Marcus Tullius Cicero

Cicero was the greatest speaker among the many famous statesmen of ancient Rome. He practiced law and studied philospohy in Greece before holding a rising sequence of important jobs in the Roman Empire. In 64 BCE he became Consul, the highest office in Rome. As Consul he won fame for his orations against Cataline, the head of a secret conspiracy to seize the government. Always a staunch supporter of the Republic, Cicero was eventually forced from office by his enemies, and when Julius Caesar consolidated his power in 48 BC, Cicero went into political retirement. During this time he wrote his famous essays on happiness, on old age, and on friendship. Upon Caesar’s assassination in 44 BCE, Cicero returned to public life and delivered a series of scathing speeches (the “Phillipics”) against Marc Antony. This proved to be Cicero’s undoing: when Antony took power in a triumvirate with Octavian and Marcus Lepidus, Cicero was declared an outlaw and killed by Antony’s men in 43 BCE.

Who will be our next Ronald Reagan in 2012?

The United States needs a leader like Ronald Reagan. Someone who has a clear vision for how to restore our constitutional republic to one which reflects the greatness of our Founding Fathers and our constitution. Someone who believes in the idea of American exceptionalism, personal liberty and the power of the individual over the collective. We need someone who embraces the idea of America, someone who inspires fraternity among our citizens and whose sole purpose is to protect our constitution and the ideas of those who wrote it. I hope someone like Ronald Reagan shows up soon.