said plenty of them. How’s he doing on campaign finance reform? Or, as I mentioned, torture? He has repeatedly misquoted Ahmedinajad by using the incorrect translation of some interpreter in the Bush Administration regarding Israel. And he double-talks about government spending while proposing a multi-trillion dollar mortgage bailout.

Don’t you see that it’s all just a big circus act? Both of these guys are clowns. Sarah Palin is the biggest clown of all. As far as I can tell, the only real difference between the two candidates is who they’ll appoint to the Supreme Court. Now, strict constructionism and judicial activism are issues I can get excited about. And have they even discussed the issues in these terms? Of course not.Why vote for either of these tools, when they’re clearly just trying to play us off of each other? We all know California is a blue state. Why not vote for a third party this year, as a protest vote? There is the Constitutional party, the Libertarian party, and the list goes on. There’s a good chance that you can find a party that actually defines its stance, instead of giving out the double talk we’re used to hearing.

My goal here is not to promote Obama over McCain or McCain over Obama. As I said, I am voting for neither. I focused more on McCain just to point out the silliness of calling Obama a liar, when they are clearly in league with each other. My only goal here is that we, especially Mormons, think critically about our political paradigm and escape from this two-party mold, which is clearly a broken system (incidentally, it was against the original intent of the founding fathers, as well). We owe it to ourselves and to our country.

All the best,

Ryan
You’re goosed this year, Timmy. See you in 8. Maybe 12.
Forget the church for a minute, this election is all about inheriting a diving economy from W. That should be on the front burner more than anything else!
Ha, hopefully you’re wrong David, the election hasn’t happened yet : ) And even if BO wins I won’t be going anywhere. As for the economy John, you’re right it’s a huge liability for McCain. Traditionally the sitting president gets credit for the state of the economy. However, the housing market problem was pushed by Democrats. On 11 separate occasions over the last decade , (some say 12 but I’ve only found 11) Republicans pushed for reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They were repeatedly blocked. Both organizations have connection with the Clinton administration and now Obama’s campaign. … I should blog about this. I’ve got too much to put in a comment box.
Oh and Ryan, I agree with you 75%. I think that insinuating I don’t take the election seriously was uncalled for, I’m not sure what prophecy you’re talking about, and I disagree with your 3rd party protest vote, but other than that I pretty much agree. : )I’ve never been a McCain fan but I feel that Obama is going to take our country in a very dangerous direction. And yes, I do mean dangerous. Politics is really a series of compromises, I understand that. No individual will ever get 100% of what they want, if that was the case we would have a monarchy. Instead we debate and try to persuade others to our point of view to obtain a majority. If either McCain or Obama wins I will continue to voice my opinion. McCain’s beliefs are closer to mine than Obama’s. I know there are some people I am just not going to persuade. The people who have commented on this post are included in that group. However, I think the discussion is good for everyone. So, Thank You!

Thanks Tim! No, I was not insinuating that you aren’t taking it seriously. Far from it. I wrote that you seemed to be ignoring a large number of issues, based on what shows up in my feed.

If you agree with McCain, by all means vote for him. He’s a moving target though, and that makes me nervous. I haven’t decided yet who I’m voting for, but a protest vote is only meaningful if you agree with who you’re voting for, and I meant that there are many parties that may align more closely with one’s beliefs than one of two major parties that compromises on pretty much every issue. I think Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party, for example, is stronger on the Constitution and family values, without all the big spending that both the Republicans and Democrats have/are/will push through. He is a little evangelical-ish, however.

I am just an advocate of exploring all the issues and parties. I think you wrote once during the primaries that Romney was the last or only conservative.

At the time, Ron Paul was still in the race, and he was much more conservative than Romney.

My point is more about how our system is just messed up. For example, during the debate, CNN had a live “scorecard” on the candidates. Lame. As a news organization, why didn’t they have a live fact-checking box instead? Then, I would have learned that the $3 million projector McCain was whining about was actually for a Planetarium, without having to go look it up myself on the internet.

I suppose in the end, my angst should be directed more towards the apathy of the average American for taking what these two guys say at face value and believing any of it, and allowing news organizations to get away with sloppy one-sided reporting. I don’t believe you’re one of those people!

Ryan, once again I mostly agree with you : ) Maybe I was reading too much into your first comments so thanks for clarifying. My views on our 2 party system are a bit more than I feel like writing right now, but I’ll definitely put it on my to do list. Hopefully it will show up on my web site before the election.

I do completely agree with your statement about the apathy of the average American. Our world has been reduced down to 15 second sound bites, a headline, and late night comedy. I’m not surprised that CNN had a “scorecard.” I find it almost impossible to find unbiased reporting anywhere. I do what you do, I question things and try to discover the source of the claim. McCain did mention the Planetarium in the debate when he first mentioned the projector, however both candidates love to throw out vote counts and other facts and statistics that really don’t mean much on face value or are out right distortions or lies. The media isn’t holding them accountable, so we need to.

Amen to that about the sound bites.. What I meant about the planetarium is that it was a real commercial planetarium projector, not a dinky little one, which costed $10 mil (mostly private funded) and requested by the state legislature, not Obama.

