FreedomWriting

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Election of 1912

Posted on 3:55 AM by Unknown


A century ago today, an incumbent president was rejected by the voters.

That might be a bad omen for the incumbent president whose name is on tomorrow's ballot, but, unlike the incumbent who lost on this day in 1912, at least he doesn't have to run against a former president who is running as a third–party candidate.

(If, on the other hand, Barack Obama is re–elected tomorrow, that might open the door to another possible scenario that was suggested in print by Michael Barone the day after the third and final presidential debate two weeks ago. More on that a bit later.)

Presidential elections usually have several "third–party" candidates, but, typically, only the two major parties (which have varied in the last two centuries, but, since the time of Lincoln, the dominant parties in the United States have been the Democrats and Republicans) receive enough support to make them factors.

Most of the time, third parties are, at best, distractions — and magnets for disgruntled voters who like neither of the major–party nominees. But, occasionally, the third–party candidate wins a large share of the popular vote — and a few even manage to win a state or two.

There have been several times in U.S. history when an incumbent president was defeated in a bid for another term; obviously, such elections involve both a past and future president.

But once — and only once — a three–way race involved three credible candidates who had been — or would be — president. That was the election of 1912. Those voters went to the polls a century ago today.

The incumbent president was William Howard Taft, the hand–picked successor for Theodore Roosevelt, who did not run in 1908 because he had served nearly all of William McKinley's second term plus a full one of his own and honored a pledge he had made in 1904 not to seek another one.

Taft had been Roosevelt's secretary of War, and they had been close friends, but a rift developed between them during Taft's presidency and, by 1912, Roosevelt was the acknowledged leader of the progressive wing of the Republican Party while Taft was the leader of its conservative wing, setting the stage for a battle for the party's nomination in 1912.

Even before the presidential campaign, a deep divide within the Republican Party was clear when Republicans lost 10 Senate seats and 57 House seats in the 1910 midterm elections. The 1912 campaign for the Republican nomination merely put an exclamation point on it.

1912 was the first year that Republicans held presidential primaries, and Roosevelt was, by far, the more popular candidate among the Republicans' rank and file, winning nine of 12 primaries, most by wide margins.

But three–fourths of the state delegations were chosen in state party conventions run by the party's establishment, which strongly favored the status quo, and Taft, along with Vice President James Sherman, was renominated when Republicans convened in Chicago in June.

(Sherman's nomination wasn't the slam dunk that 21st century observers might assume. He was actually the first sitting vice president to be renominated in more than 80 years.)

Roosevelt and his followers held their own convention, and Roosevelt was nominated to run as the standard bearer for the new Progressive Party. When asked by reporters about his physical condition, the 53–year–old Roosevelt responded that he felt as strong as a "bull moose."

It was kind of an odd question, I suppose. I mean, since leaving the White House, Roosevelt had been on an African safari and had suffered no ill effects on it, but he had been stricken with malaria during the Spanish–American War so the question was relevant. From that point on, the new party was known as the Bull Moose Party.

All that sounds like a huge gift for the Democratic challenger, doesn't it? Well, since the Democrat eventually won the election, I suppose it was — except the nominee was not clear when Democrats convened in Baltimore at the end of June.

In those days, a simple majority of the delegates was not sufficient to win the Democratic nomination. The support of two–thirds was required, but no one could even get a majority until the ninth ballot.

In an ironic twist, the initial frontrunner, House Speaker Champ Clark of Missouri, was hurt when the infamous Tammany Hall political machine from New York backed his candidacy. Although it boosted Clark past the 50% mark on the ninth ballot, Tammany Hall's support had the reverse effect, earning the wrath of three–time nominee William Jennings Bryan, who had been officially neutral up to that time and was still the darling of the party's liberals despite having lost all three elections.

Denouncing Clark as the Wall Street candidate (that has a familiar sound to it, doesn't it?), Bryan threw his support behind New Jersey Gov. Woodrow Wilson, a centrist, and Wilson gradually gained momentum, finally winning the support of enough delegates to claim the nomination on the 46th ballot.

Perhaps the greatest irony of that election year was the fact that Wilson, who had been finishing second to Clark in the previous ballots, was on the brink of withdrawing and releasing his delegates to vote for someone else when the schism between Bryan and Clark occurred.

If Wilson had given up a ballot or two earlier, Clark might have won the nomination — or Bryan might have boosted the candidacy of someone else.

And the course of American history would have been altered.

It was a different time, of course. There was no internet, no television, no radio to rapidly distribute images and information; news traveled long distances by telegraph. It was relatively early in the industrialization of the United States. The railroad had opened up the West, but the automobile was still new, and commercial air travel was still many years away.

Those who thrive in our instant information era would feel wholly out of place if they could be magically transported back 100 years.

It was, as I say, a different time. Titanic sank nearly seven months earlier — man flew to the moon and back half a dozen times before his technology permitted him to probe the ocean's depths and find Titanic's remains.

It was a different political time, too. It was, in the estimation of many, progressivism's plateau. A fourth candidate for the presidency, Socialist Eugene Debs, made his fourth run for the office and received 6% of the national vote — his highest share ever of the popular vote.

A labor organizer at heart, Debs had little interest in the American electoral system, and he spoke disparagingly of the so–called "Sewer Socialists" who had made political deals to win low–level elections.

The 1912 campaign would have been one for the books if only because three men who had been or would be president were on the ballot.

But there were other things about the 1912 campaign that were significant.

For one thing, Roosevelt was the target of an assassination attempt about three weeks before the voters went to the polls.

While campaigning in Milwaukee on Oct. 14, 1912, Roosevelt was shot by a former barkeeper from New York, John Schrank.

Schrank claimed to have been visited in a dream by McKinley's ghost, who had urged him to avenge his death and pointed to a picture of Roosevelt. He apparently had been stalking Roosevelt from New Orleans to Milwaukee, where he confronted and shot the former president in his chest at a hotel where Roosevelt was to deliver a speech.

Roosevelt was not killed. The bullet struck Roosevelt's steel eyeglasses case and a 50–page copy of his speech. The ex–president concluded that, because he was not coughing up blood, he was not seriously wounded, and he proceeded to deliver his speech (which took 90 minutes).

