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Thought you'd enjoy this!
It's one you want your Children and Grandchildren to read. They won't believe this happened, but it DID.Harry & Bess(This seems unreal.)
Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or more important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.
The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri. His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.
When he retired from office in 1952 his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.
After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.
When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."
Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."
As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.
Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale (cf. Illinois).
Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!
I say dig him up and clone him!
Enjoy life now -- it has an expiration date!
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We Will Never See This Again
9/20/2011 11:18:00 AM
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Key Words:
EISENHOWER,
TRUMAN
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12 comments:
Harry Truman was a different kind of President.
Yup. He was a Democrat who (most) Republicans don't instinctively hate with the fire of a thousand suns.
At least not now, in hindsight.
as president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.
I love Harry, but this isn't something exclusive to him. All Presidents pay for their own food (and toiletries, and other living expenses at the White House) out of their own salaries. They also are required to reimburse the government for personal travel at a set government rate.
Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth.
First, this isn't a modern phenomenon. Second, I thought we were supposed to praise the wealthy as "job creators' and pillars of virtue? Finally, since when has this been a complaint? I don't recall much Republican crying about Cheney's massive fortune from his ties to Halliburton and the Iraq war.
Political offices are now for sale (cf. Illinois).
Political offices have always been for sale! This isn't new!
And if we are talking about corruption, how about shining a light at Texas, where Gov Perry has become a millionaire through politics and has set up a pretty blatant pay for play system with state contracts. You give to Perry, you get state money. You don't, you don't.
If you think the President's salary is cushy, how do you feel about the average CEO making over $11 million?
What a bunch of senseless conservative claptrap. The think tank certainly doesn't a word of this, but it's sent forth to conservatives to make them feel... ??? what I don't know.
I thought Republicans hated any Democratic politician a priori, de rigueur & a priori. So NOW someone suggests to "dig up" Harry Truman & clone him?? I thought that goulish ritual was reserved solely for Sainted Ronnie of the Raygunz! Nancita will not be amused....
buncha hoo-haaa
Right-wingers are industrious little suckers, always laying claim to that which they used to hate. My right-wing father quite sincerely told me that John F. Kennedy was a "conservative" -- although the right-wing enjoyed denouncing him as an effete leftist when he was in office.
Its like there is a big wheel of "conservative attributes" somewhere. Each day some think tank flunky spins the wheel and one day it landed on "Thriftiness." Tomorrow it may land "Gov't Workers are Bloodsuckers," or "Gov't Screws Up Everything." But for today they love a thrifty career politician who never had a job in the 'real world'.
All commenters did great; but I especially wanted to give a shout-out to Thx 4 Fish: Nice with the 'wheel of bullshit' analogy.
Tomorrow's spin of the wheel will be equally facile and stupid.
For some reason they forgot to mention that Harry Truman was the first president to seriously strive for national health care. Surely that's one of the reasons they admire him so!
I guess conservatives also admire GWH Bush & GW Bush for their thriftiness and how they live on a very low income after their tenure was over... oh, nevermind...
I know! Let's all go watch "Ozzie & Harriet" and pretend that life really IS like that!!
Maybe we can dig up Ozzie & Harriett and clone them endlessly?? And all the clones will live just like it's the 1950s again... you know: when women & the dusky folks *knew their place.*
Enjoy life now -- it has an expiration date!
Huh??? So why are so many otherwise healthy long lived and well-heeled seniors such dour, bile spitting curmudgeons who want to "take our country back" or at the very least, take "government hands off our medicare"?
...as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him.
Um, what?
If they dig him up and clone him, does that mean we get to have Harry Truman for President again?
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