Oct 15th, in response to my posting of:

Laura, thanks for voicing your opinions, I’m glad you decided to do it on my wall!! : )
In the interest of equal exposure… Hope I don’t offend you!! It was just hanging out there begging for a response!

Yes, Prop 8 does not mention education, it’s only 14 words. However, recently in San Francisco 6 year olds were taken to their teacher’s gay wedding during school hours. (http://tinyurl.com/5xrpby)

The school didn’t see it as a problem because “Same-sex marriage is legal.” I would agree that in most cases under CA law parents will be notified and allowed to withdraw their children from class in such circumstances.

If you read Judge Frawley’s ruling (http://tinyurl.com/578h6a) he says that the Prop 8 argument “that teachers ‘will be required’ to teach young children about gay marriage” was false and misleading”.

It is true that CA law currently doesn’t “require” teaching about gay marriage but that doesn’t mean CA law will remain that way if gay marriage remains legal. In MA teachers ARE required to teach about gay marriage. The recent case of a teacher who read a book to her students without parental notification brought this issue to light. (http://tinyurl.com/kjsu9)

Laura, you repeatedly state that marriage is a fundamental right established in the CA constitution. The May 15th supreme court ruling was a split decision, 4-3.

Justice Baxter, one of the nay votes, said in his dissenting opinion, (http://tinyurl.com/3kp9ql)

“Nothing in our Constitution, express or implicit, compels the majority’s startling conclusion that the age-old understanding of marriage —an understanding recently confirmed by an initiative law — is no longer valid. California statutes already recognize same-sex unions and grant them all the substantive legal rights this state can bestow. If there is to be a further sea change in the social and legal understanding of marriage itself, that evolution should occur by similar democratic means. The majority forecloses this ordinary democratic process, and, in doing so, oversteps its authority.”

The right for anyone to marry anyone was interpreted into the constitution by 4 justices.
P.S. No Laura you haven’t offended me. : ) I honestly appreciate you voicing your point of view and sharing your comments. I really try to make every effort to understand all sides of an issue. This is a very tricky topic. I don’t want to eliminate someones rights, I don’t think anyone does. At the same time I want to see our society be as successful as possible and maintain my right to worship God as I feel he has directed mankind to worship for 1000′s of years. The family is the core of our society. No civilization has endured that has seen a degradation of the core family unit. The family is already facing enormous strain, single parents, divorce rates, pornography, substance abuse, abortions, low fertility rates, etc. I truly see gay marriage as further diluting the sanctity and importance of the family unit. Is my family perfect? No, of course not, is anyone’s? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean that I can just give up and stop seeking to strengthening the family.

I am typing on an iPhone so my answers can’t really compete in length. I would be here all night.

As far as the kids going to a wedding… I am sure their parents gave permission for them to go. The fact they went isn’t the questionable thing. Should you as a parent have the right to opt out of having your child participate? Yes. Do you? Yes. I don‘t have issue with gay marriage being presented as “normal” to children. To me it is normal. I can understand why some people wouldn’t think so.

As far as the interpretation goes… There is prejudice against the gay community. During the civil rights movement there were people against desegregation but you know what? They were wrong and so is this prop. Restore marriage my butt. We live in a country with a 50% divorce rate! Like straight people are the only ones who should be allowed to give it a shot.
Let’s just call it what it is. You believe being gay is immoral. I get it. You have the right to that opinion. You don’t have the right to force that opinion on me. I think this is all a non-issue. It doesn’t affect ME if gays marry. I think there is no reason why they shouldn’t be able to. Any two people (adults) who want to bind themselves together financially should be able to.
First off, mad props on your iPhone skills. I’ve used that “keyboard” and it is a real pain : )Hmm… where to start. This conversation is getting good. I think we’re getting to the real meat of this debate.

I think it’s interesting that you said that “any two people (adults) who want to bind themselves together financially should be able to.”

Two things stand out to me in this statement.

1. You placed a limitation on marriage, you said that it should be between two adults. If you agree with the court’s decisions that the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment (http://tinyurl.com/xxj) applies to gay marriage, then how can you or the courts discriminate between multiple members of the same sex? Why is marriage limited to two people? Or, why is marriage limited between close relatives? Why shouldn’t we recognize polygamist or incestuous marriages? This application of the 14th amendment is a stretch at best according to many constitutional scholars and and has been ultimately overturned in US supreme court cases in Florida. These rulings were then overturned based on other laws, but the 14th amendment has been traditionally interpreted as relating to due process, which is not being denied to anyone in California.
2. You defined marriage as a financial bond. If that is all you want then gay couples can already have that in California through domestic partnerships.To put everything on the table, yes, I do believe that being gay is immoral. That is my opinion, however that is not my primary reason for being in support of Proposition 8.

I feel very strongly that children have the best chance of achieving their full potential when they are raised by a loving mother and father. Study after study has shown this to be the case.

