|
|
|
Become a
Paid Mullings Subscriber!
(To join the FREE mailing list or to unsubscribe Click Here)
George W. and the Secretary of State
Rich Galen Wednesday November 17, 2004
It may have escaped your attention, but the resignation of Secretary of State Colin Powell has got the Democrats and their allies in the popular press with their collective panties in a massive twist.
Powell is out at least in part because he couldn't get along with another senior member of the President's Cabinet: Donald Rumsfeld - the dark prince of the Pentagon.
Yep. There it is for all to see: President George W. has canned the Secretary of State after only one term in office. The Secretary is one of the most popular people in the nation. Maybe in the world.
It is reported that even the government in Paris likes the Secretary of State and, if it is possible, thinks even less of President George for having pulled the plug.
Dear Mr. Mullings:
Is this some sort of trick? Or have you just gone mad?
Signed,
The National Association of Red State Electors
Actually those two choices are not mutually exclusive, but that's not the point.
Here it is: President George W. in this case is George Washington, who was first elected in 1789 and re-elected in 1793.
The Secretary of State who didn't make it into the second term was none other than Thomas Jefferson.
The French and the British were at war again in 1793 and much of Old Europe chose up sides. President George Washington decided - UNILATERALLY, I might add - to stay out of it.
Thomas Jefferson - who had spent a good deal of time (and effort, if you know what I mean and I think you do) in Paris - was not on the same broadsheet as one of the other senior members of the Cabinet, Alexander Hamilton, so Jefferson left after Washington's first term.
SIDEBAR
Old Al Hamilton was not exactly the Dale Carnegie of the 18th century when it came to playing nicely with others. You might remember from your high school civics classe a minor disagreement between Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Here's the chronology:
Jefferson served as John Adams' Vice President from 1797-1801. Then was elected President in 1801 and guess who his Vice President was? Keerekt! Aaron "Get-Me-My-Gun-and-a-Ticket-on-the-Ferry-to-Weehawken-New-Jersey" Burr.
Burr, didn't want to be the Vice President of the United States so much as he wanted to be President of Mexico, but that's another story.
END SIDEBAR
Anyway, let's hop into the Wayback Machine and take a little look at the past oh, fifty years, and check out the tenures of Secretaries of State, shall we?
Dwight D. Eisenhower: Two terms, two Secretaries: John Foster Dulles (1953-59) and Christian Herter (1959-61)
John Kennedy/Lyndon Johnson: Two terms, one Secretary: Dean Rusk (1961-69)
Richard Nixon/Gerald Ford: Two terms, two Secretaries: William Rogers (1970-73) and Henry Kissinger (1973-77)
Jimmy Carter: One Term, two Secretaries: Cyrus Vance (1978-80) and Edmund Muskie (1980-81)
Ronald Reagan: Two terms, two Secretaries: Al Haig (1981-82) and George Shultz (1982-89)
George H.W. Bush: One term, two Secretaries: James Baker (1989-92) and Lawrence Eagleburger (1992-93)
Bill Clinton: Two terms, two Secretaries: Warren Christopher (1993-97) and Madeline Albright (1997-2001)
So, in the past 50 years only one Secretary of State has stayed on post for eight years: Dean Rusk during the entirety of which tenure the US was involved in the VIETNAM WAR!
Dean Martin would have done a better job. James Dean would have been better. So would Dean Stockwell. Ok, not Dean Stockwell, but you get my drift.
Dr. Condoleezza Rice was named yesterday to replace Colin Powell.
Two things to keep track of: First, note how many big time television reporters who never referred to Secretary Powell on the air as "Colin," will talk about Dr. Rice as "Condi" thus diminishing her stature by inference.
Second, this appointment marks the first time in the history of Western civilization that a Black woman has succeeded a Black man as the Foreign Minister of any nation.
Let's see how much credit President Bush gets for that.
On the Secret Decoder Ring today: Links to the Department of State's web page listing all confirmed Secretaries of State and a terrific timeline by PBS showing the events leading to the duel between Hamilton and Burr.
--END --
Copyright © 2004 Richard A. Galen
Current Issue |
Secret Decoder
Ring | Past
Issues | Email
Rich | Rich
Who?
Copyright �2002 Richard
A. Galen | Site design by Campaign
Solutions. | |
|
� 
