Washington To Nixon And Reagan (syndicated by LiveJournal.com) (original) (raw)
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Below is a post from potus_geeks that I'm cross-posting here because (a) I know that there are a lot of Teddy Roosevelt fans, and (b)I want to shamelessly promote potus_geeks.
Today is the anniversary of the death of Richard Nixon, who passed away in 1994. But it's also Earth Day, which brings to mind the work of Teddy Roosevelt, who was an environmentalist long before it became fashionable. (In those days the term was "conservationist").
Teddy used his position to pave the way for environmentalists of the future. He is known for setting aside land for national forests, establishing wildlife refuges, developing the farmlands of the American West, and advocating protection of natural resources. Throughout his life and work, Roosevelt remained focused on future generations and on the condition of the earth that they would inherit.
Roosevelt was born in New York City in 1858. As a child, he was restricted by asthma and general frailty. These conditions pushed him towards physically subdued interests such as the environment. He became a dedicated naturalist (not in the the way that the word is used as being synonamous with nudist), a trait that remained with him for the rest of his life.
Roosevelt also became interested in politics. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1881 and became governor of New York in 1898. As governor, Roosevelt pressed the State Assembly for forest management and encouraged legislators to outlaw the use of feathers for adornment purposes.
In 1900, Roosevelt became Vice-President under President William McKinley. When McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Roosevelt became President of the United States. Elected in his own right in 1904, Roosevelt retained the Presidency until 1909.
While in office, Roosevelt did many things to further the environmental cause. Under the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, Presidents had been given the power to designate public domain for forest reserves. Roosevelt used this law to set aside 150 million acres. He also created 50 wildlife refuges, commencing with Florida's Pelican Island. In addition, Roosevelt turned much of the arid land of the southwestern United States into farmland. To achieve this longtime goal of his, he worked for Congress to pass the Reclamation Act of 1902. Under this legislation, sixteen major reclamation projects were soon initiated in the southwest.
Roosevelt is remembered for environmental work in other areas as well; these include soil and water conservation, preservation of forests, and areas for recreation. He made many people aware of the conservation issues both through his pioneering work as President and through numerous writings in which he recounted his various environmental expeditions.
Theodore Roosevelt created a strong role model for environmentalists of the future. He used his political skills to influence people and to help the cause of conservation, consistently focusing on the state the environment and on its effect on future generations. And to think that he did all of this long before Al Gore was even born.
Current Mood: dorky
Retrieved at 3:22pm on 29th March 2010
A little something I cross-posted in potus_geeks
( A birthday tribute to John TylerCollapse )
Current Mood: dorky
Calling all Presidential Geeks
Retrieved at 4:46pm on 26th March 2010
I noticed that there hasn't been a lot of activity here lately, and I hate to be the only one to offer dorky opinions on even dorkier subjects. So if there are any other presidential history geeks like me out there on Livegerbil, I decided to form a new community for us to pontificate and spew our dorky opinions on. The community is called potus_geeks, please feel welcome to join. (If it will have me as a member, you're certainly welcome too.)
The new community is intended for anyone with any sort of interest in the office of president of the united states, presidents past and present, presidential history, presidential elections, or pretty much anything presidential. If you're a geek when it comes to such things, then this is really the place for you.
Read a good biography of a president? Tell potus_geeks about it. Visited a presidential library and have some nifty pictures to share? Post them there. Watched a good (or bad) documentary about a former president? Write a review and post it on potus_geeks. Just feel like blogging on some historical presidential subject? Blog away.
All is ask is for member to please be respectful in your posts and in how you interact with other members of this community. Avoid profanity, libel or slander, name calling or rudeness. Play nice in this sandbox.
Above all, give in to your inner geek. Extol the virtues of your favorite occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. If you think that Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson or Warren G. Harding were misunderstood, I'd love to hear about it. If you have a theory about James Buchanan's sexuality, theorize away. Feel free to post a poll about who was the best ex-general in the white house and why. It's all good, and I know of at least one geek who would love to read what you've got to blog. Welcome to my new happy little community!