Even though my church has very specifically taken a stance against homosexuality, there are of course many gay family members and friends of church members who have been actively seeking for the church to change its’ position. By elevating gay marriage to a right equal with racial rights this would give these people the legal standing and ability to sue the church for the ability to marry in the church, possibly seek church membership, use church facilities, etc. Just last September a Methodist church lost their tax exempt status after refusing to perform a civil union ceremony in New Jersey (http://tinyurl.com/4p7ys3). I don’t think it unreasonable to think that churches will begin to see prosecution related to their gay marriage positions.

I realize that for you this probably isn’t a big concern given that you don’t believe in religion but the majority of Californians do and we don’t want to see your beliefs forced on us.

Like I said earlier, this is a very difficult position. I think most people are fine with same sex couples having domestic partnerships with visitation rights, financial benefits, etc. It’s unfortunate that the issue has been pushed to the point where the gay movement is, purposely or inadvertently, pushing their beliefs on others.
Ok I fell asleep early last night because studying for the GRE is kicking my butt. I typed a really long and wonderful response to you this morning and Facebook had issues posting it. I know it would have opened your eyes to the truth… hahahahaha…Comparing gay marriage to incest and polygamy is ridiculous. We both know why these things aren’t legal. I can’t even respond to that.
The issue I have with a domestic partnership is that separate but equal does not work. It didn’t work during segregation and it still doesn’t work now. If domestic partnership and marriage are the same, with the exception of the sexes of the people involved in the couples, then it should just be the same. How many studies have been done on how children do when raised by a committed homosexual couple? Probably not too many. How do we know that children wouldn’t thrive in a situation with two parents, regardless of sex.
I get it you know… your church is very strongly against the gay community. You believe that it is a choice that people make. It isn’t. No matter what you think, being gay is not a choice. Come on, who in their right mind would choose it? This does affect you and your community because the more tolerant society is to the gay community, the less tolerant society will be to you NOT tolerating them. It is like racism. It used to be acceptable but it isn’t anymore. Society has come a long way in trying to change something that was indecent. The gays aren’t pushing their beliefs on you by demanding equal treatment under the law. You are pushing your on them by deciding that they shouldn’t get it. You are pushing your religious beliefs on me and I don’t appreciate that. I believe that people should be allowed to live how they choose. You can be mormon. I can be gay. I don’t have the right to say you can’t be mormon just because I don’t believe or agree with it.
CA isn’t New Jersey. There is already protection for your church in our law. What has happened in other states doesn’t apply here because every state has different law. I strongly agree with you that churches should not be forced to perform gay marriage ceremonies. But I don’t think that means they shouldn’t be allowed in the state. It goes back to that whole Church and State issue that I believe is a necessary part of our society. I don’t want to be forced into religious beliefs that I don’t agree with. Religions shouldn’t be forced to conform to standards of society. I am not religious but I RESPECT religion. It is a concern for me that you are able to worship how you see fit and so am I. Religion is important to some people. I in no way mean to say that I don’t care about your rights. I don’t think your BELIEFS should be made in to law.
ok… I guess I should work now. I realize that we aren’t going to change each other’s minds. I respect your opinion. I whole heartedly disagree with it and am saddened that we live in a world where discrimination is still such a major issue. I believe in Equality for All. All means everyone not just the people who fit your definition of what “normal” is.

Tim Alatorre at 7:03pm October 17
Not to deviate too much from the topic but when are you taking the GRE’s? You’re planning on going back to school next Fall right?… okay, back on topic:

I’m not comparing gay marriage to incest and polygamy, what I’m saying is that the legal interpretation that grants gay marriage could also be applied to them. Under the courts interpretation these should also be legal. I don’t think it’s ridiculous to think about the legal ramifications of the court’s ruling.

I don’t view Marriage and Domestic Partnerships as “separate but equal”. I view them as distinct definitions for two different scenarios. Just as the law has different definitions for corporations, legal licenses, etc. For example, if I am forming a LLC that shouldn’t be called the same thing as when I form an S Corporation. Even though they are different they both still have similar legal protections and can function as legal entities. Similarly, Marriage should describe a union between a man and a woman and a Domestic Partnership should describe a union between two people of the same sex.
You raise a good question on the studies, it would take me some time to research it enough for me to comment.I hesitate to comment on your remarks about my religious beliefs because I don’t want to make my argument in favor of Prop 8 based on religion. I would just mention that the church has never said that people can’t be gay. Nor has the church ever said that people can’t be alcoholics, promiscuous, adulterous, or have abortions. Instead the church teaches that these things are wrong and seeks to help people who wish to change.
Yes, every state does have different laws but state courts rely heavily on precedent and the laws of one state do influence the laws in another. I don’t think it is a valid point that what happened in New Jersey and Massachusetts will stay in NJ and MA and not happen in California. Laws change.
I’m glad that you respect religion, and I definitely respect your beliefs. Like I said earlier I appreciate you expressing them. True, we will not change each others’ minds but a lot of people have read this conversation and hopefully it will make them think about the issue. I also believe in equality for all, I am repulsed by discrimination and bigotry. I tire of our society holding on to prejudices. I also believe that a rose should be called a rose and a tree should be called a tree. That doesn’t mean that we have to hate the tree nor dig up the rose because the tree wants more sun. I believe that voting YES on Prop 8 will allow equality for all without digging up the roots of our society.
]]> http://www.talatorre.com/2008/10/facebook-and-politics/feed/ 0 By The Numbers: Obama and Palin vs the last 100 years – Experience Table http://www.talatorre.com/2008/09/by-the-numbers-obama-and-palin-vs-the-last-100-years-experience-table/ http://www.talatorre.com/2008/09/by-the-numbers-obama-and-palin-vs-the-last-100-years-experience-table/#comments Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:00:24 +0000 admin http://www.talatorre.com/?p=237 My Scoring: Points (per year) Category +3 Vice Presidency +2 Executive position 3 Federal Government 2 State Government 1 Local Government 1 Year served in Military

