Campaign Speeches Quotes
Ryan told the national audience that President Obama had come to a factory in his district that as rumored to be closed. Obama had told the workers that the Federal government could assist and keep the factory open for many years. Then as Ryan explained, the factory closed the following year. He gave this as an example of Obama not keeping his word. However what Ryan did not say was that Obama had made the speech at the factory when he was a candidate for the Presidency, and then the factory was closed while George W. Bush was President and by the time he took office, the closure was done and the factory machines gone. And when Obama took office, our national economy was within days of complete bank and finance collapse. Obama saved most of the banks and then the American automobile industry. To suggest that Obama could have or should have done something for the factory that closed was shockingly misleading. It would have been a minor issue if some party hack had lied and made the same accusation. But this was the Vice Presidential Candidate whose acceptance speech was assumedly vetted by the Presidential Candidate’s staff. That is why the quotation was so memorable.
He was responding to the Democratic Slogan, “You never had it so good.” Over 50 years later the Democrats would be lamenting the Republican administration of George W. Bush for the huge debt and the fighting of the war in Iraq. This quotation is an excellent illustration of the fact that the two American political parties “flip-flop” positions over time to accommodate whether they are governing or in opposition. By 2005, the Republicans were in support of high deficits as they had produced the largest debt in American History. In the 1950s, Republican doctrine was to condemn all government deficits. And Republicans were the party of peace and the democrats were more aggressive in foreign policy. 50 years later, it was the Democrats calling for an end to the fighting (Iraq) and the Republicans supporting the war. Over the same period, the other two issues, taxes and inflation are still republican issues.
There are very few places in America where a public official could get away with statements like this one.
There was not a single liberal in America who claimed an objective to destroy the country. Politicians however, frequently claim that their opponent’s objective is to destroy the nation, while what is really true is that the politician believes that the policies of the opponent, if implemented will destroy the country. Since the Adams-Jefferson presidential contest every president has been accused of having the destruction of the country as an objective, and yet the nation is still here and thriving.
This was the famous “Checkers” speech which was also broadcast on national TV. It saved Nixon’s career. It is often regarded as one of the most brilliant political statements to diffuse political attacks on his integrity.
Wealthy men had purchased cheap land and moved into the area establishing large ranches and farms. The then very wealthy “newcomers” tended to do dominate the local politics and had much influence on national politics. They would employ the locals, but at very low wages.
Actually, both political parties had a range of opinion on the issue of control of the trusts, monopolies and large corporations. Roosevelt and his liberal wing of the Republic opinion were for regulating corporations and strengthening and enforcing the anti-trust laws. However, many of his party refused to admit that there were any abuses and/or if there were, the effect of Federal regulation and anti-trust enforcement would be worse that then problems caused by the trusts. At the same time, the Democrats had Bryan’s wing that wanted to break up the trusts and large corporations, and that is why Roosevelt had so much public support—enough to pass the legislation and make the President’s initiatives very popular. Roosevelt a shrewd campaigner attacked the Democrats knowing full well that many agreed with him, and ignored the conservative wing of his own party who were the ones who actively opposed his corporate reform effort.
