President of Bradley University, of course. I’m officially throwing my support behind LaHood’s efforts to get the job.
I understand if Mr. LaHood gets the job, he will resign Congress and a special election would be held to replace him. That sounds like a win-win for everybody.
I’m generally a Republican, but I’ve been disappointed in LaHood for a few reasons. One is his defense of congressional earmarks — a practice I think is corrupt and wastes our tax money. If a project is worthy of federal funding, it should be able to withstand scrutiny as a separate bill or part of a related bill subject to debate. It shouldn’t have to be tacked on secretly. Earmarks grease the wheels for pork-barrel spending.
Another reason I’ve been disappointed is because he’s thwarted efforts to improve transportation in Peoria. He shot down funding for a Chicago-Peoria highway, and he recently spoke disparagingly about plans to try to lure Amtrak back to Peoria. And, of course, he’s been a proponent of mothballing the Kellar Branch rail line and turning it into a hiking/biking trail, even though we need that rail infrastructure to keep businesses in Pioneer Park and lure new businesses to Growth Cell Two.
And then there were his comments during the Mark-Foley/congressional-page scandal. You may remember his solution to the problem was to get rid of the pages. I suppose if there were no pages, there would be no one for Foley to harass, but isn’t that essentially blaming the victims? He also supported Dennis Hastert, then Speaker of the House, who should have taken action against Foley sooner.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
Besides, it appears LaHood is more interested in local politics than national affairs, so having him get a local job seems only fitting. He can still lead efforts to oust Election Commissioners, join forces with the Recreational Trail Advocates on the Kellar Branch issue, and try unsuccessfully to broker compromises between the city and the school board. But he would be out of Congress, and that would give Peoria the opportunity to have a representative with better judgment.
Ray was a great Congressman in the early years, but then he got tied up in local politics and seemed to lose interest in being a Congressman. I think he would be a great Bradley President.
Ray was a great Congressman like Andrew Johnson was a great president. Anyway, there goes any thought I may have entertained about going to BU. Will any of his relatives be teaching there? Seriously, LaHood’s ties to area political/business interests have come under scrutiny before. Do we really want this person and his ‘influence’ at the helm of BU?
Actually Andrew Johnson wasn’t a bad President. He thwarted what amounted to a military coup, which got him impeached, but he didn’t back down.
You might want to read “Profiles in Courage”, which is not about Johnson, but Senator Edmund G. Ross, who sacrificed his career to acquit Johnson and preserve the constitution. Johnson’s successor, of course, U.S. Grant, led a notoriously corrupt administration.
Please don’t wish The Hood on BU!
You Republicans elected him, you keep him.
Mouse, are you insane? A military coup? Do you watch the History Channel? Johnson was overwhelmed by the Rad Republicans. Inept, maybe. Bush does take first prize when it comes to being inept.
Education should remain unbiased and ethical. I realize LaHood says that he can name others in congress w/o the PhD who became univeristy presidents…but he does not even have a Master’s Degree. A university should be about educating future generations, and learning new things by conducting thought provoking research AND raising the endowment to fund these noble endeavors. The ability to communicate with your faculty with some understanding of what they do is also important for the credibility of the university. If advanced degrees were that easy to attain …everyone would have one. Hiring ANYONE without appropriate advanced degrees would be inappropriate and embarrassing to Bradley University.
Yes, Thatisit, a military coup. Johnson dismissed the Secretary of War, who might well have been behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and attempted assassination of Johnson, and Secretary of State Seward. Who do you think would have become President/Dictator had that happened as planned? I suppose you believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone too? And do you believe in the Easter Bunny as well?
Seriously, Bradley lost credibility in my eyes the minute they started tearing down the Arbor District. They deserve LaHood for that.
Dear Finis L. Bates [Mouse],
In the 1930s, a book written by Otto Eisenschiml accused Stanton of arranging the assassination of Lincoln. Although these charges remain largely unsubstantiated, Eisenschim’s book inspired considerable debate and the 1977 book and movie, The Lincoln Conspiracy.
You do watch the History Channel?!?!? Please you armchair historians make a career out of spreading crap.
Seriously?
wow!!! advanced degrees make you qualified? Do I need to introduce you to some people? You will quickly change your tune. Bill Gates doesn’t have a degree yet he seems to do okay and has certainly done quite a bit to advance educational efforts…..
Advanced degrees take time, effort, and interest not necessarily an I.Q two standard deviations above the mean. It would hardly be an embarrassment to Bradley to hire someone otherwise qualified.
It is that kind of snobbery that demeans numerous positive efforts in the real world…meaning beyond academia.
Paul,
I must take time out from my combat with Mouse. Bradley UNIVERSITY. IT IS ALL ABOUT ACADEMIA! Snobbery has nothing to do with this. I am sure that LaHood is a far bigger snob than any PhD I know [maybe]. ‘Seriously’ was not questioning LaHood’s I.Q…..I am. O.K. joke. In the end, a university, college, etc. is about teaching. Someone with teaching experience/background in academia should run the university. I agree 100% with “Seriously.” As for other universities with non-academic Presidents, V.P’s… that is BULL.
my point was that there are others that have worthwhile things to teach. I know a number of Ph.D’s that seem to have gotten their degrees from mail order catalogues. Nearly all of what I learned to do my profession, I learned after graduation from Bradley. I believe I got an excellent education, but an arguement could be made for no need for a Ph.D. to run a university. Do you think the president makes the academic decisions? Department heads make those, the President is about fundraising and being a public figure. Most often those with teaching experience tend to be good at teaching, different skills are needed for adminstration.