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Walter Mondale has died. RIP.

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btthegreat

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An infinitely decent, honest public servant, senator educator and lawyer has passed today. Posting here is an attempt to avoid the partisan nastiness above. I respect these kinds of threads wherever they are placed about anyone, but many do not. If You have nothing nice to say, don't post at all.
 
I got no beef with Walt. Sadly, his daughter preceded him in death. Maybe they are now reunited.
 
btthegreat said:
An infinitely decent, honest public servant, senator educator and lawyer has passed today. Posting here is an attempt to avoid the partisan nastiness above. I respect these kinds of threads wherever they are placed about anyone, but many do not. If You have nothing nice to say, don't post at all.
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Check out the note he left for all the staffers that ever worked for him.
"Dear Team,
Well my time has come. I am eager to rejoin Joan and Eleanor. Before I Go I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. Never has a public servant had a better group of people working at their side! Together we have accomplished so much and I know you will keep up the good fight. Joe in the White House certainly helps. I always knew it would be okay if I arrived some place and was greeted by one of you!
My best to all of you,

Fritz
 
I remember him as the last Presidential candidate to openly state that income tax hikes were going to be necessary to pay down the debt from Reagans first term and to pay for a national investment in programs for the middle class and the poor on his platform. I will paraphrase the first part and quote the second. Taxes are going to have to be raised. The difference is the President won't tell you, I just did!!! The honesty was not rewarded at the voting booth.
 
calamity said:
I got no beef with Walt. Sadly, his daughter preceded him in death. Maybe they are now reunited.
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Many will not get the pun directly from the primary debate. I sure do! It was the debate winning quote of Walter's against Gary Hart that came from a Wendy's commercial. Replied Mondale after a rather shallow but esoteric sounding response by Hart, Walter piped up with "I am reminded of a line from that commercial, Senator, but where's' the beef?"
 
I couldn't stand Mondale. He was one of the biggest critics of the manned space program.
 
Dayton3 said:
I couldn't stand Mondale. He was one of the biggest critics of the manned space program.
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I didn't agree with him on that either... but by the same token, that doesn't mean he was wrong. When you look back on it now, was it worth going to the Moon in the 60's if we weren't prepared to sustain the effort? If you could go back then and knew we weren't going to return to the Moon for another 60+ years, would you have voted for it?
 
Dayton3 said:
I couldn't stand Mondale. He was one of the biggest critics of the manned space program.
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Here is the OP I wrote in my RIP thread. . "An infinitely decent, honest public servant, senator educator and lawyer has passed today. Posting here is an attempt to avoid the partisan nastiness above. I respect these kinds of threads wherever they are placed about anyone, but many do not. If You have nothing nice to say, don't post at all.

I have showed consistent restraint regardless of party or ideology when someone dies. Hell I even managed to when Roy Cohen died and that called for restraint like you cannot imagine, as did Reagan, and Jesse Helms. Please, You can post partisan negativity in your own thread created to critique and/ or badmouth him. He has not even had his service yet.
 
I always pictured Walter Mondale as that guy at the party who's taking everyone's keys so that they don't try to drive home. It may not have made him popular or exciting, but it did make him the sensible voice of reason.

I definitely think President Carter would have been a lot better off if he had listened to him and heeded his advice more often.
 
Cordelier said:
I didn't agree with him on that either... but by the same token, that doesn't mean he was wrong. When you look back on it now, was it worth going to the Moon in the 60's if we weren't prepared to sustain the effort? If you could go back then and knew we weren't going to return to the Moon for another 60+ years, would you have voted for it?
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Of course. Why does only having a "sustained effort" make it worthwhile?
 
btthegreat said:
Here is the OP I wrote in my RIP thread. . "An infinitely decent, honest public servant, senator educator and lawyer has passed today. Posting here is an attempt to avoid the partisan nastiness above. I respect these kinds of threads wherever they are placed about anyone, but many do not. If You have nothing nice to say, don't post at all.

I have showed consistent restraint regardless of party or ideology when someone dies. Hell I even managed to when Roy Cohen died and that called for restraint like you cannot imagine, as did Reagan, and Jesse Helms. Please, You can post partisan negativity in your own thread created to critique and/ or badmouth him. He has not even had his service yet.
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Just because you post something doesn't mean you own it on a public message board.
 
