President's Day for the United States = a long weekend and no school on Monday. That is reason enough for celebrating!
I grew up in times when both Abraham Lincoln and George Washington had their special holidays, and when Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg was required memorization. In recent weeks, Lincoln's speeches have been quoted by national leaders and religious leaders, however I hadn't realized until today that this is the 200th anniversary of his birth. Reading about a new book, "Abraham Lincoln, God's Humble Instrument," by Ron L. Andersen brought to mind the characteristics that I have admired of faith in God, integrity and concern for the Constitution.
http://www.mormontimes.com/people_news/religion/?linkTrack=dailyEmail&id=6248

From early childhood I was told how military service of my uncles in World War II and especially the bombing of Pearl Harbor affected my parents and our family. During high school I had teachers who had us listen to political speeches on the radio during class time. The idealism and glamor of the Kennedy era caught my college-age imagination and I vividly remember the sadness of his assassination. One of Gerhard's passions is politics, so we have watched political debates and followed the administrations of United States presidents while we lived in Mexico. Today I woke up with an idea for a blog entry about the presidents during my life, and something of their accomplishments. The site that made this possible is http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/
I don't remember Franklin D. Roosevelt, but his administration influenced my early life.
Roosevelt was elected President in November 1932, to the first of four terms. By March there were 13,000,000 unemployed, and almost every bank was closed. In his first "hundred days," he proposed, and Congress enacted, a sweeping program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in danger of losing farms and homes. By 1935 Roosevelt developed a new program of reform: Social Security, heavier taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks and public utilities, and an enormous work relief program for the unemployed.

Roosevelt had pledged the United States to the "good neighbor" policy. He also sought to keep the United States out of the war in Europe, yet when France fell and England came under siege began to send Great Britain all possible aid. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt organized the Nation's manpower and resources for global war. Feeling that the future peace of the world would depend upon relations between the United States and Russia, he devoted much thought to the planning of a United Nations, in which, he hoped, international difficulties could be settled.

The development of the atomic bomb and the unfolding difficulties with Russia and a host of other wartime problems became Truman's to solve when, on April 12, 1945, Roosevelt suddenly died and he became President. Truman made some of the most crucial decisions in history as he ordered atomic bombs dropped on cities devoted to war work. Two were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese surrender quickly followed.

In June 1945 Truman witnessed the signing of the charter of the United Nations, hopefully established to preserve peace.Thus far, he had followed his predecessor's policies, but he soon developed his own. He presented to Congress a 21-point program, proposing the expansion of Scocial Security, a full-employment program, a permanent Fair Employment Practices Act, and public housing and slum clearance. The program became known as the Fair Deal.

In 1947 as the Soviet Union pressured Turkey and, through guerrillas, threatened to take over Greece, he enunciated the program that bears his name--the Truman Doctrine. The Marshall Plan, named for his Secretary of State, stimulated spectacular economic recovery in war-torn western Europe. When the Russians blockaded the western sectors of Berlin in 1948, Truman created a massive airlift to supply Berliners until the Russians backed down. Meanwhile, he was negotiating a military alliance to protect Western nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, established in 1949.

In June 1950, when the Communist government of North Korea attacked South Korea, "there was no suggestion from anyone that either the United Nations or the United States could back away from it." Through a long, discouraging struggle Truman kept the war a limited one, rather than risk a major conflict with China and perhaps Russia.

"I like Ike" was an irresistible slogan; Eisenhower won a sweeping victory. Bringing to the Presidency, 1953-1961, his prestige as commanding general of the victorious forces in Europe during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower obtained a truce in Korea and worked incessantly during his two terms to ease the tensions of the Cold War. The death of Stalin in 1953 caused shifts in relations with Russia. Meanwhile, both Russia and the United States had developed hydrogen bombs. With the threatof such destructive force hanging over the world, Eisenhower, with the leaders of the British, French, and Russian governments, met at Geneva in July 1955. Eisenhower watched with pleasure the development of his "atoms for peace" program--the loan of American uranium to "have not" nations for peaceful purposes.

