The 1948 presidential election is considered by most historians as one of the greatest upsets in American presidential history. Harry Truman defeated the highly favored Republican candidate Thomas E. Dewey. The surprise victory happened after Harry started a 31,000 mile train trip across the country in an effort to defeat the clear front runner Dewey. Truman delivered hundreds of "off the cuff" talks to crowds along the trip. He was often greeted with cries of "Give ‘em hell, Harry" after someone in the audience in Bremerton, Washington shouted "Give ‘em hell Harry" and he responded "All right, I’m doing it. Go to the polls…vote for yourselves, vote for your future…vote for the Democratic ticket." After the campaign was over, Truman said "I never gave anybody hell…I just told the truth and they thought it was hell." After the train arrived in Spokane he told the audience about what had been shouted and went on to say that the Spokesman-Review was America’s second worst newspaper in the country after the Chicago Tribune. It was the Chicago Tribune that famously printed the incorrect banner headline on the front page: "Dewey Defeats Truman."

In 1948 the Democrats had been in power for almost sixteen years and the public seemed to be tired of the lack of progress. It was during this 1948 campaign that Harry Truman began referring to the 80^th Congress as the "Do-nothing, good for nothing" Congress. He lambasted Congress for it’s stalling and failure to deal with issues that were facing the country and the "do nothing" label resonated with people who agreed with him.

It seems to me that we have another "do nothing" Congress or perhaps a "do nothing" Senate in particular. People are tired of all the politicians in both parties who seem only concerned about getting re-elected instead of dealing with the economic and other issues facing this country.

It was the vice president under Wilson, Thomas Riley Marshall, who said "What this country needs is a good five cent cigar." About the time Marshall said this, most cigars in the United States cost ten cents and Cuban cigars sold for thirty five cents. He was referring to the high cost of living and the need to deal with the economic situation in the country. I don’t know if what this country needs today is a good five cent cigar, but I do know that what this country needs is leadership in both parties that will stop political squabbling amongst themselves and start dealing with what is good for America. Americans are sick and tired of a do nothing congress and the lack of strong leadership to start moving ahead with what is best for all people in this country.

So, I say it’s time for President Obama to "give ‘em hell" and get this "do nothing" Congress moving forward. If they don’t, I predict the American people will throw out all the incumbents no matter what their party affiliation. If I were in Congress and up for election, I’d be very worried about the consequence of continuing to only focus on raising money and getting re-elected instead of dealing with our nation’s problems. And, if I were a Republican whose only focus is obstructing everything in the hopes the failure to solve our problems will mean their re-election, I’d be concerned that they have greatly underestimated the intelligence of the American people who will likely throw all the bums out when they get their chance to do so. It's time for right action. As Harry Truman once said "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."