Experience at time of Assuming Office* Name Office Party Term Experience




Rank out of 41
 Score Start End Educational
 Personal Military Professional Political





Candidates for President / Vice President
5 102 John McCain R US Naval Academy, Annapolis National War College, Fort McNair 7 Children, Boxing Navy, 1954-1981, Pilot. Vietnam 1967-1973. POW 1967-1973, Flight Instructor. Captain. 17 awards. Father and Grandfather 4 star Navy Admirals. 3 children in Military, two Iraq war veterans. Navy Senate Liaison (4 yrs), VP Public Relations, Hensley & Co. (1 yr) U.S. House of Rep. (1983-1987) U.S. Senate (1987-2008)
37 23 Barack Obama D B.A. Political Science J.D. Harvard Law 2 Children, Basketball None Chicago Community Organizer (3 yrs); Director of Project Vote (1 yr); Concurrently (12 yrs): Attorney, Writer (~1 yr full time), Attorney, Lecturer at Chicago Law School, Board of directors of various groups. Illinois Senate (1997-2004) U.S. Senate (2005-2008)
3 107 Joe Biden D B.A. Political Science and History J.D. Syracuse University College of Law 4 Children None, elder son in National Guard to be deployed to Iraq in Oct. Since 1991 adjunct professor, Widener University of Law, Board of the Close Up Foundation New Castle County Council (1970-1972) U.S. Senate (1973-2008)
28 34 Sarah Palin R B.S. Communications-Journalism, minor in Political Science 5 Children, Flute, Basketball None, elder son in Army to be deployed to Iraq this month. Mother, TV Reporter, Commercial Fishing Company, Director of 527 group (2 years) Wasilla City Council (1992-1996) Mayor, Wasilla (1996-2002) Alaska Oil and Gas Commission Chair (2003-2004) Governor of Alaska (2006-2008)
Current and Past Presidents / Vice Presidents
34 25 George W. Bush Pres R 2001 2009 B.A. History MBA Harvard University 2 Children, Basketball Texas Air National Guard, Alabama Air National Guard, Pilot (1968-1973) Oil Industry (~10 yrs.) Founder of Bush Exploration, Chairman of Spectrum 7, Board of directors of Harken Energy. Texas Rangers, Managing general partner (5 yrs) Governor of Texas (1995-2000)
21 45 Dick Cheney VP R 2001 2009 B.A. Political Science M.A. Political Science 2 Children None Various White House appointments, (1969-1978) White House Chief of Staff (1978-1979) U.S. House of Rep. (1979-1989) US Secretary of Defense (1989-1993)
17 52 Bill Clinton Pres D 1993 2001 B.S. Foreign Service J.D. Yale Law School 1 Child, Tenor Sax None Professor, University of Arkansas (1 yr) Attorney General of Arkansas (1976-1978) Governor of Arkansas (1978-1980, 1982-1992)
18 50 Al Gore VP D 1993 2001 B.A. Government 3 Children Army, 1969-1971, Engineer. Vietnam 1971 Investigative reporter, (1971-1976) U.S. House of Rep. (1977-1985) U.S. Senate (1985-1993)
9 78 George H. W. Bush Pres R 1989 1993 B.A. Economics 6 Children, Basketball, Baseball Navy, 1942-1945, Pilot. WWII 1943-1945, Lieutenant. Flight Instructor. 3 awards. Founded various oil development companies, chairman and president. Bank chairman. Professor. U.S. House of Rep. (1967-1971) US Ambassador to the UN (1971-1973) Chief of Liaison Office to China (1974-1975) Director of Central Intelligence (1976-1977) Vice Pres. Of US (1981-1989)
23 42 Dan Quayle VP R 1989 1993 B.A. Political Science J.D. Indiana Univ. School of Law Indianapolis 3 Children Indiana Army National Guard, 1969-1975, Sergeant Investigator, Indiana Attorney General’s Office (1 yr.); IN Dept. of Revenue (2 yrs.); Associate publisher, Huntington Herald-Press, private law practice. U.S. House of Rep. (1976-1980) U.S. Senate (1980-1988)
24 40 Ronald Reagan Pres R 1981 1989 B.A. Economics and Sociology 5 Children, Football Army, 1937-1945, Captain, Film Division Radio announcer (5 yrs), Actor, President of the Screen Actors Guild (8 yrs.) Governor of California (1967-1975)
30 30 George H. W. Bush VP R 1981 1989 B.A. Economics 6 Children, Basketball, Baseball Navy, 1942-1945, Pilot. WWII 1943-1945, Lieutenant. Flight Instructor. 3 awards. Founded various oil development companies, chairman and president. Bank chairman. Professor. U.S. House of Rep. (1967-1971) US Ambassador to the UN (1971-1973) Chief of Liaison Office to China (1974-1975) Director of Central Intelligence (1976-1977)
