HUMILITY IN THE OVAL OFFICE...

I have a dear friend (known to y'all as Cowdad) that spent most of his working life in Washington DC. He is a wise, decent, and thoughtful old guy (82 or 90-something now...not sure...but real old). He has personally known every US President from FDR to Ronny RayGun.

And I'll tell y'all, he is a Harry Truman fan! I get computer letters from him often about the greatness, and the humility of Truman. Now, don't get me wrong...he had "eyes wide open" in the Truman years, and has told me many stories of the "human side" of "Give 'em Hell Harry." But I have learned from my old friend that Truman was a humble soul.

We now have a man occupying the Oval Office that is without a doubt the most arrogant President of my lifetime. I thought it would be hard to top Bubba Clinton in the arrogance game, but BozObama makes Billy Jeff look like a piker. I never will forget when Bozo was running for the Democrat nomination, and stated "My family is off limits. If anyone goes after my family...well, that is something that WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!" I knew right then that this is the kind of guy that takes a dump and sticks his head in the pot just to enjoy the aroma.

So, I thought I'd post a computer letter that Cowdad sent me...just to remind y'all that there have been humble men in the Oval Office. Dubya, Ronny, and GHW are three that come to mind.

I was not alive during the Truman years. But I remember when he died. I was about 12 years old, and there was an old black man named C.H. Hall that used to do some work around our house for my Daddy. C.H. was at our old house tearing out an ancient bathroom, and he stopped dead still in the middle of the living room...the TV was on, and they were announcing that Harry Truman had died.

I watched that tough old black man as tears rolled down his face. He had a hard time, but he finally told me that "President Truman stopped the war before me and my brothers got kilt."

Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many important, crucial decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.

The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri. His wife, Bess, had inherited the house from her mother and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.

When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his own postage stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.

After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. No Secret Service guards accompanied them.

When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."

Once, during a White House interview held in his famous personal flower/vegetable garden, the interviewer asked him how he got such beautiful, huge vegetables. He answered that he used a lot of water & manure. The interviewer cut the interview at that point, and he asked President Truman if he could use an alternate word other than “manure”. Bess quickly chimed in that it had taken her 35 years to get him to say “manure”. My kind of straight talker!

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."

As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.

Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale. (Sic. Illinois).

Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!”

I say dig him up and clone him!!

And for you Snopsies types...which I am...here!