Hello Bob,   
      
    LL>> Republicans had to beg Richard Nixon to resign from office.   
    LL>> Democrats had threatened, but were never really serious,   
      
    BK> Repubicans decided Nixon had to go, back then Republicans could   
    BK> actually agree with Democrats when the facts were obvious. A lot   
    BK> time.   
      
   Republicans are blaming it all on Clinton.  I am not making   
   this up.  I'll have to find the url again for the article, but   
   they put the blame squarely on Clinton.   
      
   Hillary Rodham Clinton.  She was the brains behind getting rid   
   of Richard M. Nixon.  And now Republicans want their revenge.   
      
    LL>> about impeaching the guy or removing him from office.  And   
    LL>> to think Republicans almost pulled it off, with Gerald Ford   
    LL>> losing a very close race to Jimmy Carter.   
      
    BK> I blame the pardon for that.   
      
   Gerald Ford made a deal with Rihard Nixon in order to become   
   Vice President.  We all know what that deal was.  Upon becoming   
   President, Ford was to grant Nixon a full pardon for all crimes   
   committed.  Which is exactly what Ford did.   
      
   Why would Ford do Nixon's bidding?  After all, Ford was the   
   president, and Nixon a mere private citizen?   
      
   Richard Nixon had some dirt on Gerald Ford.  He would not have   
   appointed Ford as vice president unless he had an insurance card.   
   If President Ford would have refused to grant Richard Nixon a   
   pardon, Nixon would have spilled the beans and dragged Ford down   
   with him, the both of them spending quality time at a federal   
   vacation home.   
      
   President Ford's mistake was telling the American people that   
   he had not made a deal with Nixon.   
      
   You see, the American people would have gotten mad at him,   
   but plainly understood, if Ford had said he made a deal with   
   Nixon so that he could become President.  Whether it was true   
   or not was irrelevant.  It is what the American people would   
   have believed.  Not the bullshit story about granting Nixon   
   a pardon because it was the right thing to do.   
      
   When Nixon resigned from office, people were still talking   
   about Nixon.  Nobody cared about Ford.  Nobody was talking   
   about Ford as president or anything else.  It was all about   
   Nixon, and only Nixon.   
      
   President Ford had to do something to change the subject.   
   To do that, he had two choices -   
      
   * He could have Nixon shot by firing squad   
   * He could pardon Nixon   
      
   Not wanting to look like a tinhorn dictator, Ford chose   
   to pardon Nixon.   
      
    LL>> That was back in 1976, when politicians still had brains.   
      
    BK> Oh, you already made that point.   
      
   Except for Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms.   
   But they were born that way, kind of like Lady GaGa.   
      
    LL>> Fast forward to 2000, the beginning of the end of politics.   
      
    BK> I think the Nixon pardon was. It was the start on the downhill   
    BK> slope.   
      
   Richard Nixon was a terrible president.   Gerald Ford was not much   
   better, given the number of times he used the veto pen.  Jimmy Carter   
   was an exceptional leader, having a higher percentage of legislation   
   passed than any president in history, including LBJ.  Ronald Reagan   
   was a decent actor, a popular president, but did not accomplish much   
   of anything during his time in office.  Bush41 sought to bring about   
   a "New World Order" by creating the first tv war in a desert kingdom.   
   Bill Clinton was the most beloved president of our times, getting   
   along with members of both parties in Congress, and leaving office   
   with the highest popularity rating in American history.  Bush43   
   managed to mangle the English language in ways unimaginable, and   
   is best forgotten.  Barack Obama is the black man's best friend,   
   and the black man's worst enemy, depending on which version of   
   black history you want to believe.   
      
   And then there is Hillary Rodham Clinton.  The 45th President   
   of the United States ...   
      
    LL>> Republicans had impeached, but not removed from office)   
    LL>> President Clinton, who was already barred by the   
    LL>> Constitution from being able to run for a third consecutive   
    LL>> term.  If Bill Clinton would have had any brains, he would   
    LL>> have resigned from office.   
      
    BK> He should have finished at least 2 yrs of his second term, but I   
    BK> don't think resigning would have done that much good, and it   
    BK> would have encouraged the right to do that over and over.   
      
   On second thought, Bill Clinton should have run for a third   
   consecutive term, the 22nd Amendement be damned ...   
      
    LL>> President Gore would easily   
    LL>> have defeated the Republican upstart, George W. Bush, and   
    LL>> there would have been no 9-11.   
      
    BK> The first part is questionable, but surely possible, the second   
    BK> could very well have been true.   
      
   There are rumors that brother Jeb set charges in the WTC Towers   
   which is the real reason they came tumbling down.  Or maybe it was   
   brother Neil.  Sometimes those conspiracy theories get confusing ...   
      
    LL>> We all know what happened next.  Al Gore won the presidency,   
    LL>> but was never allowed to hold his properly elected office.   
      
    BK> Yep. Which could possibly be the fatal blow to this country.   
      
   Nah.  Al Gore says it will be abrupt climate change (global   
   warming).  And he might very well be right.  I cannot imagine   
   Republicans ever running out of hot air.  Can you?   
      
    LL>> Joe Biden has been involved in 67 political races.   
    LL>> As far as I know, Joe Biden remains undefeated, and   
    LL>> will be 73 years young in 2016 ...   
      
    BK> He also suffers from foot in mouth disease. Sad.   
      
   All the more reason for Republicans NOT to impeach Obama ...   
      
   --Lee   
      
   --- MesNews/1.08.05.00-gb   
    * Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2)