27 36 James Carter Jr. Pres D 1977 1981 B.S. 4 Children, Basketball, FFA Navy, ~1944-1953, Lieutenant, Submarines. Elder son served in Navy and Vietnam. Peanut farmer (~7 yrs.). Served on various local boards, school, hospital, library, etc. Georgia Senate (1963-1966) Governor of Georgia (1971-1975)
20 46 Walter Mondale VP D 1977 1981 B.A. Political Science J.D. University of Minnesota Law School 3 Children Army, 1956-1958, Corporal Minnesota Law Review, law clerk MN Supreme Court, Attorney (4 yrs) Attorney General of Minnesota (1960-1964) U.S. Senate (1964-1976)
8 82 Gerald Ford Pres R 1974 1977 B.A. Political Science and Economics J.D. Yale Law School 4 Children. Eagle Scout, Football, Golf Navy, 1942-1946, Pilot. WWII 1943-1945, Lieutenant Commander. Instructor. 15 awards. Attorney, Private practice (1 yr) U.S. House of Rep. (1949-1973) Vice Pres. Of US (1973-1974)
1 113 Nelson Rockefeller VP R 1974 1977 Dartmouth College 7 Children None President of the Museum of Modern Art (19 yrs), various family businesses and philanthropies. Numerous federal political appointments (1940-1959) Governor of New York (1959-1973)
14 70 Richard Nixon Pres R 1969 1974 Whittier College J.D. Duke University School of Law 2 daughters. Football, music, theater Navy, 1942-1946, Pilot. WWII 1943-1945, Lieutenant Commander. Worked at family store, Attorney U.S. House of Rep. (1947-1950) U.S. Senate (1950-1953) Vice Pres. Of US (1953-1961)
35 24 Spiro T. Agnew VP R 1969 1973 Johns Hopkins University J.D. University of Baltimore School of Law 4 Children Army, 1941-1945. WWII Grocer, Insurance Salesman, Attorney Baltimore County Executive (1962-1966) Governor of Maryland (1962-1966)
10 76 Gerald Ford VP R 1973 1974 B.A. Political Science and Economics J.D. Yale Law School 4 Children. Eagle Scout, Football, Golf Navy, 1942-1946, Pilot. WWII 1943-1945, Lieutenant Commander. Instructor. 15 awards. Attorney, Private practice (1 yr) U.S. House of Rep. (1949-1973)
7 85 Lyndon B. Johnson Pres D 1963 1969 Southwest Texas State 2 Children Navy Reserves (1941-?), Commissioned Officer, Silver Star Teacher in Mexico and US U.S. House of Rep. (1937-1949) U.S. Senate (1949-1961) Vice Pres. Of US (1963-1965)
30 30 Hubert Humphrey VP D 1965 1969 B.A. Political Science M.A. Political Science 4 Children Rejected twice for medical reasons Pharmacist, Family Drugstore (7 yrs), College instructor (2 yrs), Chief of MN war service program (1 yr), Radio commentator (2 yrs) Mayor, Minneapolis, MN (1945-1948) U.S. Senate (1971-1978)
22 43 John F. Kennedy Pres D 1961 1963 B.A. International Affairs 2 Children Navy, 1941-1945, Lieutenant, Torpedo Boat, WWII 1941-1945. 4 awards. Ranch hand, world traveler (2 years) U.S. House of Rep. (1947-1953) U.S. Senate (1953-1960)
11 73 Lyndon B. Johnson VP D 1961 1963 Southwest Texas State 2 Children Navy Reserves (1941-?), Commissioned Officer, 1 award. Brother killed in combat. Teacher in Mexico and US U.S. House of Rep. (1937-1949) U.S. Senate (1949-1961)
11 73 Dwight D. Eisenhower Pres R 1953 1961 West Point Academy 2 Children, Baseball, Football General of the Army, Supreme Allied Commander, Army Chief of Staff (1915-1953), (1961-1969), Numerous awards. Son in Army. President of Columbia University (5 yrs) Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. (1943-1945) Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army (1945-1948) Supreme Commander NATO (1950-1952)
39 22 Richard Nixon VP R 1953 1961 Whittier College J.D. Duke University School of Law 2 daughters. Football, music, theater Navy, 1942-1946, Pilot. WWII 1943-1945, Lieutenant Commander. Worked at family store, Attorney U.S. House of Rep. (1947-1950) U.S. Senate (1950-1953)
11 73 Harry S. Truman Pres D 1945 1953 Two years of law school, No degree 1 Child. Piano, reading, history Army National Guard, 1905-1920, Colonel, WWI Small business, farmer County Court Judge (Commissioner), (1922-1924, 1925-1933) Missouri director for Federal Re-Employment Program (1933-1945) U.S. Senate (1935-1945) Vice Pres. Of US (1945-1945)
2 108 Alben W. Barkley VP D 1945 1953 Emory College J.D. University of Virginia Law School Unknown None Prosecuting Attorney, Judge (4 yrs) U.S. House of Rep. (1913-1927) U.S. Senate (1927-1949, 1955-1956)
