Former presidents have almost always had to deal with some crisis where they had to take on the mantle of being the president of all of us, and showing us how they could feel our pain and share our suffering by showing us their own humanity.
I remember Clinton speaking after the Oklahoma City bombing, George Bush after 9/11, and Obama several times after mass shootings. These men showed us that they cared for the victims of the tragedy, and all of us as well.
I first voted for Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Johnson was sometimes crass and callous, and also bigoted, but the office he inherited changed him into someone who cared, especially for the less fortunate. Presidents since him have always had the interests of all of us at heart (possibly excepting Nixon), Ford, Carter, Reagan and H.W. Bush (who wore his heart on his sleeve and tried hard not to shed tears in public).
I have voted Republican most of my adult life, until 2016, but probably will never again. Our current president is unlike all of the other presidents I remember. He lacks empathy. He lacks humanity. And Republicans indulge him.
These are hard times for so many. A president’s words can help, even if only a little. We will get no help from this one. It is sad and depressing.
Gerald Buckley
Bozeman
Bozeman Daily Chronicle Letter to the Editor 5/3/20