Roosevelt's diagnosis was confirmed later by doctors, who decided that it would be more dangerous to try to remove the bullet from his chest than to leave it where it was. Roosevelt carried the bullet inside his body the rest of his life.

An attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate has been rare in American politics. Only two men (Robert Kennedy and George Wallace) have been assassination targets in the last 100 years — and no major–party presidential candidate had been similarly attacked on the campaign trail before.

(Schrank was declared insane and was sent to the Central State Mental Hospital in 1914. He died there of natural causes in 1943.)

Another thing that made 1912 different was the death of Vice President Sherman.

Sherman suffered from kidney disease — in fact, he had delivered his renomination acceptance speech against his doctors' wishes — and he died at his New York home about a week before the election.

In America's history, half a dozen vice presidents had died in office before Sherman did — including Roosevelt's predecessor, Garret Hobart, in 1899 — but no incumbent vice president has died in the century that has passed since Sherman's death, not even Harry Truman's veep, Alben Barkley, who was elected when he was 70 years old.

So, by 21st–century standards, I suppose, it would have been shocking if, say, Vice President Joe Biden had dropped dead last week.

But voters in 1912 probably weren't too shocked. Vice presidents' deaths were more common than presidential deaths in the second half of the 19th century.

Sherman's death was unique, however, in that it left President Taft without a running mate a week before the election. The president of Columbia University, Nicholas M. Butler, was designated to take Sherman's place, but Sherman's name remained on the ballot.

In the long run, I guess, it didn't matter whose name was on the ballot. The Taft–Sherman ticket ran third and received the electoral votes of only Utah and Vermont. That was not attributable exclusively to Sherman's death, but it could not have helped Taft's cause to have such uncertainty about his running mate just days before the election.

Taft's loss, however, turned out to be the Supreme Court's gain, as Claude Marx observes at RealClearPolitics.com

And now, back to Mr. Barone's observation a couple of weeks ago.

In 2008, he noted, Obama "got a higher share of the popular vote than any other Democratic nominee in history except Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson."

But most political analysts, including Barone, are convinced that, if Obama is re–elected, it will be by a considerably narrower margin. Only one president in American history, Barone observed, was re–elected by a smaller margin than the one by which he was elected originally.

That would be Wilson, who was "re–elected in 1916 by 49 to 46 percent in popular votes and 277 to 254 in the Electoral College," Barone wrote.

"If California, which then had only 13 electoral votes, had not gone for Wilson by 3,773 votes," Barone continued, "the incumbent would have lost."

Barone pointed out that Obama has not been definite about his plans for a second term.

"Presidents who get re–elected," he wrote, "usually offer second–term agendas. Obama hasn't, especially on the economy. As a re–elected president, he will be as free of constraints as Wilson was."

Just one thing stands between Obama and that second term — tomorrow's election. (And, for the record, Barone doesn't believe Obama will be re–elected. But Larry Sabato does.)
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in 1912, Biden, Garret Hobart, history, James Sherman, Larry Sabato, Michael Barone, Obama, presidency, presidential campaign, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Good Riddance to the Night Stalker
    "I love to kill people. I love to watch them die. I would shoot them in the head and they would wiggle and squirm all over the place an...
  • Prosperity Is Just Around the Corner
    I am a concerned American. I am concerned for many reasons, and I have been concerned for a long time. The debt ceiling crisis that is consu...
  • Spilling the Beans
    A pretty convincing case can be made that what happened 40 years ago today was what marked the beginning of the end for Richard Nixon. Three...
  • Was Gettysburg As Decisive As Historians Say?
    "If I had had Stonewall Jackson at Gettysburg, I would have won that fight." Robert E. Lee I think I was in ninth grade when I was...
  • That's Ridiculous ... And Yet ...
    Whatever else you may say about him — and there certainly are many things one could say about him — House Minority Leader John Boehner is n...
  • 'I Gave Them a Sword'
    Thirty–five years ago today, journalist David Frost and former President Richard Nixon sat down for the first of the Frost–Nixon interviews ...
  • The Randomness of Life
    I took this picture of Mom's grave this morning. See that dark marker in the center? That's where she is buried. A couple of days ag...
  • Phyllis' Opus
    This morning, in my hometown of Conway, Ark., people are gathering to honor my friend Phyllis, of whom I have written much — and thought eve...
  • They Know What You Want
    "In a Univision interview on Monday, the president, who campaigned in 2008 by referring not to a 'Red America' or a 'Blue A...
  • The Smoking Gun
    In an historical context, it's ironic that Barack Obama should claim executive privilege this week. For two years, Richard Nixon got awa...

