tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811529631867477864.post4097523288015410732..comments2023-10-15T05:31:42.180-04:00Comments on The Powdered Wig: 6 Terrible Vice PresidentsAkshay Ahujahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07728111336477554136noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811529631867477864.post-2358758680688543862007-11-02T15:03:00.000-04:002007-11-02T15:03:00.000-04:00Yeah Paul, that's actually a tough one. Henry Wal...Yeah Paul, that's actually a tough one. Henry Wallace was an interesting guy. Col. Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky, Van Buren's VP, claimed to have killed Tecumseh and lived openly with a mulatto slave woman for many years. I have it in my head that the scurrilous Whig press at the time referred to him as "Black Dick," but quick google-research turned up zero evidence for that claim.<BR/><BR/>Otherwise, the VPs of the antebellum era -- which I know best -- were largely villains, future presidents, or complete non-entities, like Polk's VP George M. Dallas, or Lincoln's first VP, Hannibal Hamlin. Looking ahead into the 20th century, one of my grad school professors never brings up Wilson's VP, Thomas Marshall, without noting that he made famous the phrase, "What this country needs is a good 5-cent cigar." Shades of Warren G. Harding, there.<BR/><BR/>I supposed you'd have to have a final late 20th C category for "Well Meaning Liberal VPs Who Were Utter Flops As Presidential Candidates." Hubert Humphery, Walter Mondale, and Al Gore -- nice fellows all -- head that list. Gore is probably the most interesting of the three... but any list that puts Gore as the most or second most interesting figure in 200+ years of history is a list of some remarkably uninteresting people.Matt Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18438682788288318306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811529631867477864.post-24732058167728889212007-10-20T10:17:00.000-04:002007-10-20T10:17:00.000-04:00Hey Matt,You're much better versed in history than...Hey Matt,<BR/><BR/>You're much better versed in history than I am, so I thought I might suggest another project as a companion. It's hard to come up with the best vice-presidents as the office in and of itself lends very opportunity to ever do something great. But it does seem that the office has had more interesting, quirky occupants than the presidency. I'm thinking of Henry Wallace as one example, a one-time Stalinist sympathizer who woke up to the horrors of communism in 1952, seriously pursued Eastern religion well before it was cool, and made some serious contributions as an agronomist. Who else can you come up with?Paul Mortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15595213839623449436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811529631867477864.post-25813920227111488152007-10-19T15:35:00.000-04:002007-10-19T15:35:00.000-04:00Wow. I totally forgot Quayle. Although when you ...Wow. I totally forgot Quayle. Although when you think about it, Quayle seems like a breath of fresh air compared to Cheney, and in fact his vice presidency likely produced more humor than harm.<BR/><BR/>Although I guess you're right, he did sort of set the template for Bush, which is pretty sinister.Matt Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18438682788288318306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811529631867477864.post-40742831118311547212007-10-19T14:31:00.000-04:002007-10-19T14:31:00.000-04:00No Dan Quayle, the standard bearer for our modern ...No Dan Quayle, the standard bearer for our modern reverse meritocracy?Akshay Ahujahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07728111336477554136noreply@blogger.com