How truly pathetic it is when House Minority Leader John Boehner of what was once called "The Party of Lincoln" addresses an enraged Tea Bag protest group at our nation's Capitol.

As stated various times about the dangerous roots of the Tea Baggers and their historical antecedents, they showed their true colors in a way that would have caused Abraham Lincoln to feel a sharp wave of revulsion.  

Lincoln had the Know Nothings to deal with in his day.  The Tea Baggers are the successors of the Know Nothings as well as the Liberty League, the McCarthy-Nixon smear brigade, and the John Birch Society.

At the 1964 Republican Convention in San Francisco the wild-eyed John Birch Society element was so strong that African American delegates were terrorized on the floor of the Cow Palace while one was actually set ablaze.

The Republicans began as a third party rooted into anti-slavery that ran its first presidential candidate in 1856 with General John C. Fremont of California.

The election of James Buchanan and a resultant do nothing posture in the wake of national calamity resulting in America's most costly conflict in human terms, the Civil War, brought the fledgling Republican Party a golden opportunity to gain power in 1860.

A little known former  congressman and lawyer from Springfield, Illinois named Abraham Lincoln gained national stature by coming within an eyelash of defeating one of the nation's powerful and best known senators, Stephen A. Douglas.  

The historic series of debates between the two candidates held throughout Illinois established the platform on which Lincoln's presidential candidacy would hinge.

This tragic truth didn't happen overnight.  And we must credit all of those contributing to this ugly reality.

The United States of America sadly is no stranger to the basic principle involved in this global economic calamity.  "History repeats itself" is a valid statement.  

The underlying principle that brought the U.S.A. the horrifying tragedy of the Civil War was the selfish, greedy desire of warped minds to see the other individual do the hard labor, for as little cost as possible.  The system of slavery was ideal for this greedy arrangement.

The South prospered under this U.S.A. accepted system.  The grand white pillared mansions with luxurious lifestyles for the inhabitants established a lifestyle the South fought to preserve in the Civil War.

In the Seattle Times February 9, David Sirota's syndicated column exposes the lack of change in the new administration:

"America was told that finally after years of yes-men running the government, we were getting a president who would follow Abraham Lincoln's load, fill his administration with varying viewpoints, and glean empirically sound policy from the clash of ideas.

"Little did we know that the 'team of rivals' was what George Orwell calls 'Newspeak':  an empty slogan.

"Obama's national security team, for instance, includes not a single Iraq War opponent.  The president has not only retained George W. Bush's defense secretary, Robert Gates, but also 150 other Bush Pentagon appointees.  The only `rivalry' is between those who back increasing the already bloated defense budget by an absurd amount, and those who aim to boost it by a ludicrous amount.

There was great emphasis made before Barack Obama's inauguration about reconciliation as a people, of reaching out across the aisle in a spirit of cooperation.  This emphasis was enhanced by the focus on Lincoln and Obama being sworn in on the same bible as America's Civil War president, who stressed "malice toward none and charity for all."

Obama indeed struck that note, but there were two areas of emphasis where the historical focus lay more with two Democratic presidents with direct linkage to World War Two and dealing with grave economic times.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt sounded the correct note in his memorable first inaugural address in stating the phrase that stands out historically more than anything else said, "We have nothing to fear itself."  With America caught in the vise-like grip of the Great Depression, his words served to enforce and reinforce the American spirit and the necessity to triumph over economic adversity.

Barack Obama sounded a comparable note in stressing the necessity of Americans rolling up their sleeves and getting to work, stressing the essential of common goal and purpose in a manner that unifies rather than dividing.

There was great emphasis made before Barack Obama's inauguration about reconciliation as a people, of reaching out across the aisle in a spirit of cooperation.  This emphasis was enhanced by the focus on Lincoln and Obama being sworn in on the same bible as America's Civil War president, who stressed "malice toward none and charity for all."

Obama indeed struck that note, but there were two areas of emphasis where the historical focus lay more with two Democratic presidents with direct linkage to World War Two and dealing with grave economic times.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt sounded the correct note in his memorable first inaugural address is stating the phrase that stands out historically more than anything else said, "We have nothing to fear itself."  With America caught in the vise-like grip of the Great Depression, his words served to enforce and reinforce the American spirit and the necessity to triumph over economic adversity.