Categories

  • 14th Amendment (2)
  • 16th Street Baptist Church (1)
  • 1787 (1)
  • 1789 (1)
  • 1861 (2)
  • 1863 (1)
  • 1867 (1)
  • 1869 (1)
  • 1876 (1)
  • 1881 (1)
  • 1886 (1)
  • 1896 (2)
  • 1912 (3)
  • 1913 (2)
  • 1916 (1)
  • 1923 (1)
  • 1927 (1)
  • 1934 (1)
  • 1936 (1)
  • 1937 (3)
  • 1940 (1)
  • 1942 (1)
  • 1945 (3)
  • 1946 (1)
  • 1948 (2)
  • 1950 (1)
  • 1952 (1)
  • 1953 (1)
  • 1956 (3)
  • 1960 (1)
  • 1960s (3)
  • 1961 (6)
  • 1962 (2)
  • 1963 (6)
  • 1964 (5)
  • 1965 (1)
  • 1966 (2)
  • 1967 (3)
  • 1968 (11)
  • 1968 Democratic convention (2)
  • 1968 Republican convention (1)
  • 1969 (3)
  • 1970 (2)
  • 1971 (2)
  • 1972 (17)
  • 1973 (10)
  • 1974 (4)
  • 1976 (10)
  • 1977 (1)
  • 1978 (2)
  • 1980 (14)
  • 1981 (4)
  • 1982 (4)
  • 1983 (3)
  • 1984 (4)
  • 1986 (3)
  • 1987 (3)
  • 1988 (6)
  • 1988 Democratic convention (2)
  • 1988 Republican convention (1)
  • 1989 earthquake (1)
  • 1990 (1)
  • 1991 (4)
  • 1992 (8)
  • 1993 (3)
  • 1994 (5)
  • 1995 (3)
  • 1996 (7)
  • 1997 (2)
  • 1998 (4)
  • 1999 (1)
  • 2000 (3)
  • 2001 (1)
  • 2002 (1)
  • 2004 (2)
  • 2005 (3)
  • 2007 (1)
  • 2008 (13)
  • 2009 (1)
  • 2010 (10)
  • 2012 (57)
  • 2013 (1)
  • 2014 (1)
  • 20th Amendment (1)
  • 20th century (1)
  • 22nd Amendment (1)
  • 24-hour news (1)
  • 26th amendment (1)
  • 60 Minutes (1)
  • abortion (1)
  • absence (1)
  • Academy Awards (1)
  • acceptance speech (9)
  • accidents (1)
  • acquittal (3)
  • addiction (1)
  • Adlai Stevenson (1)
  • afterlife (1)
  • age (1)
  • age discrimination (2)
  • AIDS (1)
  • air travel (1)
  • airplane (1)
  • Al Neuharth (1)
  • Al Qaeda (1)
  • Alabama (4)
  • Alan Shepard (1)
  • Alaska (3)
  • alcoholism (1)
  • Alexander Butterfield (2)
  • alien (1)
  • alternate reality (1)
  • Amelia Earhart (2)
  • American exceptionalism (1)
  • American Experience (1)
  • American way (1)
  • amusement park (1)
  • Angela Corey (1)
  • Anita Hill (1)
  • Ann Coulter (1)
  • Ann Richards (2)
  • anniversaries (1)
  • anniversary (33)
  • anonymity (1)
  • Anousheh Ansari (1)
  • Anthony Shadid (1)
  • Anthony Weiner (2)
  • Anwar Sadat (1)
  • AP style (1)
  • apartheid (1)
  • Apollo 11 (1)
  • Apollo 13 (1)
  • Apollo 17 (1)
  • approval ratings (10)
  • April (1)
  • Argentina (1)
  • Ari Fleischer (1)
  • Arizona (4)
  • Arkansas (31)
  • Arkansas Arts Center (1)
  • Arkansas Democrat (1)
  • Arkansas Gazette (5)
  • Arkansas Post (1)
  • armed forces (1)
  • armistice (1)
  • Arthur Bremer (1)
  • Artur Davis (1)
  • Aruba (1)
  • assassination (3)
  • assassination attempt (2)
  • Associated Press (2)
  • astronaut (2)
  • Atlanta (1)
  • Atlantic City (1)
  • atomic bomb (1)
  • Auschwitz (2)
  • authorship (1)
  • auto crash (1)
  • aviation (1)
  • ballot (1)
  • Baltimore Sun (1)
  • Barbara Boxer (1)
  • Barry Switzer (1)
  • baseball (1)
  • Baskin-Robbins (1)
  • Batman (2)
  • Battle of France (1)
  • battleground states (1)
  • Bay of Pigs (1)
  • BBC (2)
  • beatification (1)
  • behavior (1)
  • Benedict XVI (4)
  • Benghazi (4)
  • Berlin (2)
  • Berlin Wall (2)
  • Betty Ford (3)
  • Bible (1)
  • bicycle trip (1)
  • Biden (7)
  • Big Tex (1)
  • Bill Clinton (27)
  • Bill Fulbright (1)
  • Bill Halter (1)
  • Bill Maher (1)
  • Bill Murray (1)
  • Bill of Rights (1)
  • Billy the Kid (1)
  • birthday (12)
  • birthdays (1)
  • black voters (1)
  • blame (1)
  • Blanche Lincoln (2)
  • blockade (1)
  • blog (1)
  • blogger (1)
  • blogs (1)
  • bluffing (1)
  • Bob Dole (6)
  • Bob Herbert (8)
  • Bob McDonnell (1)
  • Bob Meriwether (1)
  • Bob Newhart (1)
  • bombing (5)
  • book (1)
  • Boston Globe (1)
  • Boston Marathon (3)
  • Boynton v. Virginia (1)
  • bra burning (1)
  • Brady Johnson (1)
  • Branch Davidians (1)
  • break-in (1)
  • breast cancer (2)
  • broadcasting (3)
  • broccoli (1)
  • brokered convention (1)
  • Brown v. Board of Education (1)
  • budget (1)
  • budget compromise (1)
  • budget cuts (1)
  • budgets (1)
  • Burst of Joy (1)
  • Busch beer (1)
  • Bush (20)
  • busing (1)
  • Busted (1)
  • C word (1)
  • Cabinet (1)
  • cable TV (1)
  • California (6)
  • Camp David (1)
  • campaign (6)
  • campaign announcement (1)
  • cancer (4)
  • capitalism (2)
  • Cardiff Giant (1)
  • Carr Van Anda (1)
  • cartoon (1)
  • Casablanca (1)
  • Casey Anthony (2)
  • Catholic church (3)
  • Catholicism (1)
  • caucuses (2)
  • CBS (2)
  • cell phones (1)
  • Census (1)
  • centennial (4)
  • Central Park (1)
  • centrism (1)
  • Challenger (1)
  • Challenger disaster (2)
  • change (1)
  • Charles Blow (1)
  • Charles Colson (1)
  • Charles de Gaulle (1)
  • Charles Duell (1)
  • Charles Percy (1)
  • Charlie Brown (1)
  • Charlie Cook (2)
  • Cher (1)
  • Chicago (3)
  • Chicago Tribune (1)
  • Chicken Little (1)
  • childhood (1)
  • childhood friend (11)
  • Chile (1)
  • China (3)
  • China Syndrome (1)
  • Chris Christie (1)
  • Chris Matthews (1)
  • Christian Science Monitor (1)
  • Christianity (1)
  • Christine O'Donnell (1)
  • Christmas (4)
  • Christmas Eve (1)
  • cigarette labels (1)
  • cigarettes (2)
  • cigars (1)
  • citizen journalism (1)
  • civil rights (6)
  • Civil War (6)
  • civilian courts (1)
  • Clarence Thomas (1)
  • classic rock (1)
  • classmate (1)
  • Clayton Williams (1)
  • Clement Moore (1)
  • Clint Eastwood (1)
  • Clinton (6)
  • closure (1)
  • CNN (7)
  • CNN.com (1)
  • CNNMoney.com (1)