In domestic policy the President pursued a middle course, continuing most of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs, emphasizing a balanced budget. As desegregation of schools began, he sent troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to assure compliance with the orders of a Federal court; he also ordered the complete desegregation of the Armed Forces. "There must be no second class citizens in this country," he wrote.

On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was the youngest man elected President; he was the youngest to die. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote, Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President.

His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." As President, he set out to redeem his campaign pledge to get America moving again. His economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II; before his death, he laid plans for a massive assault on persisting pockets of privation and poverty. Responding to ever more urgent demands, he took vigorous action in the cause of equal rights, calling for new civil rights legislation. His vision of America extended to the quality of the national culture and the central role of the arts in a vital society. With the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, he brought American idealism to the aid of developing nations. But the hard reality of the Communist challenge remained.

Shortly after his inauguration, the attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a failure. Soon thereafter Kennedy increased the Nation's military strength, including new efforts in outer space. Confronted by this reaction, Moscow, after the erection of the Berlin Wall, relaxed its pressure in central Europe. Instead, the Russians now sought to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. When this was discovered by air reconnaissance in October 1962, Kennedy imposed a quarantine on all offensive weapons bound for Cuba. While the world trembled on the brink of nuclear war, the Russians backed down and agreed to take the missiles away.

In the 1960 campaign, Johnson, as John F. Kennedy's running mate, was elected Vice President. On November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson was sworn in as President. First he obtained enactment of the measures President Kennedy had been urging at the time of his death--a new civil rights bill and a tax cut. Next he urged the Nation "to build a great society, a place where the meaning of man's life matches the marvels of man's labor." In 1964, Johnson won the Presidency with 61 percent of the vote and had the widest popular margin in American history--more than 15,000,000 votes.

The Great Society program became Johnson's agenda for Congress in January 1965: aid to education, attack on disease, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions, a wide-scale fight against poverty, control and prevention of crime and delinquency, removal of obstacles to the right to vote.Under Johnson, the country made spectacular explorations of space in a program he had championed since its start.

Nevertheless, unrest and rioting in black ghettos troubled the Nation. President Johnson steadily exerted his influence against segregation and on behalf of law and order, but there was no early solution. The other crisis arose from Viet Nam. Despite Johnson's efforts to end Communist aggression and achieve a settlement, fighting continued. Controversy over the war had become acute by the end of March 1968, when he limited the bombing of North Viet Nam in order to initiate negotiations.

Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon. The Nation was painfully divided, with turbulence in the cities and war overseas. During his Presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Viet Nam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation. Faced with what seemed almost certain impeachment, Nixon announced on August 8, 1974, that he would resign the next day to begin "that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."
When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office on August 9, 1974, he declared, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts." Ford was confronted with almost insuperable tasks. There were the challenges of mastering inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and trying to ensure world peace.

The President acted to curb the trend toward Government intervention and spending as a means of solving the problems of American society and the economy. In the long run, he believed, this shift would bring a better life for all Americans.As President, Ford tried to calm earlier controversies by granting former President Nixon a full pardon.In foreign affairs Ford acted vigorously to maintain U. S. power and prestige after the collapse of Cambodia and South Viet Nam. Preventing a new war in the Middle East remained a major objective; by providing aid to both Israel and Egypt, the Ford Administration helped persuade the two countries to accept an interim truce agreement. Detente with the Soviet Union continued. President Ford and Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev set new limitations upon nuclear weapons.

On Inauguration Day, President Carter began his speech: "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land." A grateful people concurred.
Jimmy Carter aspired to make Government "competent and compassionate," responsive to the American people and their expectations. His achievements were notable, but in an era of rising energy costs, mounting inflation, and continuing tensions, it was impossible for his administration to meet these high expectations.

Carter worked hard to combat the continuing economic woes of inflation and unemployment. By the end of his administration, he could claim an increase of nearly eight million jobs and a decrease in the budget deficit, measured in percentage of the gross national product. Unfortunately, inflation and interest rates were at near record highs, and efforts to reduce them caused a short recession.

Carter could point to a number of achievements in domestic affairs-- establishing a national energy policy and by decontrolling domestic petroleum prices, civil service reform and deregulation of the trucking and airline industries, improving the environment, creation of the Department of Education, bolstering the Social Security system, and appointing record numbers of women, blacks, and Hispanics to Government jobs.

