Perhaps one of the most astonishing facts about all political promises is how totally superficial they are in the face of actual reality. Politicians and their supporters tend to think inside the Promise Box without ever looking inside the pretty gift wrapping.

Politicians,fro m both Parties, are directly responsible for the upcoming fiscal disaster and few are willing to talk openly about it because it doesn't sell to voters! Instead, they fight over power and position, they spin to make themselves look good and others look bad; they are desperately seeking to preserve a system where they can spend what they want without restraint and make promises they know they can never keep. They take care of their friends, the politically connected and print money when they need it to try to fulfill their promises. It's a system of Cronyism with bailouts and private risks heaped upon the backs of taxpayers. They cover both rich and poor with promises to get all on board and yet, don't have the foresight nor the insight to understand just how economically devastating their recklessness will be on this country!

1 That's one reason that Donald Trump represented such a danger to the nomenklatura of the country: he actually kept his promises, to the extent Congress would let him. What an unheard-of thing to do!

2 Agreed. Promises are not to be kept. If one guy does it the rest will have to do it and we can't have THAT!

The only President to keep all of his campaign promises was James Polk. Polk had four issues: reduce the tariff, settle the Oregon boundary dispute with Britain (fifty four forty or fight), establish an independent treasury, and annex California. He did all four.

Sadly, the treasury scheme revived the old Bank of the U.S. which Andrew Jackson wisely killed off. Other than that Polk was a terrific president.

But nobody else has kept the campaign promises, and even Trump reneged on several of them. But Trump actually tried to keep his, something that showed everyone else in D.C. up. Can't have THAT!

3 And I'd say that killing off the Bank of the U.S. was the only smart thing Andy Jackson did. Let's say I'm not an admirer of his. Polk, yes; we should have more like him.

4 Jackson was a jack, well, let's keep it clean here. But he did do a good thing killing the Bank of the U.S.  Also, Jackson did seem to understand the United States government was encroaching on the freedoms and liberties of the average American, something that of course led eventually to the Civil War.

But otherwise I don't have a lot of respect for him. And, despite allegedly being a champion of rights, called for the Force Act to allow him to raise an army against South Carolina when they nullified the tariff (and they promptly fell into line after that.)

Polk was one of America's best presidents. We need another Polk.

5 Do you think, perhaps, that Trump might be favorably compared to Polk?

6 I think so. He had a style more like Jackson's but substance more like Polk's.

I liked his idea of buying Greenland, for instance; shows Trump was thinking about expanding and growing and improving, unlike the last three decades of Presidents who have all seen their roles as managing our decline.