  • Coca-Cola (1)
  • cold case (1)
  • Cold War (3)
  • Colin Powell (1)
  • Colorado (3)
  • Columbia Journalism Review (1)
  • Columbine (1)
  • column (3)
  • commencement (1)
  • Commentary (1)
  • commercial (1)
  • Commodore 64 (1)
  • common cause (1)
  • community activism (1)
  • community college (1)
  • compromise (1)
  • computer football (2)
  • computers (1)
  • concealed weapons (1)
  • Confederate History Month (1)
  • confirmation hearing (1)
  • Congress (16)
  • congressional power (1)
  • Connecticut (1)
  • conservatives (1)
  • conspiracy theories (2)
  • Constitution (6)
  • Constitution Day (1)
  • consumerism (1)
  • convention (8)
  • Conway (7)
  • Corazon Aquino (1)
  • corruption (1)
  • crash (1)
  • credit rating (1)
  • Creepy Crawlers (1)
  • crime (3)
  • crises (2)
  • cruise missiles (1)
  • crying in the snow (1)
  • Crystal Ball (1)
  • Cuba (2)
  • Cuban missile crisis (1)
  • Custer's Last Stand (1)
  • D.B. Cooper (1)
  • Dad (2)
  • Daily Kos (1)
  • Dale Bumpers (1)
  • Dallas (14)
  • Dallas Morning News (2)
  • Dallas Times Herald (1)
  • Dan Quayle (7)
  • Dan Rather (1)
  • Dana Mize (1)
  • Daniel Inouye (3)
  • Daniel Schorr (2)
  • David Brooks (1)
  • David Frost (1)
  • David Gergen (1)
  • David Johnson (1)
  • David Koresh (1)
  • David Letterman (1)
  • David Pryor (2)
  • David Shribman (1)
  • death (17)
  • deaths (1)
  • debate (5)
  • debt ceiling (8)
  • dedication (1)
  • deficit (1)
  • deficit debate (1)
  • Delaware (1)
  • delegates (1)
  • Democrat (2)
  • Democrats (55)
  • demonstrations (1)
  • dentist (1)
  • depression (1)
  • desegregation (1)
  • Detroit (1)
  • developmental writing (1)
  • Devil's Den (1)
  • Digital Journal (1)
  • diplomacy (1)
  • disappearance (1)
  • Disneyland (1)
  • Dispatch News Service (1)
  • divided government (1)
  • Doctors Trial (1)
  • Dodi Fayed (1)
  • Dog n Suds (1)
  • domino theory (2)
  • Donald A. Redelmeier (1)
  • Donald Luskin (1)
  • Donald Trump (1)
  • Doobie Brothers (1)
  • Doonesbury (1)
  • Dorothea Lange (1)
  • Dorothy Kilgallen (1)
  • double-dip recession (1)
  • Doug Wilder (1)
  • Douglas Schoen (1)
  • Dr. Frank Ryan (1)
  • driving (2)
  • drugs (1)
  • Dukakis (3)
  • e-mail correspondence (1)
  • Eagles (1)
  • Earl Spencer (1)
  • earthquake (2)
  • east coast (1)
  • East Room (1)
  • Easter (1)
  • eastern Europe (1)
  • Ecclesiastes (1)
  • economics (1)
  • economy (27)
  • Ed Muskie (2)
  • Ed Rollins (1)
  • editorial (1)
  • Edward R. Murrow (2)
  • Egypt (5)
  • Eisenhower (10)
  • Eleanor Clift (1)
  • Eleanor Opitz (1)
  • election (4)
  • elections (2)
  • Electoral College (2)
  • elementary school (1)
  • Eli Whitney (1)
  • Elizabeth Colbert Busch (1)
  • Elizabeth Edwards (3)
  • Elizabeth Scalia (1)
  • Elton John (1)
  • Emily Dickinson (1)
  • endorsement (2)
  • enemies list (3)
  • energy (1)
  • England (2)
  • English (2)
  • entrepreneurship (1)
  • Environmental Working Group (1)
  • eras (1)
  • Erin Brockovich (1)
  • ESPN (1)
  • Estes Kefauver (1)
  • Etch A Sketch (1)
  • Eugene Robinson (2)
  • eugenics (1)
  • Europe (1)
  • executions (1)
  • executive order (1)
  • experience (1)
  • explosion (1)
  • Facebook (4)
  • faith (4)
  • faithless electors (1)
  • far right (1)
  • farewell address (1)
  • fatality (1)
  • fatty foods (1)
  • Fawn Hall (1)
  • FBI (2)
  • FDA (1)
  • FDR (10)
  • federal response (1)
  • Feingold (1)
  • FEMA (1)
  • Ferdinand Marcos (1)
  • Ferraro (2)
  • film footage (1)
  • financial reform (1)
  • fire (2)
  • First Amendment (3)
  • first lady (2)
  • flight (1)
  • Flight 93 (1)
  • Florida (6)
  • food (1)
  • Food Network (1)
  • foreign policy (1)
  • Fort Sumter (2)
  • Fourth Amendment (1)
  • Fourth of July (2)
  • Fox News (2)
  • France (1)
  • Francis Church (1)
  • Frank White (1)
  • Frasier (3)
  • Free Man in Paris (1)
  • free press (2)
  • Freedom 7 (1)
  • freedom of speech (2)
  • freedom of the press (4)
  • Freedom Riders (1)
  • French Revolution (1)
  • friend (2)
  • Friendship 7 (1)
  • Froma Harrop (1)
  • frontrunner (1)
  • funeral (2)
  • Gabrielle Giffords (3)
  • Gallup (10)
  • game (1)
  • Gandhi (2)
  • Gannett (1)
  • Garret Hobart (1)
  • gas prices (6)
  • Gazeta de Buenos Ayres (1)
  • Gene McCarthy (2)
  • general election (1)
  • generic Republican (1)
  • Gennifer Flowers (1)
  • George Carlin (2)
  • George Custer (1)
  • George H.W. Bush (15)
  • George Marshall (1)
  • George Orwell (1)
  • George Pickett (1)
  • George Romney (1)
  • George Santayana (1)
  • George Wallace (6)
  • George Washington (1)
  • George Zimmerman (2)
  • Georgia (2)
  • Gerald Ford (17)
  • Gettysburg (2)
  • Gianni Versace (1)
  • Gingrich (1)
  • goat roast (1)
  • gold (1)
  • Golden Gate Bridge (1)
  • Goldwater (1)
  • Good Friday (1)
  • good old days syndrome (1)
  • Gore (4)
  • government (1)
  • governor (3)
  • governor's race (2)
  • governor's races (1)
  • governors (1)
  • graduate school (1)
  • grandmother (2)
  • Grant (1)
  • Grant Ujifusa (1)
  • gravitas (1)
  • Great Britain (1)
  • Great Depression (1)
  • Great Society (1)
  • Gregory XII (1)
  • Groundhog Day (1)
  • Guantanamo (1)
  • Gulf of Mexico (6)
  • Gulf oil spill (9)
  • gun control (2)
  • guns (3)
  • H.H. Holmes (1)
  • H.R. Haldeman (7)
  • hate crimes (1)
  • hate speech (1)
  • Hawaii (1)
  • headline (1)
  • health care (8)