In foreign affairs, Carter set his own style in championing human rights. In the Middle East, through the Camp David agreement of 1978, he helped bring amity between Egypt and Israel. He succeeded in obtaining ratification of the Panama Canal treaties. Building upon the work of predecessors, he established full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and completed negotiation of the SALT II nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union.The seizure as hostages of the U. S. embassy staff in Iran dominated the news during the last 14 months of the administration and contributed to Carter's defeat Iran finally released the 52 Americans the same day Carter left office.

Voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement of Americans in Iran swept the Republican ticket into office.On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he was shot by a would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar.

Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and Government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit.

In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code, which eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. At the end of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression.

In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve "peace through strength." During his two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan declared war against international terrorism, sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub.By ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf, he maintained the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war. In keeping with the Reagan Doctrine, he gave support to anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and Africa.

George H. W. Bush faced a dramatically changing world, as the Cold War ended after 40 bitter years, the Communist empire broke up, and the Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union ceased to exist; and reformist President Mikhail Gorbachev, whom Bush had supported, resigned.

In other areas of foreign policy, President Bush sent American troops into Panama to overthrow the corrupt regime of General Manuel Noriega, who was threatening the security of the canal and the Americans living there. Noriega was brought to the United States for trial as a drug trafficker.

Bush's greatest test came when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, then threatened to move into Saudi Arabia. Vowing to free Kuwait, Bush rallied the United Nations, the U. S. people, and Congress and sent 425,000 American troops. They were joined by 118,000 troops from allied nations. After weeks of air and missile bombardment, the 100-hour land battle dubbed Desert Storm routed Iraq's million-man army.

Despite unprecedented popularity from this military and diplomatic triumph, Bush was unable to withstand discontent at home from a faltering economy, rising violence in inner cities, and continued high deficit spending.

During the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, the U.S. enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any time in its history. He was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second term. He could point to the lowest unemployment rate in modern times, the lowest inflation in 30 years, the highest home ownership in the country's history, dropping crime rates in many places, and reduced welfare rolls. He proposed the first balanced budget in decades and achieved a budget surplus. As part of a plan to celebrate the millennium in 2000, Clinton called for a great national initiative to end racial discrimination.

In 1998, as a result of issues surrounding personal indiscretions with a young woman White House intern, Clinton was the second U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. He was tried in the Senate and found not guilty of the charges brought against him. He apologized to the nation for his actions and continued to have unprecedented popular approval ratings for his job as president.

In the world, he successfully dispatched peace keeping forces to war-torn Bosnia and bombed Iraq when Saddam Hussein stopped United Nations inspections for evidence of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, was sworn into office on January 20, 2001. He tried to maintain his reputation for bipartisanship and compassionate conservativism by shaping public policy based on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, strong families, and local control.He signed into law tax relief that helped workers keep more of their hard-earned money, as well as the most comprehensive education reforms in a generation, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. President Bush also worked to improve healthcare and modernize Medicare, providing the first-ever prescription drug benefit for seniors; increase homeownership, especially among minorities; conserve our environment; and increase military strength, pay, and benefits.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked our Nation. President Bush took unprecedented steps to protect our homeland and create a world free from terror. He was grateful for the service and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform and their families.
Leaving office, President Bush answered questions from reporters about the U.S. bruised image overseas, the 6 years of the war with Iraq, questions about aid in natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the unsettled Israeli-Palestine dispute and the dire economic problem which has brought the unpopular "bailout."

Barak Hussein Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. The scope and intensity of problems facing President Obama are similar only to those that Franklin D. Roosevelt faced in 1933. (CNNMoney.com)
He began with rapid completion of campaign promises. On Jan. 23, Obama issued the presidential memorandum rescinding the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information, following the announcement Jan. 21 on ethics rules for government employees and Jan. 22 signing of orders on closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and banning torture in the questioning of terror suspects. Economic stimulus legislation at the heart of President Barack Obama's recovery plan is scheduled for final votes on Feb. 13.
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/national/nat_ap_wash_bush_defends_presidency_in_final_days_2009011211572157226