25 37 Franklin D. Roosevelt Pres D 1933 1945 Harvard University 6 Children, Boy Scouts None Corporate Lawyer, President of NY City Boy Scout Federation (4 yrs) New York Senate (1911-1913) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1913-1920) Governor of New York (1929-1932)
3 107 John N. Garner VP D 1933 1941 Vanderbuilt University (1 yr). No degree Law School, unknown. 1 Child None Attorney County Judge (Executive position) Uvalde County (1893-1896) Texas State House of Reps. (1898-1902) U.S. House of Rep. (1903-1933)
35 24 Henry A Wallace VP D 1941 1945 Iowa State College, Ames Unknown None Journalist, writer, Editor (19 yrs). Farmer. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1933-1940) U.S. Secretary of Commerce (1945-1946)
15 67 Harry S. Truman VP D 1945 1945 Two years of law school, No degree 1 Child. Piano, reading, history Army National Guard, 1905-1920, Colonel, WWI Small business, farmer County Court Judge (Commissioner), (1922-1924, 1925-1933) Missouri director for Federal Re-Employment Program (1933-1945) U.S. Senate (1935-1945)
29 33 Herbert Hoover Pres R 1929 1933 B.S. Geology 2 Children, Baseball, Football None USGS, Mining Engineer. Author. Humanitarian efforts during WWI. Head of Committee for Relief in Belgium. Head of American Food Administration (1917-1921) U.S. Secretary of Commerce (1921-1928)
6 99 Charles Curtis VP R 1929 1933 Unknown 3 Children, horse racing None Prosecuting Attorney (4 yrs) U.S. House of Rep. (1893-1907) U.S. Senate (1907-1913, 1915-1928)
19 49 Calvin Coolidge Pres R 1923 1929 Amherst 2 Children None law apprentice. Attorney, private practice City Government, Northampton (1898-1901) Massachusetts House of Reps. (1907-1909) Mayor, Northampton (1910-1914) Massachusetts Senate (1914-1915) Lieutenant Gov. of Massachusetts (1916-1919) Governor of Massachusetts (1919-1921) Vice Pres. Of US (1921-1923)
37 23 Charles G. Dawes VP R 1925 1929 Marietta College Cincinnati Law School 4 Children. Pianist, Composer Army (1914-1919), Brigadier General, WWI Attorney. President Lacrosse Gas Light Co. and Northwestern Gas Light and Coke Co. President Central Trust Co. of Illinois Comptroller of the Currency, US Dept. of Treasury (1898-1901) Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (1921-1922) Allied Reparations Commission (1923-1924)
30 30 Warren G. Harding Pres R 1921 1923 Ohio Central College 1 Child Journalist, publisher, owner Marion Daily Star. Ohio State Senate (1899-1903) Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (1903-1905) U.S. Senate (1915-1921)
25 37 Calvin Coolidge VP R 1921 1923 Amherst 2 Children None law apprentice. Attorney, private practice City Government, Northampton (1898-1901) Massachusetts House of Reps. (1907-1909) Mayor, Northampton (1910-1914) Massachusetts Senate (1914-1915) Lieutenant Gov. of Massachusetts (1916-1919) Governor of Massachusetts (1919-1921)
41 8 Woodrow Wilson Pres D 1913 1921 Princeton University Ph.D Political Science 3 Children, Glee Club, debate, cars, baseball None Attorney, private practice. Author. Professor. President of Princeton University (8 yrs) Governor of New Jersey (1911-1913)
40 16 Thomas R. Marshall VP D 1913 1921 Wabash College Unknown Unknown Attorney Governor of Indiana (1909-1913)
33 26 William Howard Taft Pres R 1909 1913 Yale College B.A. Laws Son served in WWI Layer, Prosecutor, Superior Court Judge. Dean and professor of constitutional law, University of Cincinnati. U.S. Solicitor General (1890-1892) Civil Governor of the Philippines (1901-1903) U.S. Secretary of War (1904-1908) Provisional Governor of Cuba (1 mo.)
16 66 James S. Sherman VP R 1909 1912 Hamilton College Unknown Attorney, President Utica Trust & Deposit Co. and New Hartford Canning Co. Mayor, Utica, NY (1884-1886) U.S. House of Reps. (1886-1890, 1892-1908)
]]> http://www.talatorre.com/2008/09/by-the-numbers-obama-and-palin-vs-the-last-100-years-experience-table/feed/ 0 By The Numbers: Obama and Palin vs the last 100 years http://www.talatorre.com/2008/09/by-the-numbers-obama-and-palin-vs-the-last-100-years/ http://www.talatorre.com/2008/09/by-the-numbers-obama-and-palin-vs-the-last-100-years/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:06:55 +0000 admin Sarah Palin addresses the Republican National Convention. Sept. 3rd, 2008