  • Health.com (1)
  • hearings (1)
  • heart attack (1)
  • heart surgery (1)
  • heat (3)
  • heat wave (1)
  • Heath Shuler (1)
  • Heinrich Himmler (1)
  • Helen Gahagan Douglas (1)
  • Helen Thomas (1)
  • Henry David Thoreau (1)
  • Henry Livingston (1)
  • Henry Wallace (1)
  • Herald Sun (1)
  • Herb Kohl (1)
  • Herbert Hoover (1)
  • Herman Cain (2)
  • Herman Talmadge (1)
  • heroism (1)
  • high school (1)
  • hijacking (1)
  • Hillary (2)
  • Hindenburg disaster (1)
  • Hiroshima (2)
  • historic firsts (1)
  • history (178)
  • Hitler Youth (1)
  • hoax (1)
  • holidays (1)
  • Holocaust (2)
  • homecoming (1)
  • homicide (1)
  • honesty in politics (1)
  • hooding (1)
  • Hosni Mubarak (1)
  • hostages (1)
  • Hour of Lead (1)
  • House (13)
  • Houston (2)
  • Howard Kurtz (1)
  • Hubert Humphrey (3)
  • human experimentation (1)
  • humidity (1)
  • humorous headlines (1)
  • Hurricane Irene (1)
  • Hurricane Katrina (3)
  • I Have a Dream (1)
  • Ian Fleming (1)
  • ice (2)
  • ich bin ein Berliner (1)
  • icy road (1)
  • Idaho (2)
  • illegal (1)
  • Illinois (1)
  • immigrant (1)
  • immigration (1)
  • implosion (1)
  • inaugural address (1)
  • inauguration (2)
  • independents (2)
  • Indiana (1)
  • Indians (1)
  • indictments (1)
  • Inherit the Wind (1)
  • International Holocaust Remembrance Day (1)
  • internet (4)
  • interview (2)
  • interviews (2)
  • investigation (1)
  • Iowa (2)
  • Iowa caucus (2)
  • Iran-Contra hearings (1)
  • Iraq (2)
  • Iraq War (1)
  • IRS (1)
  • Israel (2)
  • Italy (1)
  • Jack Germond (2)
  • Jack Ruby (1)
  • Jackie Kennedy (1)
  • James Bond (1)
  • James Cagney (1)
  • James Garfield (1)
  • James Longstreet (1)
  • James McCord (2)
  • James Sherman (1)
  • Japan (3)
  • Jared Loughner (2)
  • Jari Askins (1)
  • Jaws (1)
  • Jay Cost (1)
  • Jeb Magruder (2)
  • Jefferson (1)
  • Jennifer Levin (1)
  • Jerald terHorst (1)
  • Jersey Shore attacks (1)
  • Jerusalem Post (1)
  • Jesus Christ Superstar (1)
  • JFK (15)
  • JFK assassination (6)
  • Jim Guy Tucker (1)
  • Jim Leavelle (1)
  • Jim Mattox (1)
  • Jimmy Carter (24)
  • Jindal (1)
  • job creation (2)
  • job gains (2)
  • joblessness (10)
  • jobs (7)
  • jobs report (2)
  • Joe Manchin (1)
  • Joe McCarthy (1)
  • John Adams (1)
  • John Anderson (1)
  • John Bell Hood (1)
  • John Boehner (4)
  • John Buford (1)
  • John Dean (9)
  • John Demjanjuk (1)
  • John Edwards (3)
  • John Ehrlichman (5)
  • John Glenn (1)
  • John Lennon (2)
  • John McClellan (1)
  • John McIntyre (1)
  • John Mitchell (4)
  • John Paul I (1)
  • John Paul II (4)
  • John Paul Stevens (2)
  • John Pemberton (1)
  • John Roberts (1)
  • John Sirica (2)
  • John Tyler (1)
  • John Ward (2)
  • Johnny Carson (2)
  • joint session of Congress (1)
  • Jon Stewart (1)
  • Joni Mitchell (1)
  • Joplin (1)
  • Joran van der Sloot (1)
  • Joshua Chamberlain (1)
  • journalism (51)
  • Journalist Day (1)
  • Jules Witcover (4)
  • July 20 (1)
  • June 18 (1)
  • jury duty (1)
  • justice (2)
  • Justice Department (2)
  • Justice Jim Johnson (3)
  • KAL Flight 007 (1)
  • Kansas (1)
  • Kansas City (2)
  • Kate Middleton (2)
  • Kent State (1)
  • Kentucky (2)
  • keynote address (1)
  • Kim Phúc (1)
  • kiss (1)
  • Kissinger (1)
  • Korea (1)
  • Kristen Breitweiser (1)
  • Ku Klux Klan (2)
  • labels (1)
  • Labor Day (2)
  • Labor Department (1)
  • landslide (1)
  • language (1)
  • laptops (1)
  • Lara Logan (1)
  • Larry Sabato (3)
  • laughter (1)
  • law (2)
  • Lawrence McDonald (1)
  • LBJ (16)
  • leadership (5)
  • Lee Atwater (1)
  • Lee Harvey Oswald (2)
  • left at the altar (1)
  • legislation (1)
  • Lena Dunham (1)
  • Lend-Lease (1)
  • liberal (1)
  • liberals (1)
  • Libya (4)
  • life expectancy (1)
  • likely voters (2)
  • Lil Musial (1)
  • Lincoln (7)
  • Lincoln Memorial (1)
  • Lindbergh (2)
  • Liselotte Pulver (1)
  • literacy (1)
  • Little Bighorn (1)
  • Little Rock (2)
  • Little Round Top (1)
  • Liz Carpenter (1)
  • Lloyd Bentsen (2)
  • Log Cabin Democrat (1)
  • logic (1)
  • Long Island (1)
  • low expectations (1)
  • Lowell Weicker (1)
  • luck of the Irish (1)
  • Lucy (1)
  • M*A*S*H (1)
  • Madison (1)
  • Maine (1)
  • Manchester Boddy (1)
  • Manchester Union Leader (1)
  • Marathon (3)
  • March on Washington (1)
  • Margaret Sanger (1)
  • Margaret Thatcher (1)
  • marijuana (1)
  • Marissa Alexander (1)
  • Mark Sanford (2)
  • Mark Twain (1)
  • Martin Luther King (3)
  • Mary Fallin (1)
  • MASH (1)
  • Massachusetts (2)
  • master's degree (1)
  • Maureen Dowd (1)
  • McCain (3)
  • McGovern (10)
  • media (4)
  • medical experiments (1)
  • memorial service (2)
  • memories (2)
  • Menachem Begin (1)
  • mentor (1)
  • Miami (1)
  • Michael Barone (5)
  • Michael Gauldin (2)
  • Michele Bachmann (4)
  • Michigan (1)
  • Middle East (1)
  • midterms (29)
  • Migrant Mother (1)
  • Mike Culpepper (2)
  • Mike Wallace (1)
  • milestone (1)
  • military tribunals (1)
  • Minuteman hamburgers (1)
  • miracles (1)
  • Miss America (1)
  • missing person (1)
  • Missouri (1)
  • mistakes (1)
  • mistrial (1)
  • Mitch McConnell (1)
  • Mitt Romney (23)
  • MLK Day (1)
  • Moammar Gadhafi (1)
  • Mom (13)
  • Mondale (7)
  • Monica Lewinsky (2)
  • Monroe (1)
  • Montana (1)
  • Monty Python (1)
  • moon walk (1)
  • mosque (1)
  • mother (1)
  • Mother Teresa (1)
  • Mount St. Helens (1)
  • movie (3)
