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Gamer Ted Armstrong
SPIAKS OUT!
The Politics of Politics
l
t was during the Johnson admin–
istration. A lead ing weekly news
magazine, edítoríalizing on Mr.
Johnson' s chances in the up–
comong elections, voewed the Presi–
dent's chances from the perspectiva
of the violent antiwar demonstra–
toons, the civil rights movement, the
arms rece, pollution, and, most es–
pecially, the Vietnam war.
As that November drew omi–
nously nearer, the maga:tine blandly
prophesied that the Vietnam war
would almost certainly be brought to
some sort of conclusion.
The reasqn7
Mr. Johnson would most certaínly
..not dare.. lace the voters·
!v
the
upcoming elections w i th ..a war on
his hands...
That incredible statement. almost
ínstantly lost in the casual. normal,
sometimos boringly repetitious
analyses by the media, public sur–
veys, and editorial speculatoons
about the next presidential electoon.
was a singular indictmenl. Wilhout
inlending to. it had plainly charged
lhal presidenls in office may either
begin wars. protracl wars. or· halt
wars lhrough wrious means, com–
monly al theor disposal. i f the per–
sonal slakes are high enough - in
1his case. an election .
Bul what an indiclment!
Surely il can't be lrue7 Surely,
once having soared to the towering
ponnacle of leadershop of a huge nu·
clear power. a President of the
United Stales is
sbove
partisan or
personal politics. isn't he?
Surely lhose occupying the high–
est offíces of nalional governments
must be people who lhink, reason.
and acl on a much higher plane than
laymen.
1 have nevar been ablo lo under–
sland politocs, nor polilicians.
Today, the President of the United
States comments with a fair mea–
sure of sarcasm how truly ironic it
seems thal he finds it easier 10 nego–
tiale with the nation"s enemies than
with the Congress of the United
States .
Though neither an elected official
nor a clear choice of the maJority. he
nevertheless has been torced lo
shoulder the most awesome and im–
portan! responsibility on the lace of
the earth. In the conduct of that re–
sponsíbility, and most particularly as
it concerns foreign policy, one
would assume the Presiden! would
be
given every conceivable coopera–
tion, every conceivable loyalty,
every conceivable help.
Notso.
There are at least five (or is' it 17
or 237) futuro presidential hopefuls
waiting in the wings. Those who as–
pire to
be
leaders of the nation take
every opportunity to attack Presiden!
Ford .
A trip to Vladivostok to talk to So–
viet leaders about futuro arms limita–
tions?
He should have been spending
more time ..lending the shop.. at
home.
. A needed break from
th~
enor–
mously exhausting duties of the
presidency on the ski slopes of Colo–
rado?
He was attacked for wasting time
and lampooned and ridiculed in car–
toons and editorials alike.
Mr. Ford' s recent attempts to
stimulate the economy brought fonh
particularly vicious attacks from all
quarters.
Congress has clearly set itself on a
course of stubborn refusal to cooper–
ate with Mr. Ford, most likely
no
metter whst
programs '?r policías he
espouses.
While it may seem a dangerous
assumption, 1 have no doubt that
had Mr. Ford advocated the immedi–
ete rationing of gasolina. the same
Congress now attacki.ng his pro–
posad gasolina tax and surcharges
would have attacked gasol ina ration–
ing justas vigorously.
Was the weekly news maga¡ine
correct alter alf? Do those in high
elective office often place personal
desire for power and a " place in
history..
above
the most urgent con–
cems of humankind and of the nation?
Some of the lessons of Watergate
are difficult to overlook. Visionary?
Ooscretionary? Filiad witfi w isdom.
¡udgment, and lackong in seff-inter–
est - thinking only of the nation
and alf of humankind?
Negativ~.
Though we may naively assume
those in towering positions of ín–
credible power on this nuclear age
are endowed with these character–
istics, it is painfully instructiva to
learn that prívate talks in the offices
of the highest officials on earth can
resemble those of the lowliest group
of gossips on the golf course.
1 couldn't help but be impressed
by the earl ier irony of · the famous
" kitchen debate" during the Eisen–
hower administration in which the
then Vice-Presiden!, Richard M .
Nixon, found himseff in cheerful rep–
anee. albeit with obviously serious
overtones. w i th
party
chief Nikita
Khrushchev.
The discussion rambled banter–
ingly from Khrushchev"s chaffenges
Surely, lhey musl be imbued with
vision: they must be men of grea1
wisdom, discre1ion, miíurity, judg–
ment. vast knowledge and unusual
abolity. - Most of all. they musl
be
utterly selfless, placing national in–
teresl, and, even beyond that. the
interests of humankind itsel f
fsr
above
party,
personal office or even
hfe7
THI WIHJHtllnltS
WEEK ENDING MARCH 8. 1975
about American •;taif fins.. on auto–
mobiles, as opposed to Russia's
" bigger rockets," and Mr. Nixon's
much-publicized defensa of Ameri–
can technology.
While
it
sounded more like
twO
boys arguing over the comparativo
merits of thei r respective -- euff's
eyes" and --aggies.. in a marbl&–
shooting match, this was later hailed
asan eumple of international diplo–
macy
psr sxcellence
and one of lhe
oft-cited instances of Mr. Nixon' s al–
leged experience in foreign policy
during the Kennedy-Nixon television
debates.
So, while cherished school-boy
dreams of yesteryear may lead one
to assume the highest elected offi–
cials of giganticaffy powerful nations
are men of such sage wisdom, ma–
ture judgment and ultimate discre–
tion that their minds and manners
truly function on a plano lar superior
to that of the average layman, both
lhe shocking lessons of recent his–
tory and the present spectacle of a
Congress grasping Gereld Ford"s
coattails, wíth heels dug firmly into
the ground and mulish determina–
tion to fight him every step of lhe
way, would instruct us otherwise.
Today, the United States of Amer–
ice faces the graves! test in alf its
history, even as it approachos its bi–
centennial anniversary.
With the specter of a deep depres–
sion looming just ahead. the energy
crisis, global poffution, the popu–
lation explosion, the arms rece, wars
all around the world, and the threat
of imminent war in the Mideast,
soaring joblessness, and an aw–
lanche of crime that reaches into the
prívate lives. of every American. one
might assume it would be a time for
a prayerful Congress. on its knees.
to be sol iciti(lg divi ne aid in the con–
duct of its duties and responsi–
bilities. Though Congress may
d isagree -
and quite con–
scientiously so - with cenain of
Gerald Ford 's programs. one would
think Congress would be busify pur–
suing the course most easily nego–
tiable , the most immediately
reconcilable, and if not satisfactory
to either party, at least the most
comfortably compromising under
the ciryumstances.
lnstead, it appears the Oemocrats
are determinad to fight to the end .
The only trouble is, it may
be
far
more than the end of Gerald Ford's
lenure in the White House.
To me, politics stinks . lt wilf al·
ways stink, unless or until one can
see the clearest proof of national and
humanitarian interests placad tower–
ingly above that of selfish
party–
spirit or desire for personal status
and attainment.
Personally, 1 have no optimism
that such humanitarian instincts will
soon domínate the minds of our ne>Ct
crop of presidential hopefuls.
O
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