tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post6027731641742491732..comments2024-03-28T10:44:30.518-06:00Comments on American Creation: George Washington, America's Greatest Leader, Dies 216 Years Ago TodayBrad Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17669677047039491864noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-73068985522665966472015-12-18T14:46:23.035-07:002015-12-18T14:46:23.035-07:00I'll confess a jaundiced view of Jefferson, wh...I'll confess a jaundiced view of Jefferson, whom I consider rather a selfish pig. I find it difficult to ascribe higher motives to anything he did, sorry.<br /><br />UCLA historian Joyce Appleby writes:<br /><br /><i>Jefferson could have run for a third term in 1808, but opted not to, following the example set by Washington. He seemed quite burnt out by the job. After James Madison was elected in December of 1808, Jefferson did almost no government work. He spent the time boxing up materials to send home to Monticello. The Federal Government was essentially paralyzed.</i>Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-12858933333595919132015-12-17T02:13:09.243-07:002015-12-17T02:13:09.243-07:00By "precedent" I mean, the "respect...By "precedent" I mean, the "respecting" or "following" the decision of the first party who made it. (Instead of just treating it as an idiosyncratic personal decision not necessarily worthy of following.) Jonathan Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04079637406589278386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-57235414344519183762015-12-17T02:09:38.324-07:002015-12-17T02:09:38.324-07:00And for all your slagging of Jefferson, wouldn'...And for all your slagging of Jefferson, wouldn't it be he who started the precedent of NOT RUNNING for the 3rd term? Jonathan Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04079637406589278386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-2647024677554455882015-12-16T18:27:48.976-07:002015-12-16T18:27:48.976-07:00And of course, they still talk about the momentous...And of course, they still talk about the momentous historical occasion when in 1801, John Adams peacefully passed the "crown" to the opposition, Jefferson. But of course it was Washington who started it.<br /><br /><i>When King George III heard [General] Washington would resign his commission to a powerless Congress, he told the painter Benjamin West: “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”</i>Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-62556585216727853822015-12-14T13:45:37.318-07:002015-12-14T13:45:37.318-07:00I couldn't agree with you more, Brian, though ...I couldn't agree with you more, Brian, though I do think that Lincoln (personally) deserves every bit the recognition that Washington receives for his amazing leadership abilities. <br /><br />Perhaps Henry Lee's eulogy really is best: "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen," but I also love Washington Biographer Joseph Ellis' final words:<br /><br />"As far as his contemporaries were concerned, there was no question about his stature in American history. In the extravaganza of mourning that occurred in more than four hundred towns and hamlets throughout the land, he was described as the only indisputable hero of his age, the one and only, His Excellency."Brad Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17669677047039491864noreply@blogger.com