  • movie theater (2)
  • MSNBC (2)
  • murder (2)
  • music (2)
  • Muslim (1)
  • Muslims (1)
  • Mussolini (1)
  • my goddaughter (2)
  • My Lai (1)
  • My Man (1)
  • mystery (1)
  • myths (1)
  • N word (1)
  • NAACP (1)
  • Nagasaki (1)
  • Nancy Pelosi (2)
  • NASA (4)
  • Natalee Holloway (1)
  • Nate Silver (1)
  • national convention (2)
  • National Day of Prayer (1)
  • National Defense University (1)
  • National Guard (1)
  • National Institute for Civil Discourse (1)
  • National Park Service (1)
  • National Review (1)
  • Nazis (4)
  • NCAA Tournament (1)
  • neighbor (1)
  • Neil Armstrong (1)
  • Nelson Mandela (1)
  • Nelson Rockefeller (1)
  • Nevada (2)
  • New Christy Minstrels (1)
  • New Covenant (1)
  • New Hampshire (4)
  • New Mexico (2)
  • New Orleans (1)
  • New York (2)
  • New York Daily News (1)
  • New York Post (2)
  • New York Sun (1)
  • New York Times (17)
  • New Yorker (1)
  • news (2)
  • newspaper (2)
  • newspaper war (1)
  • newspapers (5)
  • Nick Ut (1)
  • nicotine (1)
  • Night Stalker (1)
  • Nikki (1)
  • Nixon (52)
  • Nobel Prize (1)
  • nominating speech (1)
  • nomination (4)
  • nonviolence (1)
  • Norman (1)
  • North Carolina (2)
  • North Dakota (1)
  • Northeast (1)
  • Northwest Orient Airlines (1)
  • not guilty verdict (1)
  • NPR (3)
  • NTSB (1)
  • nuclear energy (1)
  • nuclear reactors (1)
  • nuclear weapons (1)
  • Obama (168)
  • obesity (1)
  • obituaries (3)
  • obituary (24)
  • Occupy Wall Street (1)
  • Ohio (4)
  • Oklahoma (3)
  • Oklahoma City (4)
  • old friends (1)
  • Oliver North (1)
  • Oliver Stone (1)
  • Olympe de Gouges (1)
  • Olympia Snowe (1)
  • One Two Three (1)
  • orbit (1)
  • Oregon (2)
  • Orteig Prize (1)
  • Osama bin Laden (4)
  • Our Sunday Visitor (1)
  • Oval Office speech (2)
  • P.T. Barnum (1)
  • Pacific Northwest (1)
  • Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (1)
  • Pakistan (1)
  • Palin (9)
  • papacy (2)
  • papal conclave (1)
  • paparazzi (1)
  • parachute (1)
  • pardon (2)
  • Paris (2)
  • parking meters (1)
  • party affiliation (1)
  • party unity (1)
  • Pat Buchanan (2)
  • Pat Caddell (1)
  • Patrick Caddell (1)
  • patriotism (1)
  • Patti Davis (1)
  • Paul Conrad (1)
  • Paul Krugman (1)
  • Paul Revere (1)
  • Paul Ryan (4)
  • Paula Deen (1)
  • pay for content (1)
  • PBS (1)
  • peace (2)
  • Peanuts (1)
  • Pearl Harbor (1)
  • Peggy Noonan (2)
  • Pennsylvania (1)
  • People Power (1)
  • performance (1)
  • Peru (1)
  • Peter Benchley (1)
  • Pew Research Center (1)
  • Philippines (1)
  • photograph (3)
  • photographer (1)
  • Phyllis (10)
  • picket (1)
  • Pittsburgh (1)
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1)
  • plane crash (1)
  • Planned Parenthood (1)
  • Plessy v. Ferguson (1)
  • poem (1)
  • polarization (1)
  • policy (1)
  • political commercial (1)
  • political correctness (1)
  • political phrases (1)
  • Politico (1)
  • politics (8)
  • Politics Daily (2)
  • polls (10)
  • pope (3)
  • Pope Francis (1)
  • Pope-elect Stephen (1)
  • popularity (1)
  • population (1)
  • poverty (1)
  • predictions (1)
  • prep school (1)
  • Prescott Daily Courier (1)
  • presidency (148)
  • presidential campaign (5)
  • presidential debates (3)
  • presidential decisions (1)
  • presidential election (13)
  • presidential elections (2)
  • presidential nomination (4)
  • presidential rankings (1)
  • presidential succession (1)
  • presidents (1)
  • Presidents Day (1)
  • press (2)
  • press conference (2)
  • press conferences (1)
  • primaries (8)
  • primary (2)
  • prime minister (1)
  • Prince Charles (2)
  • Prince William (2)
  • Princess Diana (3)
  • priorities (1)
  • prison (1)
  • prison camp guard (1)
  • Prison Fellowship (1)
  • proofreading (1)
  • proposed ban (1)
  • protest (2)
  • protest vote (1)
  • psychiatry (1)
  • pubic hair (1)
  • public service announcement (1)
  • Pulitzer Prize (2)
  • questions (1)
  • Quran burning (1)
  • race relations (1)
  • racism (2)
  • Randy (1)
  • Randy Sparks (1)
  • ransom money (1)
  • rape (1)
  • Rasmussen (1)
  • Ray Thornton (1)
  • Raymond Carver (1)
  • read my lips (1)
  • Reagan (38)
  • Reagan revolution (1)
  • Real Clear Science (1)
  • recession (2)
  • recovery (1)
  • Recovery Summer (1)
  • redistricting (1)
  • reflections (1)
  • registered voters (2)
  • religion (5)
  • repeal (1)
  • Republicans (54)
  • resignation (1)
  • retirement (1)
  • reunion (1)
  • Reuters (2)
  • revolution (2)
  • Rich Lowry (1)
  • Richard Ramirez (1)
  • Richardson (1)
  • Rick Perry (2)
  • Riverside Church (1)
  • robbery (1)
  • Robert Altman (1)
  • Robert Byrd (2)
  • Robert Chambers (1)
  • Robert E. Lee (2)
  • Robert Kennedy (2)
  • Robert Shrum (3)
  • Rockefeller Republicans (1)
  • roller coaster (1)
  • rolling blackouts (1)
  • Romney (4)
  • Rose Mary Woods (1)
  • Ross Perot (1)
  • rough sex (1)
  • Roy Reed (1)
  • royal family (1)
  • royal wedding (2)
  • rumor (1)
  • running mate (5)
  • Ruth Marcus (1)
  • sacrifice (1)
  • Saddam Hussein (1)
  • Sal Veder (1)
  • Sally Ride (3)
  • Sam Dash (1)
  • Sam Ervin (4)
  • same-sex marriage (1)
  • Samuel Johnson (1)
  • San Diego (1)
  • San Francisco (2)
  • Sandra Day O'Connor (1)
  • Santa Claus (1)
  • Santorum (1)
  • Sara Teasdale (1)
  • Sargent Shriver (2)
  • Saturday Night Live (2)
  • scandal (2)
  • scandals (1)
  • scapegoat (1)