A bit about me: I'm a Canadian, but have an almost obsessive fascination with US Presidents. I have a large collection of biographies of US Presidents (pics behind the cut below). I've visited Presidential Libraries and Museums honouring Presidents Polk, Eisenhower, Reagan, Nixon, Grant, Teddy Roosevelt and Truman, as well as the Lincoln Memorial and the Ford Theatre (the place Lincoln was shot, not a theatre dedicated to Gerald Ford). I also have a large collection of documentaries about US Presidents, including the series by the History Channel called "The Presidents" and the PBS series "The American President." I don't know why I have this obsession, all I can say is that it makes me happy.
My biggest fascination seems to be with James K. Polk, although of late, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and Zachary Taylor have caught my interest. But I've read and learned about most Presidents from Washington to Obama.
I'd love to hear your take on any former Prez that you'd like on any significant or obscure detail of their lives. So go ahead, make me happy and join potus_geeks!
</shameless_plug>
( It aint the Library of Congress, but it keeps me off the streets...Collapse )
Current Mood: dorky
Happy Birthday Mister President
Retrieved at 10:09pm on 2nd November 2009
Jimmy Knox Polk, a.k.a. the President of Sexy, turns 214 today. He doesn't look a day over 213.
Polk, the first of ten children, was born in a farmhouse (possibly a "log" cabin) in what is now Pineville, North Carolina in Mecklenburg County on November 2, 1795, just outside of Charlotte. His father, Samuel Polk, was a slaveholder, successful farmer and surveyor of Scots-Irish descent. His mother, Jane Polk (née Knox), was a descendant of a brother of the Scottish religious reformer John Knox and named her firstborn after her father James Knox.
If you're a diehard Polkaholic like me, you're rejoicing in the fact that yet another new Polk book has hit the shelves, namely A Country of Vast Designs, James Polk the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert Merry. The Polk Dollar also came out this year. The disappointing news for the dually addicted like me who appreciate both Jimmy Knox Polk and They Might Be Giants, is that TMBG have had some of the best videos of the James K. Polk song removed from YouTube. If James K. Polk were here today, I know he would not approve.
Happy birthday Jimmy. Gone, but not forgotten.
Current Mood: celebratory
New Polk Book To Hit the Shelves
Retrieved at 11:15pm on 16th October 2009
James K. Polk continues to fascinate historians and authors. Yet another biography of the 11th POTUS will soon hit bookstores (on November 3rd here in Canada). The book is "A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent" and the author is Robert Merry. Following is a description of the book which I've cut and pasted from its page on Amazon:
"When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was lockedin a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over the rich lands of the Oregon Territory, which included what is now Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Texas, not yet part of the Union, was threatened by a more powerful Mexico. And the territories north and west of Texas -- what would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and part of Colorado -- belonged to Mexico. When Polk relinquished office four years later, the country had grown by more than a third as all these lands were added. The continental United States, as we know it today, was established -- facing two oceans and positioned to dominate both.
"In a one-term presidency, Polk completed the story of America's Manifest Destiny -- extending its territory across the continent, from sea to sea, by threatening England and manufacturing a controversial and unpopular two-year war with Mexico that Abraham Lincoln, in Congress at the time, opposed as preemptive.
"Robert Merry tells this story through powerful debates and towering figures -- the outgoing President John Tyler and Polk's great mentor, Andrew Jackson; his defeated Whig opponent, Henry Clay; two famous generals, Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott; Secretary of State James Buchanan (who would precede Lincoln as president); Senate giants Thomas Hart Benton and Lewis Cass; Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun; and ex-president Martin Van Buren, like Polk a Jackson protégé but now a Polk rival.
"This was a time of tremendous clashing forces. A surging antislavery sentiment was at the center of the territorial fight. The struggle between a slave-owning South and an opposing North was leading inexorably to Civil War. In a gripping narrative, Robert Merry illuminates a crucial epoch in U.S. history."
Merry is the author of "Sands of Empire: Missionary Zeal, American Foreign Policy and the Hazards of Global Ambition" as well as "Taking on the World."