Sarah Palin addresses the Republican National Convention. Sept. 3rd, 2008

With all of the talk of experience these last few days on the internet and in the media I was prompted to start a little research project. Mayor Rudi Guliani tonight at the Republican National Convention stated that Barak Obama would be the most inexperienced U.S. president in at least the last 100 years. Well, I did a little math and it turns out that he was close to being right. As for Governor Palin, I don’t know how you can argue she was not a smart pick after her speech tonight, but for those doubters out there how does she match up to history?

Well, out of 37 Presidents and Vice Presidents of the last 100 years Governor Palin’s experience level upon entering office ranks 26th, and Barak Obama ranks 34th. But wait, Sarah Palin isn’t running for president so that’s not a fair comparison.

Of the 17 U.S. presidents in the last 100 years and the current 2 nominees, Barak ranks 18th, with Woodrow Wilson in the 19th position; and even arguing that Woodrow Wilson is less experienced is a stretch. In 1913 when he was elected, Wilson’s political experience was as a one term Governor of New Jersey after having served as president of Princeton University for 8 years. That in itself is pretty impressive. And how about John McCain? To my great surprise, he ranks FIRST! Yup, the candidate for President with the most experience in the last 100 years!

Now to be fair what does the Palin/Biden match up look like? Well of the 20 U.S. Vice Presidents in the last 100 years and the current 2 nominees, Sarah Palin ranks 15th out of 22 and Joe Biden ranks an impressive 3rd!

So how did I arrive at these conclusions? Well before I tell you that, here are some fun stats:

The five U.S. Presidents with the most experience upon entering office in the last 100 years:

  1. Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963.
  2. Gerald Ford, 1974.
  3. George H.W. Bush, 1989.
  4. TIE: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953; Harry S.Truman, 1945.

The five U.S. Presidents with the least experience upon entering office in the last 100 years:

  1. Woodrow Wilson, 1913.
  2. George W. Bush, 2001.
  3. William Howard Taft, 1909.
  4. Warren G. Harding, 1921.
  5. Herbert Hoover, 1929.

The five U.S. Vice Presidents with the most experience upon entering office in the last 100 years:

  1. Nelson Rockefeller, 1974.
  2. Alben W. Barkley, 1945.
  3. John N. Garner, 1933.
  4. Charles Curtis, 1929.
  5. Gerald Ford, 1973.

The five U.S. Vice Presidents with the least experience upon entering office in the last 100 years:

  1. Thomas R. Marshall, 1913.
  2. Richard Nixon, 1953.
  3. Charles G. Dawes, 1925.
  4. TIE: Spiro T. Agnew, 1969; Henry A. Wallace, 1941.

Okay so now that I have your interest (and hatred) this is what I did:

I looked up as much information as I could in my limited spare time on all of our Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the last 100 years including our current 4 Presidential candidates. Then I had to work out a system of ranking them …. well that proved even more difficult. In truth I actually came up with the ranking system before I did my research because I wanted to eliminate as much bias as possible, but my system changed towards the end and I’ll explain why a little later. I looked at the life experiences of our Presidents leading up to their assuming office and I gave them the following points for each year of either public or military service.

My Scoring:
Points (per year) Category
+3 Vice Presidency
+2 Executive position
3 Federal Government
2 State Government
1 Local Government
1 Year served in Military

So for example: each year served as Governor gets 4 points, and each year served as a County Supervisor would receive 1 point.

I originally wanted to assign additional points for personal and educational achievements but due to the extremely varied life experiences of our Presidents it was impossible for me objectively assign points for these items. I origionally had a point bonus for having a child in the military whil in office, but I couldn’t find sufficient information for all of the presidents to make this fair. I realize that for every person the qualifications for President could vary greatly, but Article two of the U.S. Constitution explicitly assigns the role of Commander-in-Chief to the President and since the Presidency is an executive and political position these were the life experiences I focused on and was able to specifically quantify. There are obviously flaws with this system, for example Woodrow Wilson is the only President to have a Ph.D but he ranks the lowest. I also did not assign additional points for Military decorations, being a P.O.W., being a CEO of a corporation, or for Senate or House Leadership positions, even though these may provide some administrative and/or executive experience.

Now, I did make one exception to my system for Dwight D. Eisenhower. Technically he never served in a political position having made a career in the Army. However, I thought it very obvious that his many years as General of the Army, Supreme Allied Commander, and Army Chief of Staff were great experience for the Presidency and ranked these as political experience even thought they are technically assignments within the military. So, Eisenhower shows an experience score of 73 instead of 38.

With that said, I know this will spur furious debate over the methods of my ranking and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. You can see my complete research and make your own conclusions, that was the real focus of this effort, to get this information in a format that we can really speak in an educated way instead of just repeating talking points.

