John F.Kennedy accepted the Democratic nomination for the Presidency in 1960 with many inspiring words including these:

"Our task is not merely one of itemizing Republican failures. Nor is that wholly necessary. For the families forced from the farm will know how to vote without our telling them. The unemployed miners and textile workers will know how to vote. The old people without medical care--the families without a decent home--the parents of children without adequate food or schools--they all know that it's time for a change."

Back in 1960 it was apparently a time needing change because Republican policies had failed, farmers were losing their farms, miners were out of work, the health care system was broken, and education in America was a mess. And the Republicans were most to blame, as then Senator Kennedy said in an interview: " The fact of the matter is that the Republican Party has opposed every single piece of new, progressive legislation of benefit to the people in the last 25 years, social security [applause] social security, housing, minimum wage . . ."

We also learned from the Senator that "the current crisis in our educational system is a crisis caused by our failure to meet our responsibilities over the past 8 years." He also stated that "Underlying any discussion of our educational problems are two basic principles: first, the Federal Government has responsibility to help insure a decent education to all Americans."

So how have we done over the last 48 years? Let's see, sixteen years later in 1976 Democratic Presidential nominee Jimmy Carter stated in his acceptance speech that "We have suffered enough at the hands of a tired and worn-out administration without new ideas, without youth or vitality, without vision and without the confidence of the American people." Regarding education he said: " When the public schools are inferior or torn by strife, their children [talking about the priveleged] go to exclusive private schools." Sounds like the education system was still bad.

But wasn't there something done in the preceding years? After all, Lyndon Johnson, another Democrat was President for five years and when he accepted the nomination in 1964 he stated that " Most Americans want medical care for older citizens. And so do I. Most Americans want fair and stable prices and decent incomes for our farmers. And so do I. Most Americans want a decent home in a decent neighborhood for all. And so do I. Most Americans want an education for every child to the limit of his ability. And so do I. Most Americans want a job for every man who wants to work. And so do I. Most Americans want victory in our war against poverty. And so do I."

Apparently, nothing was done. But surely by 1984 when Walter Mondale was the Democratic nominee for President America must have improved? In his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency he stated that the then current President Ronald Reagan hadn't helped out at all: " Four years ago, many of you voted for Mr. Reagan because he promised you'd be better off. And today, the rich are better off. But working Americans are worse off, and the middle class is standing on a trap door." Health care must have gotten better somewhere along the way because Mr. Mondale was more concerned about education. In fact, he stated that "We will launch a renaissance in education, in science, and learning. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. And this must be the best-educated, best-trained generation in American history. And I will lead our nation forward to the best system that this nation has ever seen. We must do it, we must do it." Whoa! Americans must have been really stupid in the 1980's.

Well, America apparently continued to fail under four more years of Ronald Reagan because in 1988 Michael Dukakis the Democratic nominee for the Presidency said in his acceptance speech that "We’re going to take America’s genius out of cold storage and challenge our youngsters; we’re going to make our schools and universities and laboratories the finest in the world and we’re going to make teaching a valued and honored profession once again." And the farmers? "We’re going to give our farm families a price they can live on, and farm communities a future they can count on."

It's amazing that America survived and prospered at all during these times.

Surely by 1992 life in America must have improved, but the Democratic nominee for President Wiliam Jefferson Clinton had this to say in his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention: "That’s why I’m so committed to make sure every American gets the health care that saved my mother’s life and that women’s health care gets the same attention as men’s." Uh oh - healthcare went down the tubes again. "Their taxes are still going up. And the costs of health care, housing and education are going through the roof. Meanwhile, more and more of our best people are falling into poverty even though they work 40 hours a week. Our people are pleading for change, but government is in the way." Yes, we apparently needed change again 32 years later.

However, it seems that life in 1992 was just as hard as life in 1960 according to Bill Clinton -  " Jobs, education, health care- these are not just commitments from my lips; they are the work of my life. . .But you must do your part, you must be responsible. American companies must act like American companies again, exporting products, not jobs. We can do it. We can do it. We can do it. We can do it. We can do it." Si se puede - Yes, we can! Wait, sorry I just got ahead of myself.

And now we come to today - 2008. The Democratic nominee Barack Obama has this to say about our current plight: "Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. . . Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American." The health care system must really be busted since in 1960 it as only the elderly who couldn't afford it - now it's everybody. But at least he says "finally."