Presidential lies and advice

Perhaps the biggest presidential lie in recent memory is when Bill Clinton pounded the desk and said, "I did not have sex with that woman. Not one time." However, the blue dress later proved that something of a sexual nature had occurred.

George H. W. Bush famously said, "Read my lips! No new taxes!" Then he went on to support a tax increase, which played a big part in him not getting elected to a second term.

And who could forget Barrack Obama repeatedly saying that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) would let you keep your doctor and insurance if you liked them. The Republicans harped on that false claim for over seven years, promising to repeal and replace the ACA.

I personally think all three presidents were good men and tried to do what they thought was best for the country, but all three have quotes that haunt their legacies.

Speaking of presidential quotes, the most famous one I recall came for John F. Kennedy when I was a young man. "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." That impressed me then and it still does. But can you imagine any politician, Democrat or Republican, saying that now? Now, politicians take money from those who work and from future generations and buy votes with government handouts, which teaches just the opposite of what JFK advised. How our country has changed!

Gary L. Gaines, Cape Girardeau