 | ||||
| ||||||
-------
Search the Republican Gazette ---->
The Republican Gazette
HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!
The Journal discovers Bob Adams!
Friday, July 25, 2008
In the text box below, nominate your Republican of the Year, and describe in a few words why he or she should be selected. Please include your name and contact info.
Please make sure to hit your refresh button for the current edition
REPUBLICAN OF THE YEAR
| ||||
Byrd's 'Letter to a New President' is flawed but worthy
I have always believed it is impossible to live to a very old age and not have something useful to impart to those trailing behind you. With that in mind, I recommend Robert C. Byrd's latest literary effort, "Letter to a New President." Byrd has become, in his latter years, a liberal Democrat, by and large. And so I knew going in that I would disagree with much of what he had to say, and I did. To make his points, he takes many swipes atPresident Bush, most of them unfairly, in my estimation. But I read the book -- it is brief at just roughly 200 pages, which was, one reason I chose to tackle it -- and simply ignored his partisan jabs and focused instead on the advice he imparts.
He is 90 years old. I am 52. He knows more than I do. He may be wrong in his politics, but he has nearly 40 more years of life experiences, and it is foolish to pretend that anyone, regardless of their partisan leanings, cannot learn from someone with decades of additional experience and wisdom. Byrd opens his letter thusly: "Dear New President,"Each of the eleven presidents I have known personally, from my favorite, Harry S. Truman, to your immediate predecessor, found himself standing before God on inauguration day, reciting the Oath of Office, hand on the Bible, and confronting the startling reality that no man or woman can ever be prepared for the awesome responsibility that now falls on your shoulders. I am quite certain that for a time, at least, every new president must feel as humble and naked as Woodrow Wilson did his first night in the White House." Byrd goes on to explain that Wilson's trunk of clothes had been misplaced, and the new president went to bed "without benefit of nightclothes." Byrd imparts several pearls of wisdom with which few could disagree. For example, Barack Obama could well consider Byrd's message that "Those who would advertise their dedication to bringing change to Washington must heed the first lesson taught by our own political history and that of the world: No individual, other than God, can truly claim to be a master of that genie we call change. Those who stumble blithely forward bolstered by blind faith in the power of their good intentions are certain to find themselves in turn mastered by change and its tidal currents, not the other way around."Byrd loves FDR, Truman and Kennedy, but also expresses a great admiration for Ford, who, he writes, said nightly prayers (like Byrd) and was much more capable than history often reflects. He seems to have a grudging respect for Reagan, who, although having an "irrational fear" of the Soviet Union, (says Byrd), gains credit for putting aside his staunch hatred of communism and negotiating historic treaties with Mikhail Gorbachev. And unlike many left-leaning Democrats, Byrd is willing to state flatly that Reagan's presidential decisions "played a role" in ending the Cold War.Byrd's disdain for the current president and the Iraq war does much to detract from what otherwise would be a completely admirable and even invaluable reference for the next president. Like others, particularly in the media, he seems unreasonably annoyed that Bush does not "admit his mistakes." That sentiment is a sign of the confessional age in which we live, and Byrd is sadly in tune with the Oprah generation. Given his plaudits for the occasional Republican president, one gathers that if we were a few years removed from the Bush administration, Byrd's missive would be somewhat less harsh than it is, in the glare and heat of current events. Byrd makes many references to his childhood in West Virginia and the lessons of his youth. His devotion to the Constitution is evident, and his advice is relevant in this age, or the ages to come. Like all advice, it is up to the reader, and particularly presidents to come, which pieces to adopt, and which ones to put aside. But when a man of 90 offers to share his advice, it is foolish not to put aside an hour or two to listen, and it is impossible not to learn something you did not know or consider before. In face of email exchange, Snyder backtracks, says zone plan was 'collective' with gov
After weeks of insisting, over and over again, that Gov. Joe Manchin approached him and asked him to try to sell Berkeley and Jefferson counties on the creation of a new economic zone, former Sen. Herb Snyder admitted in The Journal today that "it's a collective coming of the minds."But a spokesman for Manchin, Melvin Smith, made clear, "It's Mr. Snyder's project. He is the creator and he's the one who approached the governor about it." Smith's comments echoed those made by Manchin's legislative director, Jim Pitrollo, in an email response to Sen. John Unger, wherein Pitrollo said, "Herb came to the Governor with a plan to form a multi county economic zone to sell the area and the Governor asked if the County Commissions involved had any interest in such a effort."The distinction is important because Snyder was adamant not only in his presentations to the Berkeley and Jefferson commissions that the idea was Manchin's, but also on Wednesday's "Panhandle Live" show on WEPM.Believing that the governor was pushing a project, as opposed simply to a plan coming from a candidate for office, undoubtedly would carry additional weight with government agencies considering such a proposal. Bob Adams, Snyder's opponent in the November election, is quoted by The Journal (finally!) saying, "Ultimately the bottom line is, Snyder's proposal is a gimmick."The Journal reports that "After Adams was on a local radio program Thursday, Snyder called in to the show and repeatedly said the project was Manchin's initiative."Even odder is the fact that Snyder was in possession of the email exchange between Unger and Pitrollo long before continuing to insist the proposal originated with Manchin. Del. Craig Blair, who was copied on Pitrollo's email response, provided it to Snyder a couple of weeks ago at Snyder's request after he learned of its existence.The issue obviously goes to Snyder's credibility, and The Journal asked Adams "if the situation will potentially hurt Snyder's chance of being elected..."Adams replied, "One of the big questions always asked is the question of character, and that is the question the voters will ask in the election. And that's really a question the voters will have to answer themselves. Character is one of those big traits the voters look into at the polls. Character matters."Adams' comments in today's Journal are the first time the paper has alluded to him or sought him out for comment since before the primary election in early May, even while producing two consecutive stories on Snyder making his pitch to the Berkeley and Jefferson county commissions.