Living a Life of Vice - September 25, 2008

 

The vice presidential candidacies of Sarah Palin and Joe Biden have turned an unusual spotlight on the potential residents of Number One Observatory Circle. We started to wonder about the veeps of campaigns past. Who were these guys?

Mostly, they were chosen to deliver their home states and remain anonymous, but some stood out for their ability to attack the opposition, for their gender, their perceived lack of readiness, or for their controversial views: Curtis LeMay wanted to start World War III, and Fielding Wright was a segregationist.

In spite of not being elected, some went on to distinguished careers. Frank Knox ran against Franklin Roosevelt, but was later appointed by him to be Secretary of the Navy. Earl Warren became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

FDR had three VPs: "Cactus Jack" Garner, Henry A. Wallace, (whose crypto-Buddhist philosophy was too strange for the 1940s), and Harry Truman, who succeeded him.

Some candidates had unique careers. Charles Fairbanks was elected in 1904, retired in 1909, then ran again (unsuccessfully) in 1916.  

Nicholas Murray Butler was originally just a delegate to the 1912 Republican Convention, but took James Sherman's place when Sherman died just days before the election. 

Adlai E. Stevenson I served as Grover Cleveland's number two in 1892, then lost with William Jennings Bryan in 1900. 

In 1896, Bryan achieved something that no other candidate has managed: running on two tickets (Democratic and Populist) simultaneously, with two different running mates (Arthur Sewall and Thomas Edward Watson).

Of course, not every vice president is as close as Dick Cheney is to George Bush. Dwight Eisenhower didn't really get along with Richard Nixon, and Woodrow Wilson wouldn't even let Thomas Marshall relay his messages to the Senate.

The last word about the office probably comes from Garner, who famously summed it up as being "not worth a bucket of warm piss."

Suggested Sites...

• The White House: Vice President of the United States - information on the vice president's duties and office.
• Sarah Palin - official site for John McCain's running mate.
• Joe Biden - official site for Barack Obama's running mate.
  
• Wikipedia: Vice Presidents of the United States - overview of the office and the men who have occupied it, with lots of fun facts. 
• America's Worst Vice Presidents - sounds like a game show, but it's a roster of infamy and incompetence.