See the Experience Table for my research and make your own conclusions!

]]> http://www.talatorre.com/2008/09/by-the-numbers-obama-and-palin-vs-the-last-100-years/feed/ 4 The Fight Goes On http://www.talatorre.com/2008/02/the-fight-goes-on/ http://www.talatorre.com/2008/02/the-fight-goes-on/#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:45:09 +0000 admin To say that I am disappointed with tonight’s Presidential Primary results would be a huge understatement. However, tonight is not the end and the fight for Reagan conservatism and the values that I believe in will go on.

In the days leading up to today’s election I gained an increasing sense of optimism. The polls were showing a trend towards Mitt Romney and with one conservative leader after another endorsing Mitt I was hopeful that the Republican base would put their support on the one conservative left in the race. In great measure I was right. Exit polls show overwhelmingly that conservative voters did vote for Mitt Romney. Unfortunately, the Republican party isn’t as conservative as I had hoped. I was surprised by the large numbers of professed liberals and moderates that swayed the vote to John McCain. The “base” isn’t as much of a base anymore, its my impression that Reagen conservatives are more of a life line, desperately trying to keep the Republican Party anchored to an ideology that is becoming less and less popular and seen more and more as being fanatical or out of step with the way the rest of the world is run. Principals of free market economies, limited government, less government spending, lower taxes, strong national defense, an orderly and controlled immigration policy, strengthening the family, protecting the sanctity of life, appointing strict constructionist judges, and a belief in the incredible potential of the individual all seem to be slipping to the wayside. I have been a Mitt Romney fan for a long time now but more than that I believe in conservative principals that I feel are essential if our country is going to remain the free, prosperous country that we are today. I would have been very content to support a Guiliani or Thompson campaign because I feel that these two men, like Romney, had a sense of what conservationism is about. Granted, none of the republicans running in this election are 100% conservative on all of the issues, nor do I think that it’s necessary, however as I see McCain gaining momentum in his bid for the white house I see a bleak road ahead.


Anyone who has followed McCain’s career knows that he is the least conservative of all the candidates running. In his twenty years in the senate he has voted time and again against conservative ideals. He voted against the defense of marriage act, he voted in favor of embryonic stem cell research, he and Senator Feingold passed radical campaign legislation limiting political speech, he and Senator Kennedy tried to sneak through an amnesty plan that would have seriously harmed this nations security, he is in favor of closing Guantanamo, he is in favor of destroying our economy in an effort to “stop global warming”, is against investigating the tapping of potentially huge oil reserves in ANWR, and he voted against Bush’s tax cuts. What bothers me more than this however is the manner in which he discusses issues, If you disagree with John McCain he doesn’t argue his position with facts or logic, instead he belittles and attempts to make his opponents seem childish, racist, xenophobic, or whatever insult he can come up with. As Micheal Reagan said, “John McCain dislikes me and just about everybody else but Rudy Giuliani.” With McCain it’s his way or the highway, and it’s personal. I think McCain’s track record and his personal vitriol for anyone who dares challenge him is why the conservative base is up in arms about his potential nomination.

In the horrific event that John McCain is the nominee I’ll have to pull myself together, hold my nose, and ….. well …. I might vote for him. We’ll see. Although McCain and Hillary Clinton are almost the same person (one has longer hair), they do differ in two big areas; the war on Islamic Jihad, and what type of judges they would pick. Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton would be infinitely worse for this country than a McCain presidency. Unfortunately, if Obama is the nominee, and it is increasingly looks like he will be, I don’t see McCain stopping him. McCain is broke, Obama raises $32 million a month. Obama is young and has a vision for the future, McCain is old as dirt and always talks about the past. Obama is African America, McCain is an old White Guy. Obama is charismatic, McCain looks angry. Obama is passionate, full of life and exciting…. McCain is angry, bitter, and maybe a bit scary.

In stark contrast to McCain is Mitt Romney. He embodies optimism and hope. If anyone can stand a chance competing against Barak Obama this fall, it’s Mitt Romney. He understands the economy and has a plan to strengthen it with limited government involvement, he understands the threat of Islamic Jihad and has a plan to defeat it, he understands the importance of the family, of the sanctity of life, he knows what it’s like to lead, he knows what it’s life to sacrifice and work hard. I strongly believe that Mitt Romney can bring new life to a political system that’s floundering, to a Government that is increasingly distressed, and to a people wheary of divisive politics and war. I think that what I see in Romney is what my liberal friends see in Obama. Life, exuberance, hope and passion. However, Romney has a leg up on Obama… he has real experience and the same set of core beliefs that have led America from her inception and made her the shinning city on the hill that she is today.

So now what? Well, we fight on. As of this moment only 824 of the total 2,380 delegates have been won. Mitt Romney, although bruised and battered is not out of the race and last I checked Barak Obama wasn’t elected president, China hadn’t invaded California, and I still have both my legs. As long as there is a conservative in the race I fight on. I’ll continue to volunteer at phone banks, send emails, and do whatever else I can. Today is a setback, but as Ronald Reagen once said, “the price for freedom has at times been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.”

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