  • school violence (3)
  • seatbelts (1)
  • second term (2)
  • secretary of state (1)
  • security (1)
  • segregation (1)
  • Senate (20)
  • Senate Watergate Committee (2)
  • sentencing (1)
  • Sentinel (1)
  • September 11 (4)
  • serial killer (2)
  • sesquicentennial (2)
  • Seward's Folly (1)
  • sex abuse scandal (1)
  • sexual assault (1)
  • Shannon Stone (1)
  • sharks (1)
  • shaving (1)
  • Shea Allen (1)
  • Shirley Sherrod (1)
  • shooting (7)
  • shootings (1)
  • Short Cuts (1)
  • sic semper tyrannis (1)
  • siege (1)
  • Siena College survey (1)
  • Sigmund Freud (1)
  • Silly Putty (1)
  • silver lining (1)
  • Six Flags Over Texas (2)
  • small business (1)
  • SmartMoney.com (1)
  • smoke-free (1)
  • smoking (4)
  • smoking gun (2)
  • social Darwinism (1)
  • socialism (1)
  • Society of Professional Journalists (1)
  • soft drinks (1)
  • Sonny Bono (1)
  • South (5)
  • South Africa (1)
  • South Carolina (3)
  • Soviet Union (2)
  • Soviets (2)
  • space (8)
  • space shuttle (2)
  • space travel (2)
  • special election (1)
  • speculation (1)
  • speech (8)
  • speeches (2)
  • Spirit of St. Louis (1)
  • Spiro Agnew (2)
  • sports (2)
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1)
  • St. Patrick's Day (1)
  • staff (1)
  • stamp prices (1)
  • Stan Musial (1)
  • standoff (1)
  • State of the News Media (1)
  • State of the Union (2)
  • Steve Davidson (1)
  • Steve Kornacki (1)
  • Stewart Udall (1)
  • stigma (1)
  • Stockdale (2)
  • stocks (1)
  • Stonewall Jackson (1)
  • straw poll (2)
  • street (1)
  • Strom Thurmond (1)
  • Stuart Rothenberg (3)
  • study (2)
  • suicide (1)
  • summer (1)
  • Summer Olympics (1)
  • Super Bowl (2)
  • Super Pacs (1)
  • Super Tuesday (2)
  • Supreme Court (9)
  • surveillance (1)
  • Susan Estrich (2)
  • Syria (3)
  • T.S. Eliot (1)
  • Tammy (1)
  • tank ride (1)
  • tape gap (1)
  • tapes (1)
  • taping system (1)
  • Tar Baby (1)
  • taxes (2)
  • Tea Partiers (2)
  • teaching (3)
  • technology (1)
  • Ted Stevens (1)
  • Telegraph (1)
  • Tennessee (1)
  • term limits (1)
  • Terri Schiavo (1)
  • terrorism (10)
  • Terry Jones (1)
  • Texas (10)
  • Texas Stadium (1)
  • Texas State Fair (1)
  • text message (1)
  • Thanksgiving (2)
  • The Almanac of American Politics 1994 (1)
  • The American Interest (2)
  • The American Spectator (1)
  • The Blue Marble (1)
  • The Brethren (1)
  • The Daily Show (1)
  • The Guardian (1)
  • The Long Recall (1)
  • The Making of the President 1964 (1)
  • The Making of the President 1968 (2)
  • The New Review (1)
  • The Night Before Christmas (1)
  • The Oklahoman (1)
  • The Rothenberg Political Report (1)
  • The West Wing (1)
  • theft (1)
  • Theodore H. White (12)
  • Theodore Roosevelt (3)
  • There Will Come Soft Rains (1)
  • Thirteen Days (1)
  • Thomas Jefferson (2)
  • Thought Police (1)
  • threats (1)
  • TIME (3)
  • time travel (1)
  • Times Square car bomb (1)
  • Titanic (3)
  • Toad Suck Daze (1)
  • tolerance (1)
  • Tom Dewey (2)
  • Tom Eagleton (3)
  • Tom Petty (1)
  • Tommy Thompson (1)
  • Tonight Show (1)
  • tornado (2)
  • tragedy (1)
  • Trang Bang (1)
  • transatlantic flight (1)
  • transcripts (1)
  • transparency (1)
  • travel (1)
  • Trayvon Martin (1)
  • trial (2)
  • triangulation (1)
  • tributes (1)
  • Truman (6)
  • Truman Capote (1)
  • ts (1)
  • TSA (1)
  • tsunami (1)
  • Tucson (2)
  • TV (5)
  • TV reporter (1)
  • TWA Flight 800 (1)
  • tweeting (1)
  • twins (1)
  • tyrants (1)
  • U.S. (2)
  • U.S. News and World Report (1)
  • U.S. Postal Service (1)
  • unemployment (25)
  • unemployment benefits (4)
  • United Kingdom (1)
  • unity (1)
  • University of Arizona (1)
  • University of Arkansas (1)
  • University of North Texas (1)
  • unsinkable (1)
  • USA Today (3)
  • Valentina Tereshkova (1)
  • values (1)
  • Vermont (2)
  • vice presidency (5)
  • vice president (1)
  • vice presidential debate (3)
  • vice presidential nomination (3)
  • Vicksburg (1)
  • video (1)
  • Vietnam (14)
  • Vilonia (2)
  • Virginia (6)
  • Virginia Tech killings (1)
  • volcano (1)
  • voters (4)
  • voting machines (1)
  • voting rights (1)
  • WAAY (1)
  • Waco (1)
  • Walker Report (1)
  • Wall Street (2)
  • Wall Street Journal (2)
  • Walter Cronkite (1)
  • Walter Russell Mead (1)
  • Wannsee Conference (1)
  • war (5)
  • war on terrorism (3)
  • Warren Commission (1)
  • Warren Harding (2)
  • wars (1)
  • Washington (2)
  • Washington Examiner (1)
  • Washington Post (13)
  • watchdog (1)
  • water (1)
  • Watergate (16)
  • Watergate hearings (8)
  • weather (7)
  • West (1)
  • West Berlin (1)
  • West Virginia (3)
  • Westboro Baptist Church (1)
  • Westworld (1)
  • White House (2)
  • White Star Line (1)
  • Whitney Houston (1)
  • Wilbur Mills (1)
  • William Calley (1)
  • William Henry Harrison (1)
  • William Howard Taft (1)
  • William Manchester (1)
  • William Saxbe (1)
  • William Seward (1)
  • Willie Horton (1)
  • wimp factor (1)
  • Windham Hill (1)
  • Winston Churchill (1)
  • winter (2)
  • Winthrop Rockefeller (2)
  • Wisconsin (4)
  • withdrawal (1)
  • women (3)
  • women's liberation (1)
  • Woodrow Wilson (3)
  • Woodward and Bernstein (4)
  • World Series (1)
  • World Trade Center (1)
  • World War II (4)
  • writing (1)
  • written language (1)
  • Wyoming (1)
  • Yarnell's ice cream (1)
  • year in review (1)
  • youth vote (2)
  • Zapruder film (1)

