Trump accomplished a victory of historic proportions, despite the fierce opposition of legacy media, academia, and the Deep State. That should be acknowledged and respected.
I agree with Paul's 2024 analysis. I have a few years on him, and would tag 1953 as the top year in my time. On March 5 of that year I vividly remember television news of Stalin's death. I was in the fifth grade, and Stalin was often the villain in the pages of the Weekly Reader, a news magazine for grade schoolers. We had one of the few TVs in the area, and the neighbors came to watch Eisenhower's January 20 inauguration. In my mind's eye I see Eisenhower announcing the Korean War armistice on July 27, and he was instrumental in achieving that stalemate. He refused to come to the aid of the French in Indo China in 1954, and, the Korean War which he inherited aside, he did not lose a single American soldier, sailor or airman on his eight year watch. The economy boomed, and Eisenhower kept budget deficits at bay. He forced a peaceful settlement of the Suez Crisis and refused to get involved in the Hungarian uprising, and won a second term landslide despite the political risks he took on Suez and Hungary, both of which happened days before the 1956 election. He enforced Truman's integration of the armed services and desegregated Washington, DC, an achievement that prompted Adam Clayton Powell to vote for him for his second term. He deployed troops to integrate Little Rock schools. He was the first president subject to the two term presidential limit. I've read he would have run for a third term if he could have, and he obviously would have won, since Nixon lost by a whisker. If he had had a third term, it's highly unlikely we would have had the Viet Nam War or the domestic political upheaval fathered by that war. He kept the cool in the Cold War.. His favorability rating averaged over his eight years are the highest in modern times. Scholars and intellectuals scoffed at him during his time in office, and for several years he ranked middling in presidential standings. In the latest one, though, published in 2017, he ranked fifth. In my time his were the best of times, with no dilution by a Dickensian offset. It all started in 1953, when the Stalin era ended and the Eisenhower era began. Jim Dueholm
As you suggest, here's to hoping and praying that in 2025 Israel, with the unambiguous backing and support of the USA, delivers a devastating blow to Iran's nuclear facilities. One that will not be recoverable for the foreseeable future. That alone would be a huge win not only for the Middle East, but for the entire world.
Paul and Bill,
You made 2024 a better year for all of us with your insight and commentary. Thank you.
I hope you both have a terrific 2025, and please keep up the good work. Larry Leiser
Thank you, Larry.
Trump accomplished a victory of historic proportions, despite the fierce opposition of legacy media, academia, and the Deep State. That should be acknowledged and respected.
I agree with Paul's 2024 analysis. I have a few years on him, and would tag 1953 as the top year in my time. On March 5 of that year I vividly remember television news of Stalin's death. I was in the fifth grade, and Stalin was often the villain in the pages of the Weekly Reader, a news magazine for grade schoolers. We had one of the few TVs in the area, and the neighbors came to watch Eisenhower's January 20 inauguration. In my mind's eye I see Eisenhower announcing the Korean War armistice on July 27, and he was instrumental in achieving that stalemate. He refused to come to the aid of the French in Indo China in 1954, and, the Korean War which he inherited aside, he did not lose a single American soldier, sailor or airman on his eight year watch. The economy boomed, and Eisenhower kept budget deficits at bay. He forced a peaceful settlement of the Suez Crisis and refused to get involved in the Hungarian uprising, and won a second term landslide despite the political risks he took on Suez and Hungary, both of which happened days before the 1956 election. He enforced Truman's integration of the armed services and desegregated Washington, DC, an achievement that prompted Adam Clayton Powell to vote for him for his second term. He deployed troops to integrate Little Rock schools. He was the first president subject to the two term presidential limit. I've read he would have run for a third term if he could have, and he obviously would have won, since Nixon lost by a whisker. If he had had a third term, it's highly unlikely we would have had the Viet Nam War or the domestic political upheaval fathered by that war. He kept the cool in the Cold War.. His favorability rating averaged over his eight years are the highest in modern times. Scholars and intellectuals scoffed at him during his time in office, and for several years he ranked middling in presidential standings. In the latest one, though, published in 2017, he ranked fifth. In my time his were the best of times, with no dilution by a Dickensian offset. It all started in 1953, when the Stalin era ended and the Eisenhower era began. Jim Dueholm
As you suggest, here's to hoping and praying that in 2025 Israel, with the unambiguous backing and support of the USA, delivers a devastating blow to Iran's nuclear facilities. One that will not be recoverable for the foreseeable future. That alone would be a huge win not only for the Middle East, but for the entire world.