Barack Obama sounded a comparable note in stressing the necessity of Americans rolling up their sleeves and getting to work, stressing the essential of common goal and purpose in a manner that unifies rather than dividing.

At the same time leaders of key American allies who supported completing that inspection effort were rudely insulted.  It was accordingly fitting and highly appropriate for Obama to send out a signal that the comprehensive change he advocated in his winning 2008 campaign would be carried out in the foreign affairs field.

When Obama cited the importance of reaching out and repairing damaged relations internationally he was visiting familiar terrain as a Democratic president.  Most of World War Two was fought under FDR, the same leader that presided over a domestic war against the Great Depression.  John F. Kennedy fought in World War Two and achieved heroism as a PT boat commander in the Pacific naval campaign.

Both Roosevelt and Kennedy achieved triumphs internationally, winning friends abroad with programs such as the Good Neighbor Policy under the former leader and the Peace Corps and Alliance for Progress under the latter.

Throughout the world Obama's November victory was greeted with elation.  World leaders and their people stand to embrace the new president and the kind of positive change he proclaimed to auger.

These were appropriate notes to highlight Obama's inaugural address and hopefully they will constitute a beginning, constructive building blocks toward a better future domestically and internationally.

Mary Anne Berkery of Brooklyn's November 23 letter to the New York Times editors stated:

"The reason most Americans supported an unknown, untested, thinly experienced Barack Obama as president was that they were desperate for real change.  His unequivocal mandate was to bring change.

"Instead, we watch as he appoints person after person from the Clinton political machine, creating a virtual third Clinton presidency -- the very re-creations many of us had worked hard to prevent.

"Instead of taking the mantle of Franklin D. Roosevelt, he has taken the mantle of Bill Clinton.

The above headline was taken from a quote by the philosopher George Santayana.  How its profound truth resonates today.

President Lincoln wrote from Washington on August 23, 1963 to Horace Greely, "As to the policy I seem to be pursuing as you say, I have not meant to leave anyone in doubt.  I would save the Union.  I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution."

The U.S.A. was split apart regarding slavery.  Lincoln recognized that united we stand, divided we fall.  Lincoln recognized the authority of the Constitution created by the founders of our nation.

The conclusion of the Civil War united our nation and brought freedom to the slaves.  The price was high - the deaths of 620,000 soldiers along with an unknown number of civilian fatalities.

The May 24, 2007 cover of U.S. News & World Report showed a color photo of George Bush with a troubled expression.  A headline in bold white print read BUSH'S LAST STAND followed with this ominous caption, "He's plagued by a hostile Congress, sinking polls, and an unending war, yet he won't budge.  Then in large print this question is asked:  "Is he resolute - or delusional?"

U.S. News & World Report writer Kenneth T. Walsh explained succinctly and with on target accuracy the in depth meaning behind this sensational cover story.

The caption on the page where the story begins reads:  "The president still exudes confidence, but his ship of state is taking on water - fast -a sinking presidency."

The article explains that Bush is now comparing himself to none other than what many historians believe was the greatest of all U.S. presidents -none other than Abraham Lincoln, remembered in Washington now with the magnificent Lincoln Memorial, which is visited by millions every year to pay respect to what Lincoln achieved in the Civil War.  Is this delusional?

The greatness of a speech is not in the ears of those who are present to hear it.  There were many gathered in Gettysburg who were disappointed at the president's brief remarks.  There were even more gathered in Nuremberg who rose to ecstasy on wings of hate provided by a madman.  A great speech isn't measured in the applause it brings, or in the approving comments in the next day's papers.

It's in the echoes.  It's in the way the words move down the corridor of years, painting events that come after, living in the minds of those who were not even alive when the words were uttered.

For those of us who lived through "I have a dream" or "ask not," those few words are enough to bring back a scene, a time, and heart-wrenching emotions.  For a generation before, "but fear itself" must have brought much the same reaction.  Before that, there was a "cross of gold," and before that "the better angels of our nature."

And before that, was a speech delivered by a young man of 28, a man just entering public life.  You may never have heard this speech, but it's words not only echo in our modern world, they resonate.