• Ronald Reagan and the Eleventh Commandment

    Ronald Reagan and the Eleventh Commandment

                California Governor Ronald Reagan was fond of invoking the Republican ‘Eleventh Commandment’ which was “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.” This epistle was credited to California Republican State Chairman Gaylord Parkinson during the 1960’s. In 1976, Reagan broke that commandment to advance his own political career.             Reagan grew up in central…

  • Why Watergate?

    Why Watergate?

    Ah, Richard Milhous Nixon. The man who appeared on every presidential ballot from 1952-1972 except 1964. A complex man who was at the center of American politics for much of the Cold War era. Congressman, Senator, Vice-President, and the only President of the United States to resign. Why? Richard Nixon was born in 1913 in…

  • Mind Games

    Mind Games

    The second presidential debate of 2024 is coming up on Tuesday, September 10th, also very early. Presidential debates have become a big part of America’s selection process for the last six decades. Many iconic or ‘viral’ moments have both helped and hurt nominees. President Biden’s June 27th performance ultimately drove him from the race.            …

  • Presidential Debates, Part 1

    Presidential Debates, Part 1

    Perhaps the most famous debates are the Lincoln-Douglas debates. They were NOT a presidential debate; they ran for the United States Senate seat from Illinois in 1858. Democrat Douglas was the incumbent seeking a third term. Lincoln, the challenger, and former one-term congressman represented the new Republican party that rose from the ashes of the…