Give Em' Hell, Harry!

For the most part, I despise politicians. Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Communist, Black Panther, whatever. None of these thieves and liars have our best interest at heart. Of course, I am talking about them collectively and not on an individual basis. I know there are a few diamonds in the rough, who have yet to sell their souls to the devil (special interests) and perhaps never will.

I know many people who feel the same as I do. Recently I have had a similar conversation with several people from all over the political spectrum and there is one thing that we have been able to agree upon: The world is ready now, more than ever for another Harry Truman. My grandma recently e-mailed me some facts about him that I thought I would share. They really illustrate the kind of man he was and why we will probably never have another like him.

Harry Truman was a different kind of President.  He probably made  as many important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents. 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 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 were 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.  

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!!

The sad thing is that neither of the two main political parties would likely even allow someone like Truman to advance to the point of being a presidential candidate. Today, you have to know how to "play ball", shake the right hands and kiss the right butts. It's pathetic really. It should make us all sick or depressed, or perhaps most importantly, angry.