Is Obama/Biden vs. Romney/Ryan really the best the two parties could do?

By Dr. Theman R. Taylor. Sr., NDG Special Contributor

First, did the Republican Party at their convention select their strongest presidential candidate by selecting Gov. Mitt Romney? Secondly, did the Democrats select their strongest team to win for their party and lay a foundation for 2016 by nominating Vice President Joe Biden to serve again? Did the activities of party delegates lay the foundation for their party’s future success or were these gatherings, in both cases, another aged political tradition, symbolic of a larger and historical trend in American society of, “boys will be boys,” “boy’s night out” or “boys business”?

Neither convention impacted the American public the way they should and could have. Both parties, considering America’s domestic and foreign concerns, failed to generate the interest the American people wanted and needed. Both events ended with the main discussion being the speeches given by First Lady Michelle Obama, and Ann Romney, a candidate for that position.

At the 2012 political coronations/conventions in Tampa, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina, the Republicans did not crown/select their strongest candidate and the Democrats did not crown/select their strongest team. Both had ample opportunities to do so and change the course of history; neither seized the moment.

The next four years will be challenging ones, for the next president, especially in the area of foreign policy. The GOP delegates did not respond to the above challenge in their selection, nor did they create the needed interest for a party out of power. During the next four years, America does not need an amateur president, especially one that needs on-the-job training in foreign affairs.

Where did the Republicans and Democrats go wrong in their selections?

The Mormon Church and Blacks

Surely, the local and national media, inspired by the small business magnate, will pull the Trump Card, and not give the GOP candidate a free ride by not having him explain the reason/reasons for the racial ban his religion had on Blacks and how this racial restriction on them impacted his growth and development. Considering the historical experiences of discrimination his religion encountered in America, and then they turn right around and discriminate based upon race, against another group, is hard to comprehend.

This racial policy that for almost 150 years, denied the Priesthood to Black males; in spite of having Black Members; survived the Brown Decision in 1954, the Civil Rights Movement, Title IX, and demonstrations against the religion. Finally on June 9, 1978, the Mormon church removed this long standing religious justification for racial discrimination.

I am sure the American public would be interested in a PBS documentary on Romney’s views and the racial ban on Blacks that placed racial limits on their aspirations.  Surely those racial restrictions, those protests, the Genesis Group, and the candidate’s response should be explained.

Imagine, on the other hand: what would the response be if two Knee-grows ran for a national public office, and it was revealed that earlier in their lives both had belonged to a so-called Knee-grow nationalistic group viewed as pro-communist and had tries with other anti-American organizations in other foreign countries?

While growing up in the 1940s, in legally segregated America, in a traditional Baptist environment, part of our teachings at home, church and school was that we were to be careful in our dealings with other faiths. This was especially true of those that viewed and taught the color of our skin was somehow a curse.

From Secretary of State to President?

Given the foreign policy challenges facing America in the next four years, the delegates at the Republican National Convention should have concluded their convention with the drafting of Dr. Condoleezza Rice, a former Secretary of State, an expert in foreign affairs and the right person to challenge the vulnerable sitting 44th president of the United States.

We have heard the stories about why Dr. Rice would not run, but she has never been drafted by her party to lead this country, and that makes a differences. It does not matter that she is an only child or single. It should be noted three former presidents were single at the time they took the oath (3rd – Thomas Jefferson, 15th – James Buchanan and 22nd – Grover Cleveland, who married while in office). Also two of them were former Secretaries of States (Jefferson and Buchanan).

The Republican Party drafting her to lead the GOP would be no small task, but a great challenge for Dr. Rice. Despite the less than positive perception minorities have, we must remember the Republican Party’s 1850s origins included opposition to the expansion of slavery. Then later the Republican Congress passed the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, the first Civil Rights Bill that became the 14th Amendment. Also, Ulysses S. Grant, a Republican, signed a Civil Rights bill in 1875.