Dayton3 said:
Of course. Why does only having a "sustained effort" make it worthwhile?
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Because it gives you something to build on. Concentrating on low-Earth orbit space stations may not have been as exciting as a dash to the Moon, but it gives you you experience and technology and expertise to build on. Then when you decide to land on the Moon in a decade or two or three, you can do so with an eye toward building a permanent base there.

Tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady wins the race.

I think Mondale's concern with the manned space program was that we were going too far, too fast and wasting too much money in the process. Anytime you put too much money into something too fast, there's inevitably going to be some waste. He just felt a slower buildup was more appropriate and the balance of the money was better spent for more down-to-Earth pursuits. It was easy to get all caught up in some Cold War "space race" to the Moon.... especially after President Kennedy's challenge to land there by the end of the decade. Mondale wasn't the type to get swept up in all the hype. He looked at the long-range plans NASA had on the table to follow up the Moon landings and decided there really weren't any - nothing practical anyway. If Mondale was about anything, it was practicality.
 
Cordelier said:
Because it gives you something to build on. Concentrating on low-Earth orbit space stations may not have been as exciting as a dash to the Moon, but it gives you you experience and technology and expertise to build on. Then when you decide to land on the Moon in a decade or two or three, you can do so with an eye toward building a permanent base there.

Tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady wins the race.

I think Mondale's concern with the manned space program was that we were going too far, too fast and wasting too much money in the process. Anytime you put too much money into something too fast, there's inevitably going to be some waste. He just felt a slower buildup was more appropriate and the balance of the money was better spent for more down-to-Earth pursuits. It was easy to get all caught up in some Cold War "space race" to the Moon.... especially after President Kennedy's challenge to land there by the end of the decade. Mondale wasn't the type to get swept up in all the hype. He looked at the long-range plans NASA had on the table to follow up the Moon landings and decided there really weren't any - nothing practical anyway. If Mondale was about anything, it was practicality.
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Who cares about whether something is "permanent" or not?

Practicality is overrated.
 
Dayton3 said:
Who cares about whether something is "permanent" or not?

Practicality is overrated.
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You're entitled to your opinion. Just like I'm entitled to mine.

I'm just trying to point out you don't have to agree with someone to respect their point of view. I'm guessing that's falling on deaf ears, though.
 
Cordelier said:
You're entitled to your opinion. Just like I'm entitled to mine.

I'm just trying to point out you don't have to agree with someone to respect their point of view. I'm guessing that's falling on deaf ears, though.
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correct.
 
Dayton3 said:
Just because you post something doesn't mean you own it on a public message board.
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Nope. This whole idea depends on having either some respect for the intent of the OP or respect for the recently departed or those who want to remember him. It was my best shot and nobody here or on any other message board can call me out as a hypocrite on this issue. I either wait a respectful period, or I post on a thread designed for partisan debate about the recently deceased. I like the idea of a thread where someone like this can be well remembered and honored without partisan interference or attacks. It does require people on that board honoring the idea.
 
I'm sorry to hear that... I didn't agree with him politically, but he was a descent man.

My condolences to his family.
 
Cordelier said:
I didn't agree with him on that either... but by the same token, that doesn't mean he was wrong. When you look back on it now, was it worth going to the Moon in the 60's if we weren't prepared to sustain the effort? If you could go back then and knew we weren't going to return to the Moon for another 60+ years, would you have voted for it?
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Exactly what does going to the moon have to do with Walter Mondale? John Kennedy ordered it, you know.
 
Cordelier said:
I always pictured Walter Mondale as that guy at the party who's taking everyone's keys so that they don't try to drive home. It may not have made him popular or exciting, but it did make him the sensible voice of reason.

I definitely think President Carter would have been a lot better off if he had listened to him and heeded his advice more often.
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What did Walter Mondale want Jimmy Carter to do?
 
Blue Donkey said:
Exactly what does going to the moon have to do with Walter Mondale? John Kennedy ordered it, you know.
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I'm aware.... but Dayton stated he couldn't stand Mondale because of his criticism of the manned space program. I was attempting to argue the other side of the equation.
 
Blue Donkey said:
What did Walter Mondale want Jimmy Carter to do?
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In a nutshell, to be more savvy about dealing with Congress. Carter came into office with big Congressional majorities in both houses - if he had played his cards better, he could have gotten a lot more accomplished.
 
I find a good rule of thumb for movies is to avoid any movie that has "JJ Abrams" in the credits. I don't care if he's producing, directing, editing, consulting, or if he's gaffer #2...... if he had anything to do with the movie, it's pretty much guaranteed to be a steaming pile of crap.
 
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