Posted by
Roxanna M. on Sunday, May 22, 2011 9:57:07 AM
The left is fond of saying that Abraham Lincoln, America's first Republican president, would not recognize the Republican party today. They, of course, mean it as an insult. Abraham Lincoln died 146 years ago. So, it's not a stretch to say that there have been many changes since then. But, which party isn't the recognizable one.
During the campaign of 2000, it was all about gravitas. That's all we heard. Gravitas was the word of the day, every day. Gore had it and Bush didn't. Of course, this was never explained to us. The left said it, and we were supposed to accept it.
". . . the Texas Governor is viewed by at least a significant minority of voters as lacking the required gravitas for the office." (Jack Germond and Jules Witcover)
"Al Gore raised an important question: Does George W. Bush have the experience, the gravitas and, by implication, the brains to run U.S. foreign policy?" (Thomas Friedman, The New York Times)
" The former Missouri senator would bring gravitas and intellectual heft to the GOP ticket . . . precisely the quality that would serve as an effective counterweight to George W. Bush, whose image as something of a lightweight endures." (Steve Kraske, Kansas City Star)
Gravitas is defined as "substance, weightiness; serious or dignified demeanor. In 2000, democrats were all about substance.
In 2008, they were all about electing an unknown quantity who had never worked a day in his life and who has spent the past two years generally avoiding all the responsibilities of being president - preferring to delegate the boring tasks of actual governance to others - all the while enjoying all the perks of the office, i.e., weekly parties, expensive date nights and vacations, golfing, etc.
In May, columnist E.J. Dionne, whose lips are so firmly planted on Obama's buttocks that they're going to have to be surgically removed, said: "Today's Republican Party Would Make Lincoln Weep."
What do you suppose Harry Truman, who died a mere 38 years ago, would say about the democrat party of today.