PRESIDENTS DAY ?

Today we are celebrating a national holiday which is now called Presidents Day. However, officially we are actually celebrating George Washington's birthday. Why don't we call this national holiday what it was called until the mid 1980s - George Washington's Birthday - and what it still represents?

A group of historians has just ranked all of America's presidents. The top five were (1) Abraham Lincoln, (2) George Washington, (3) Franklin Roosevelt, (4) Theordore Roosevelt and (5) Harry Truman. The bottom five were (38) Warren Harding, (39) William Harrison, (40) Franklin Pierce, (41) Andrew Johnson and (42) James Buchanan.

There can be no question that Abraham Lincoln was the best president America ever had. He served during the greatest crisis our country ever faced - the secession of the southern states from the union. His leadership resulted in the restoration and preservation of the union. And he abolished slavery and helped to heal some of the wounds that divided the country. His reward? He was assassinated.

George Washington was not only "The Father of Our Country" but, according to the historians, he was an outstanding president as well. Then why change the name of the holiday celebrating his birthday to Presidents Day? Some claim it was to honor both Washington and Lincoln because their birthdays, February 22 and 12 respectively, fell so close together. Some say it was to honor all presidents. Others demanded we not celebrate Washington's birthday because he was a slave owner. I suspect the objection to honoring a man who owned slaves had more to do with the name change than anything.

Presidents Day? Does this not mean that we are honoring all the presidents including Richard Nixon who resigned in disgrace and George W. Bush who has been one of the most hated politicians in our history? Are we not also honoring James Buchanan who ranks last on the presidential list? Some of the 42 presidents do not deserve to be honored.

In 1971, Columbus Day was officially designated as a national holiday. A holiday named after Christopher Columbus when none is named after Licoln? How crass! In 1986, Martin Luther King, Jr. was honored with an official national holiday. How can he be honored and not Abraham Lincoln? Dr. King most certainly deserved to have a holiday named after him but President Lincoln is much more deserving of that honor.

Let us stop calling George Washington's birthday Presidents Day. Let us establish an official national holiday honoring Abraham Lincoln. Too many paid holidays? Let me propose we drop Columbus Day as an official holiday. I know that would really piss off my Italian-American friends. But Columbus does not deserve to be honored with a holiday. After all, he didn't really discover America. Columbus landed in Hispaniola, believing he had reached the East Indies. Shit, Chris never even set foot on North American soil.

No more Presidents Day! Let us restore the George Washington's Birthday designation. Let us establish Abraham Lincoln's birthday as a seperate national holidaly. And if it takes the elimination of Columbus Day in order to honor Linclon, well so be it!