Here are some of the reviews of the book posted on Amazon:
"A crucial architect of modern America, James K. Polk deserves to be elevated out of the mists of history. In this engaging book, Robert Merry does just that, recapturing the passions and personalities of a forgotten era in American life." -- Jon Meacham, author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House
"Polk was our most underrated president. He made the United States into a continental nation. Bob Merry captures the controversial and the visionary aspects of his presidency in a colorful narrative populated by great characters such as Jackson, Clay, and Van Buren." -- Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe
"Bob Merry is a wonderful writer, lively and very clear-eyed, and he tells a fascinating chapter in American history. Long neglected, James K. Polk turns out to be a rich, memorable figure -- a war president whose will to conquest achieved the modern map of America." -- Evan Thomas, author of Sea of Thunder
"In Polk's single four-year term, the United States added western lands from New Mexico through Washington State. Robert Merry skillfully draws a comprehensive portrait of Polk's extraordinary successes in a time of bitter politics and explains why this intense leader remains underappreciated." -- David O. Stewart, author of Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy
For those wishing to snag a copy, I've cut and pasted the Amazon link below:
Current Mood: busy
I'm listening to a series of lectures from the Teaching Company called Great Presidents. In the series on Teddy Roosevelt, this story was told:
TR developed a friendship with the French Ambassador, Jules Jusserand. One day, early in their friendship, TR invited Jusserand to go for a walk. The Ambassador agreed and showed up for the walk dressed like a dandy in a top hat, a suit jacket, white pants and black kid gloves. TR showed up in hiking gear. The two went off on a brisk stroll. Jusserand kept up with TR, but ruined his fancy clothes. The two of them came to the Potomac Rover and the President stripped off all of his clothes to swim in the river and insisted that the Ambassador join him. Jusserand complied, but otherwise naked, he kept on his black kid gloves as he approached the river. When Roosevelt demanded an explanation, Jusserand replied, “we might meet some ladies.”
TR should have had his own sitcom, with all the zany and wacky adventures he had.
For anyone interested in the Teaching Company's "Great Presidents" series by Professor Allan Lichtman, here is a link. I highly recommend them (but wait for them to go on sale as they do once a year.)
Current Mood: calm
According to Walter Borneman in his recent book, "Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency", President Polk died after just 13 days in his new home of Polk Place, the former home of his legal mentor Felix Grundy. Borneman writes "In the end cholera was the likely cause of death, but stress and strain of the presidency had lowered his resistance to any foe."
Borneman goes on to write:
"As Polk faded, his elderly mother rushed from Columbia to be at her son's bedside. She watched as the man who as a baby had been denied baptism in the Presbyterian Church amidst his grandfather's antics now chose on his deathbed to receive the sacrament from the Methodist Church.
"At twenty minutes before five on the afternoon of June 15, 1849, James Knox Polk breathed his last. Reportedly, his final words were 'I love you Sarah, for all eternity, I love you.' Even if this utterance was embellished, there was nothing in Polk's life to suggest that the sentiment behind it was not true."
Borneman gives, as the source of the report of Polk's final words, a book by Mark Byrnes called "James K. Polk: A Biographical Companion." Byrnes in turn a book by Joseph Nathan Kane entitled "Presidential Fact Book." I have not checked that book for Kane's source.
According to Byrnes, Polk made his last diary entry on June 2nd and the next day, a Sunday, he felt too ill to attend church and summoned Dr. Felix Robertson. For days Robertson and other physicians treated Polk unsuccessfully. Two of Polk's friends, John B. Johnson and V.K. Stevenson, took turns sitting with him at night.
Polk's funeral was held at McKendree Methodist Church in Nashville, presided over by Rev. John McFerrin. The funeral sermon was preached from Peter 1:3-5:
"3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."
McFerrin preached that Polk "seemed a man of destiny. His success in life was remarkable." McFerrin said that Polk achieved success while maintaining "an untarnished reputation. Against his moral character, no charge was ever brought. No man in the United States, filling the high offices that he has occupied, ever maintained a purer character for sound morality. His Christian principles were genuine, his belief in God and the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures was firm and unshaken."
Current Mood: sad
Retrieved at 9:33am on 16th February 2009
I wish I could come up with something more profound to say, but I got nothing, other than just another lame poll. I just want to wish everyone in this group a Happy President's Day.