In the modern era, it was one of Dr. Rice’s favorite presidents, the 40th – Ronald Reagan, who signed the bill creating the first and only federal holiday for an African American. Dr. Rice loves her country and party and has served both in an extraordinary manner. She would be following in the footsteps of other presidents who first served as Secretaries of States:

3rd – Thomas Jefferson,

4th – James Madison,

5th – James Monroe,

6th – John Quincy Adams,

8th – Martin Van Buren, and

15th – James Buchanan.

During the next four years, our foreign policy will require more than a speech; we must deal with the rise of Iran’s threat, the violence in Syria, Iraq, Damascus, and Russia’s influence. Also, our loss of respect and friends in other parts of Africa and Asia, and the forever ‘on and off’ Israeli and Palestinian issues. We would welcome discussion or debate on foreign policy between the sitting 44th President Barack Obama and Dr. Rice.

The GOP needed and should have drafted Dr. Rice, who served Presidents Reagan and his successor George H. W. Bush, in foreign affairs and was appointed Secretary of State by the 43rd President – George W. Bush.

The GOP gathering in Tampa, Florida made a terrible oversight when they failed to draft the strongest candidate to lead the Republican Party, Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

Is Biden the best the Democrats could do?

The Democratic Party at their gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina this summer crowned the candidate, who is also the sitting 44th President of the United States, and his Vice President, Joe Biden. The two men are now asking for another four-year term to complete the task they started. The president maintains that it will not be easy, but long and hard: he claims he can solve the problems of the economy, jobs, healthcare, national security, taxes, and place America back on a stronger foundation.

Considering the task ahead in domestic and foreign affairs, can this 2008 winning team repeat in 2012, while at the same time lay the foundation for a victory for the Democratic Party in 2016, and beyond? Obama claims his re-election is the first step in solving America’s concerns and finishing what his administration started.

The 44th President has followed a good format and needs more time; however, out of his second term while securing his legacy in history, comes the possibility of the next Democratic candidate for president, one who can carry the party.

Let’s be clear, Biden has served his party and his country well, but he cannot carry or lead his party in 2016. This researcher is not certain Biden even wants to be a presidential candidate in 2016.

Thinking of the future, the delegates, along with the approval of Obama should have praised Biden creating a climate where he could leave gracefully, and then announced Hillary Rodman Clinton as his new vice president partner in the coming term. She loves her party and country; she has a history of service and the office of the Vice President of the United States represents a new challenge.

Hillary Rodman Clinton, from Wellesley to Yale Law School, former First Lady of Arkansas, and of the United States, then a Senator from New York, would not be a Victoria Woodhull in the 1872 Presidential Election, and, one hundred years later Shirley Chisholm in the 1972 presidential race, nor the 1984 vice presidential candidate, Geraldine Ferraro. While Clinton benefits from their experiences, she has the experience of also serving as Secretary of State of the United States.

Her lack of military experience should be no problem. Some of our best presidents did not have the honor of being in the military; examples are the 32nd – Franklin Roosevelt and the husband of Hillary, the 42nd President, Bill Clinton. Having Hillary Clinton on the 2012 ticket would have strengthened the Democratic Party and would have sent a strong message for 2016.

Both parties’ delegates made serious political mistakes at their respective convention: both will suffer. One will suffer more than the other, only time will answer the question which one.

Make no mistake: Boys your nights out are nearing an end, for GIRLS IT IS TIME FOR TO STEPT FORWARD AND EXCLAIM THAT IT IS A NEW DAY ENDING BOYS NIGHT OUT!!!! IT IS TIME FOR WOMEN TO STEP FORWARD TO TAKE THEIR TURN TO BETTER THE WORLD!

Since the mistakes have already been made, we must anxiously wait for 2016 for the prayers to be answers. Will either of the two Secretaries of State, Dr. Rice or Hillary Rodman Clinton make a run for the White House?

This author will conclude with ‘TWO WORDS’ Hillary Rodman Clinton, wrote as First Lady of Arkansas in 1989: STAY TUNED.

Dr. Theman Taylor, Sr., PhD in History from the University of California at Santa Barbara, born in Sunny South Dallas, Texas, attended H.S. Thompson Elementary School, a member of the Lincoln High School Class of 1960, retired tenured History Professor, recently moved back to his home state.