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This is a reply to last week's "thoughts on the Presidency". The writer was comparing Obama's presidency with Trump's past four years. Ms. Danti claimed that Obama was to blame for "the upheaval currently besetting this country". Ms. Danti rattled off a list of all the terrible things that Obama did while in office-IRS (meaning?), Libya gun running, and-- wait for it--Benghazi-among others.
I would like to offer another way of comparing the last two presidents. The first is listing the number of Obama appointees/advisors that were found guilty or plead guilty to criminal offenses during his term in office and compare that to Trump's. All the corruption that Ms, Danti listed in her letter led to zero criminal or civil cases. Zero. This is even though the Republicans were in control of Congress for half of Obama's presidency. Republicans investigated all the things on Ms. Danti's list and even they concluded that no criminal acts were committed. Believe me when I say they tried their hardest {Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi!). Trump's presidency has been one criminal conviction after another. Michael Flynn (National Security Advisor plead guilty to lying to Congress twice)), Paul Manafort (Trump's 2016 Campaign Chairman convicted of Tax and Bank fraud), Roger Stone (convicted of 7 counts including witness tampering and lying to investigators), Michael Cohen (Trump's personal lawyer), Rick Gates, Steve Bannon(recently charged with fraud by funneling money that he raised to "build the Wall" into his own pocket ....the list go could go on but I think I made my point.
The second comparison deals with what those within Obama's and Trump's own political party say about the character of the President. Trump's former Sec. of Defense Mattis has denounced Trump for dividing the nation and says Trump is a threat to the Constitution. Trump's former Sec. of State Rex Tillerson said Trump was an idiot. Senator Mitt Romney voted to impeach the President. Former President George W Bush is voting for Biden. So is Colin Powell. So is Mike Pence's former COVID advisor Olivia Troye. So is Michael Steele the 2008 chairman of the Republican party. The Lincoln Project has over 100 leading Republicans that are spending millions of dollars against Trump this election year. The list is too long. Just google it. Obama certainly has his critics and his faults. His two former Secretaries of Defense felt Obama was too timid in dealing with Iraq and Afghanistan because Obama did not want to get stuck in these conflicts(sounds a little like Trump's view).
I am writing this opinion on the anniversary of the writing of the Constitution on September 17,1787. Two of the document's foundation blocks were separation of powers and checks and balances. These two principles are being threatened by a president who admires authoritarians and dictators while his own party enables his attacks on these two basic principles
Tom Osting
Platteville, WI