( And Who Are You Celebrating For Today?Collapse )
Current Mood: content
Hypothetical Presidential Death Match
Retrieved at 9:52pm on 30th January 2009
If Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt had a fight (assuming both were in their prime) who would win?
If Franklin Pierce and Ulysses S. Grant had a drinking contest, assuming both were at the peak of their drinking careers, who would drink who under the table?
Grant would out drink Pierce
Pierce would out drink Grant
If Grover Cleveland and William Howard Taft had a sumo wrestling match, who would win?
I know that Slick Willie isn't a dead president yet, but who do you think got more stray tail while in the White House, JFK or Bill Clinton?
Who was a bigger crook, Tricky Dick or Warren Harding?
Current Mood: blah
Retrieved at 9:21am on 28th November 2008
I was reading up about Inauguration Day on Wikipedia and found a table showing which Presidents had followed George Washington's tradition of quoting a bible verse in their inaugural address. I found the strangest to be Bill Clinton (not one of the deadpresidents yet), who quoted from Galations 6:8 which reads:
"For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
Somebody missed an omen somewhere.
I think the most appropriate selection was made by Teddy Roosevelt, who chose
James 1: 22-23:
"22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass."
You go Teddy!
Anyhow, the article can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_Day#Inaugural_ceremonies
Current Mood: dorky
I finally got around to reading this book today (on a cross-Canada flight). I was able to read about 170 pages of it (it's about 365 or so pages, so I'm not quite halfway through yet). It's brilliantly written. It's the first Polk biography I've read that really gives me an understanding of what transpired in the major political fights of Polk's life. These include not only his congressional elections and the election for speaker of the house, but his three elections for Governor of Tennessee (one successful, two not). It also gives a very vivid picture of what transpired at the convention where Polk was hoping to be nominated for Vice-President and came out of it as the Presidential nominee. (It's almost like watching CNN coverage of it, but without the panels of talking heads.) It gives an especially good account of the election of 1844 and how Henry Clay blundered away what should have been a slam dunk election for him. (It reminded me of Hillary Clinton in some ways).
The account of how he lost two elections for Governor to a skinny opponent (6'2" and 125 pounds) named James Chamberlain Jones (or "Lean Jimmy" as he was called) is especially delightful reading.
The book also describes one of the best accounts I've ever read (make that THE best) of the relationship between Andrew Jackson and JKP, and also gives more insight into the kind of person that Sarah Polk must have been.
The book just doesn't focus on Polk, it also gives insight into the background of the people in his life and times (such as Henry Clay, Cave Johnson, Aaron Brown, Sam Houston, Martin Van Buren, to name a few) and into the pertinent issues of his time (such as Texas, expansionism, slavery/abolition, the national bank, to list a few).
So far my impressions of the book are that the author writes with clarity, his facts are well researched, and he keeps personal opinion or speculation down to a minimum. In short, this is one terrific read. I don't know why I waited so long to start this book, I'm absolutely smitten with it.
I was wondering if any others have read it yet and if so, what your impressions were. If so, I'd love to hear from you.
Amazon link:
Current Mood: geeky
Retrieved at 11:00am on 10th March 2008
Yeah, I know this is morbid, but who do you predict will be the next to join the deadpresidents?
Current Mood: morose
Retrieved at 9:46am on 2nd November 2007
I just want to wish everyone a happy November 2nd, the 212th anniversary of the birthday of Jimmy Knox Polk, President of Sexy. I hope it's a great day for all of you. I plan to celebrate by listening to the TMBG song over and over and over. I might also get the initials JKP shaved into the back of my head, invade Mexico, and do something else involving nudity, but I'm not sure what. I hope you have a happy Polk Day wherever you are.
( My Name is Ken, and I'm a Polkaholic.Collapse )
Actually, Polk probably wasn't a very fun guy. He was a workaholic who micromanaged everything, he never took holidays, he literally worked himself to death, his wife wouldn't allow dancing in the White House, and he probably invaded Mexico on a bogus claim (no he didn't claim the Mexicans had WMD, but might have if he'd thought of it.) Still, if TMBG writes a song about you, how bad can you be, right?
Current Mood: celebratory
Only three more shopping days...
