Presidential Ponderings

President’s Day is the day we recognize the men who shaped our nation, and created the legacy all American’s enjoy today. Abraham Lincoln has emerged as the greatest President for his work to preserve the Union and the abolition of Slavery.

According to Presidential Historian, Patrick Diggins, Lincoln heads a list of the top five Presidents which includes Washington, Regan and both Roosevelts.

On this morning’s show we visited with 12-year old Noah McCullough, who wants to win the Republican nomination for President in the 2032 race, the first year he would be eligible to run. In a political environment where politicians are planning farther and farther ahead (while amassing multi-millions of dollars in campaign war chests), young Noah’s ambitions are not ill-founded.

It was interesting to hear his response to my challenge to identify one positive aspect of the Democratic Party: “actually both parties are just trying to do the best they can for our country; they just have different ideas.”

There is an element of truth to that notion.

After President Bush’s inauguration, Don King was heard to remark, “now that the election is over, ‘Republican’ and ‘Democrat’ doesn’t matter: Let’s just get it done.”
A good notion to nurture this President’s Day.

Also on the show this morning was a remarkable man who has not allowed physical infirmities deter him from reaching his goals, whether they be on a mountain top or on a desk top. Erik Weihenmayer is the 2006 recipient of the Freddie Award in Public Service for his inspiration to others.

Erik is blind…but he’s climbed mountains, snow skis regularly, and has written three books. He’s also involved in amazing research into technologies that would translate visual images to other neural receptors in the body…like the tongue, for example.

A camera converted a game of “rock-scissors-paper” into understandable stimuli, and enabled Erik to catch a ball rolled to him by a researcher, by being able to “read” the message conveyed to his tongue.

Erik doesn’t consider himself deterred by his blindness; rather, he is challenged with his remaining four senses to go above and beyond what sighted people are able to achieve with all five.

That brings problems and obstacles into true focus (pun intended), and helps crystallize the true priorities in life.