Blog Archive

  • ►  2013 (65)
    • ►  September (8)
    • ►  August (9)
    • ►  July (15)
    • ►  June (10)
    • ►  May (7)
    • ►  April (5)
    • ►  March (6)
    • ►  February (2)
    • ►  January (3)
  • ▼  2012 (100)
    • ►  December (3)
    • ▼  November (4)
      • The Curse of the Second Term
      • A Big Election About Small Things
      • The Election of 1912
      • And the Winner Will Be ...
    • ►  October (8)
    • ►  September (6)
    • ►  August (10)
    • ►  July (11)
    • ►  June (12)
    • ►  May (10)
    • ►  April (11)
    • ►  March (11)
    • ►  February (10)
    • ►  January (4)
  • ►  2011 (172)
    • ►  December (8)
    • ►  November (7)
    • ►  October (8)
    • ►  September (11)
    • ►  August (20)
    • ►  July (20)
    • ►  June (16)
    • ►  May (12)
    • ►  April (19)
    • ►  March (20)
    • ►  February (15)
    • ►  January (16)
  • ►  2010 (163)
    • ►  December (15)
    • ►  November (13)
    • ►  October (11)
    • ►  September (10)
    • ►  August (21)
    • ►  July (14)
    • ►  June (14)
    • ►  May (19)
    • ►  April (28)
    • ►  March (18)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile