America, You're Fired!

So you thought the idea of electing a former reality tv Game Show Host would keep America great. You figured by spinning the wheel and taking a chance on a businessman more familiar with bankruptcy court than government legislation would somehow lead to a better, stronger America. You would have me believe that a clown could be put in charge of a circus and the show would improve in part due to the expertise of the clown-in-charge. 

Well I got news for you America; Fulfilling the duties of the Presidency of the United States requires something more than the antics of a clown, game showman or bankrupt businessman. It requires leadership, integrity and diplomacy. It requires confidence and commitment to represent the country, utilizing all resources available to make decisions that best serve it. It requires one who is sound in mind and flexible in problem solving ideas. It requires vision and planning. It requires an unselfish country first attitude with a worldview of politics. 

It's not that a showman, businessman or clown could not or should not become President of the United States. But once he/she becomes President all manners of conducting oneself should rise to a higher standard; ones manner should be seen as Presidential. 

When you envision some of our most successful former game show hosts performing the duties of President of the United States, it doesn't sound so farfetched. There have been some capable men.

But let either of them, while serving as President, begin to conduct himself as something unbecoming the commander-in-chief, he should be called to answer for his questionable words and/or actions. We as citizens owe to our democracy to guard against the sullying of our country's leadership position, lest we lose our standing as leaders of the free world and/or our own personal freedoms at home.

Today's Presidency and White House Administration is a warning to us voting citizens of these United States; one that we must heed in the upcoming Presidential election of 2020.

A RaiderLegend Passes - #21

1948 - 2019

Cliff Branch had the hands, the moves and the speed of greatness. I remember watching him outrun defenses and haul in touchdowns in my youth. He was the Oakland Raiders Legend I related to most.  I played wide receiver as a young football player.  What young wide receiver didn't wanna be great like #21. On the field he was Primetime before Prime!

The day I met Cliff Branch was the day I met one of my childhood sports idols. I'll never forget it, Dec. 23, 2006. He signed my #21 "Branch" Jersey at a booth before the home game and I strutted into the Coliseum like  Vince 'frickin' McMahon. That day, every ol'skool fan wanted to know where I got the cool Jersey. Cliff's silver-penned inscription was so fly it looked store bought. With a game face to kill for I boisterously replied, "Cliff hooked me up earlier, nice ha!"  I said it like someone who ran with Raider legends all the time, no big deal.

That day spent kicking it with Cliff, I was like a Pop Warner kid all over again. We talked 70's football and I confessed how he was my second favorite NFL receiver back then, behind Bullet Bob Hayes of the Cowboys. Cliff was classy about it and gave Hayes nothing but praise for his HOF talents. But Cliff also pointed out his own accomplishments, saying he won three Super Bowls to Haye's one. 

I will likely wear my "Branch" jersey to at least one game this season to honor my boy Cliff Branch. If Antonio Brown can do a quarter of what Cliff Branch did for the Raiders, we fans would appreciate it. Unfortunately for Brown, nobody can replace what Cliff Branch was to us Raiders fans both on the field and off.

Thanks For Being A Raider 4Life Cliff. 

RaiderLegend Cliff Branch Posts

Cliff Branch Hooks a Brotha Up (2006)

Breaking Out my Cliff Branch Jersey  (2010)

NFL Films & Cliff Branch  (2011)

Charging to the Super Bowl  (2012)