Millard Fillmore was president from July 1850 - 1853. Fillmore took office after the sudden death of President Taylor. Much like the liturgy on Lincoln, he to rose from a Log Cabin to become the President. Raising himself up from an apprentice to the White House.
Martin Van Buren was president from 1837- 1841 and was the heavy wait politician of his time. He rose from Secretary of State. He ran again in 1845 as an abolitionist, and to not expand to Texas (something I think I wish he would have won).
Grover Cleveland is the only President who served more than four years to not serve them concurrently. He was President from 1885-1889 and 1893 to 1897. He was also a heavy wait of his day, and an innovator being the first President to use the "State of the Union" (although it was not called that yet just the presidential address where he would say the "state of the union") as a political tool to announce policy.
Rutherford B. Hayes was president from 1877-1881... He lost the popular vote to then New York Governor Tilden who got 4,300,000 votes to Hayes' 4,036,000 votes.. But there were three states Louisana, South Carolina, and of course Florida whose electoral votes were not decided. If Tilden got ONE more electoral vote, he won. I GUESS REPUBLICANS HAD THE SAME SCRUPLES THEN AS THEY DO NOW. Because the congress established the electoral Commission to solve the issue. The commission was made up of 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats, who awarded in a party line vote 8 to 7 the remaining electoral votes to Hayes who then won 184 to 185.
Calvin Coolidge who was president from 1923 to 1929 was the first to use the radio to address the nation and for campaigning. A great innovator of communication for his time.
My favorite president James K. Polk was the first "Dark Horse" candidate to win. Serving from 1845 to 1849 he was a true expansionist. Campaigning as the only candidate to want to expand to Texas and Reocupy Oregon. He also successfully engineered what would amount to the founding of California and founded New Mexico. In 1848 he set out an ambitious campaign to keep Mexico out of the US borders going as far as to occupy Mexico City. He finished all he said he wanted to do, so he did not run for reelection. That takes amazing character I wish politicians had today.
All the Presidents did great things yet the majority of Americans have forgotten them. At there times, people got on stages, at commemorations and stated that their sacrifices would never for forgotten, and of course except for a few political dorks like myself, the contributions have been completely wiped from the American Consciousness.
It is that type of memory that I hope our nation has for Ronald Reagan.
Dwight Eisenhower was president from 1953 to 1961 but if he hadn't been in charge of D-Day people even today would not know who he was. Let alone do they know anything about his presidency. That he gave the first "state of the union" in 1954 in the manor we are accustomed to today. That he built all the highways and interstates we use today. His Presidency would be largely forgotten including the war we fought during it.
That is what I think of when I see all the hollow acclaim and false words of admiration for the President that has passed today. That all of them will hopefully be as meaningless as the "Great Communicators" assertions on the affects of his policies.
I hope that all of his atrocities, all of his moral shortness, as well as the good of overseeing the collapse of the Soviet Union (whom Republicans desperately try to give credit to Reagan) I hope all are forgotten. I hope that the Iran Contra that led to these soliers' killing innocent civilians:
That the Reaganomics which amounted to a gift to rich people while they pissed away all of our futures by making it easier to loose manufacturing jobs, get rid of pentions, help create the Managed Health Care crisis we have today, will all be lost in history. The abject poverty that minorities still squander in, all because Reagan was morally defunct. Because he was the type of President to cover up heating ducts in Washington DC when it was snowing so that the homeless would "go somewhere else" where else, I guess to freeze not in the city. I hope he is remembered as we remember Coolidge or Cleveland.
These images representing the lasting legacy of Reagan:
I hope they are all forgotten. |