"You don't talk about rope in the house of a man who was hung" -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The recent political gaffes or intentional misstatements of Trotta, Huckabee and Clinton have created an aura of acceptance of political violence as laughable and excusable. It prompted me to think more about the historic level of political violence here in our country. We are delusional if we tell ourselves that we are a bastion of political stability free from, turmoil, in fact we rank as the most violent political system for a modern developed nation. We try to kill or are successful in killing our leaders or potential leaders more often than we care to admit. We could point the finger elsewhere when it comes to genocide and the subjugation of entire nations at the hands of dictators that is rampant throughout the world now and in the past, but I want to hold us to a higher standard. If we want to claim to be the best in the world then let's act like it. We are accountable for our actions in our country only. Sadly we are a country prone to political violence and assassination.

To date nine American Presidents -
Andrew Jackson in 1835, attempt
Abraham Lincoln in 1865, killed
James Garfield in 1881, killed
William McKinley in 1901 killed
Harry S. Truman in 1950, attempt
John F. Kennedy in 1963, killed
Richard Nixon in 1974, attempt
Gerald Ford twice in 1975, attempt
Ronald Reagan in 1981 attempt

Attempts on candidates and president elects:
one President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933)
two Presidential candidates Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, and George Wallace in 1972

Murders of presidential candidates:
Robert F Kennedy Jr 1968

In addition, eight governors, seven U.S. Senators, nine U.S. Congressmen, eleven mayors, 17 state legislators, and eleven judges have been violently attacked. No other country with a population of over 50 million has had as high a number of political assassinations or attempted assassinations.[1]

Those are the dismal details about our political process. The 2008 electoral season must not be another addition to this horrific failure of our nation, to choose elected officials peacefully. We cannot allow some "lone gunman" taking the decision out of our hands before or after we cast our ballots this fall. We must be vigilant about the power of words to inspire the worst behavior amongst us. At the same time we must always strive to have reasoned, intelligent and yes passionate debate of the issues. We must be aware that we are all in this together even when we disagree about what we must do and not do as citizens. We must maintain a civilized non-violent political campaign within a democratic republic governed by the rule of law if we are to provide hope for the world.

[1] The information regarding political assassinations and attempts was provided by www.digiatlhistory.uh.edu