Retrieved at 7:51pm on 29th October 2007
I just wanted to remind all of you that there are just three more shopping days until this Friday, which will be the 212th birthday of Mister James K. Polk (Napoleon of the Stump). I've pretty much got all my JKP paraphernalia, including seven biographies of him, a nice picture and a fridge magnet, oh and the lectures from the Teaching Company*'s "Great Presidents" series, but thanks for thinking of me.
So go out and do something crazy to celebrate. I'm either going to shave the initials JKP into my head or invade Mexico, I'm not sure which yet, but a good time will be had! Happy Polk Day everyone and remember to celebrate responsibly, Jimmy would have wanted it that way.
(*I think someone has done a search of the T.C. in livejournal because in every post in which I mentioned them, someone has recently posted a comment with a link to a TC 12 step group or something. Forgive me if the mention of them in this post leads to that yet again.)
( I'm Too Sexy for My Museum, Too Sexy for My Museum, Too Sexy, you'll scree-um...Collapse )
Current Mood: ecstatic
President Taft Enters a Beauty Contest
Retrieved at 10:55am on 28th August 2007
Current Mood: amused
Retrieved at 6:35pm on 5th July 2007
Cut and pasted from the pages of the Nashville Tennesseean:
Wednesday, 07/04/07
Vandals spray-paint graffiti on home of President Polk
Other Columbia buildings marred
By ALLISON SMITH
Staff Writer
The home of President James K. Polk and other buildings in downtown Columbia were vandalized with spray-painted graffiti late Sunday evening or early Monday morning, police said.
The Polk home was one of seven buildings, including the county Republican Party headquarters and the Maury County Courthouse, that were vandalized.
Columbia Police Detective Korey Cooper said he doubts the graffiti is gang related, but thinks it's the work of "a younger generation trying to make a statement with tagging." Police are following several leads, he said.
The words "meat," "glue" and "SMR" were written around the front door of the home of the 11th president. On the county courthouse, the vandals wrote obscene language in reference to President Bush.
"I would say it's really unfortunate that someone would have such complete disrespect for a landmark that happens to be the most important landmark associated with James K. Polk in Tennessee," said Patrick McIntyre, executive director of the Tennessee Historical Commission.
"It takes money that is badly needed for other maintenance needs and forces our site to put money into repairing the work of criminals."
Home was built in 1816
Built in 1816 by the president's father, the Polk home is James K. Polk's only surviving residence. Polk served as governor of Tennessee before serving as president 1845-49.
Polk home director John Holtzapple said the home's curator discovered the vandalism "scrawled on the front door" at 7 a.m. Monday. It was cleaned the same day.
It wasn't the first time a Maury County historic site affiliated with Polk was targeted by vandals. In 2001, two teenagers broke into the 1842 St. John's Episcopal Church, where Polk's family members had worshipped and are buried, and did $45,000 in damage, including breaking out leaded glass windows, toppling tombstones and throwing the 450-pound pump organ from the choir loft down to the first floor.
Repairs and restoration of the organ were finished in 2003.
Current Mood: pissed off
Retrieved at 9:34am on 15th June 2007
Today, June 15th, is the 158th anniversary of the day that Jimmy Knox Polk qualified for membership in this Community. He died at the age of 53. His last words are quoted as being "I love you Sarah, for all eternity, I love you." Sarah was his first lady, Mrs. Polk, and the two were very devoted to one another, to the end it seems.
It's been said that Sarah Polk did not tell the world about her husband's last words. When I learned this, I searched all my Polk biographies and numerous internet sites to find a source for those remarks, but so far I can not attribute them to anyone, although they're quoted quite frequently.
Cut and pasted behind the cut are the last series of entries from Polk's diary:
( The last few diary entries of Jimmy Knox PolkCollapse )
Less than two weeks later, he was dead.
Current Mood: Memorial
Retrieved at 4:19pm on 6th June 2007
History is a fickle instrument. It is also, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder, at least in the case of political history. This was the point I came away with after reading Philip S. Klein's biography of James Buchanan. Klein writes a sympathetic portrait of Buchanan, portraying him as a great statesman, a constitutional purist, and a good man whose efforts to keep the union together were sandbagged by the Whigs and Republicans on the one hand, by Stephen Douglas and abolitionist Democrats on the other, as well as by a bickering and incompetent cabinet.
In Presidential rankings, Jimmy B. is found at the bottom of the barrel. (Take for example this ranking done by Wikipedia in which he finishes second-last, ahead only of Warren G. Harding:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_United_States_Presidents )
Yet Klein has answers for all of Jimmy B's failings. On his failure to prevent the taking of federal forts by the southerners, Buchanan argues that to fortify them would only have accelerated the civil war. Of his order sending weapons to the secessionist states before they seceded, Klein argues that it was treasury secretary (and Georgian) Howell Cobb who countermanded Buchanan's order and proportionally, fewer weapons were provided to the southern states than to union states. According to Klein, Jimmy B had all the right moves, but in the end his efforts were thwarted by a tag-team of Whigs, Republicans and abolitionist Democrats controlled by Stephen Douglas.
In 1866 Buchanan published "Mr Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion" — the first presidential memoir. I have yet to read it, but I suspect it's all been said by Klein. The only fault perhaps that Klein imputes to Buchanan is that Jimmy B stressed a literal following of the constitution, despite any outcome on the union which may have resulted.
Buchanan and Lincoln differed in one significant respect. Lincoln believed that a state could not vote to leave the union on its own motion. Buchanan agreed with the basic premise of this, but said that the nation couldn't do anything to prevent secession.
The great debate by historians is whether or not Buchanan's policies contributed to, or accelerated secession, or whether he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and that any other president would have had the same bad luck.
Jimmy Buchanan: incompetent or unlucky? You be the judge.
Was James Buchanan incompetent or unlucky?
Current Mood: geeky
Retrieved at 11:43am on 23rd April 2007
From the Presidents listed below, which one term Presidents do you wish could have had a second term? (Select as many as you like. In keeping with the name of the group, I've left out living Presidents from this list)
Bonus marks if you explain why in a comment.
Current Mood: exanimate
Retrieved at 5:48pm on 17th March 2007
A while back I listened to (and enjoyed) a series of lectures from the teaching company entitled "Great Presidents." (The series can be found at this link:
http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=8100&id=8100&pc=History%20-%20Modern )
The lectures were delivered by Professor Alan J. Lichtman of Harvard University. (A link to his biography can be found on the same page linked above.) Professor Lichtman is the author of a book called "The Keys to the White House" in which he theorizes that there are 13 "keys" or conditions which serve as predictors of every presidential election and that if 5 or fewer of these keys are false, the incumbent party wins the next election, but if 6 or more are false, the incumbent party loses the white house.
I was anxious to read this book, but was unable to obtain if from Amazon and only recently found a copy on www.abebooks.com . My interest is as a student of history and I have no partisan agenda. I'll leave each of you to draw your own conclusions and see if Professor Lichtman's "system" continues its string of accuracy in handicapping national elections. Here are the thirteen keys:
1. Incumbent Party Mandate: after the midterm elections, the incumbent party holds more seats in the US House of Representatives than it did after the previous mid-term elections.
2. Nomination Contest: There is no serious contest for the incumbent party nominations.
3. Incumbency: The incumbent party candidate is the sitting president.
4. Third party: There is no significant third-party or independent campaign.
5. Short term economy: The economy is not in recession during the election campaign.
6. Long term economy: Real annual per-capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the two previous terms.
7. Policy change: the incumbent administration effects major changes in national policy.
8. Social unrest: there is no sustained social unrest during the term.
9. Scandal: the incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal.
10. Foreign or military failure: the incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs.
11. Foreign or military success: The incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs.
12. Incumbent charisma: The incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero.
13. Challenger charisma: The challenging party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero.
I've just began reading the book, so I can't say on what criteria the author makes these calls. If one applies these keys to the 2004 election, I suppose the true statements are numbers 1-6 and 13, and it's debatable if the rest were true or false. (I know what partisans would say on each statement, but am curious how a true objective observer would call them. If even one of those statements is objectively true, then Lichtman gets it right again.)
I throw this out for whatever polite discussion it might generate. (Emphasis on polite.)
*Rule 62: Never take yourself too seriously.
Current Mood: dorky
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