Posted on 08/01/2007 8:58:35 AM PDT by MplsSteve
T he Washington Post's recent series on Dick Cheney's vice presidency certainly got my attention. Having held that office myself over a quarter-century ago, I have more than a passing interest in its evolution from the backwater of American politics to the second most powerful position in our government. Almost all of that evolution, under presidents and vice presidents of both parties, has been positive -- until now. Under George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, it has gone seriously off track.
The founders created the vice presidency as a constitutional afterthought, solely to provide a president-in-reserve should the need arise. The only duty they specified was that the vice president should preside over the Senate. The office languished in obscurity and irrelevance for more than 150 years until Richard Nixon saw it as a platform from which to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 1960. That worked, and the office has been an effective launching pad for aspiring candidates since.
But it wasn't until Jimmy Carter assumed the presidency that the vice presidency took on a substantive role. Carter saw the office as an underused asset and set out to make the most of it. He gave me an office in the West Wing, unimpeded access to him and to the flow of information, and specific assignments at home and abroad. He asked me, as the only other nationally elected official, to be his adviser and partner on a range of issues.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
At least Carter has an excuse.
There was money in peanuts for him.
In light of the fact that Mondale was one of our country’s biggest losers, why would any media outlet promote his views on anything? He was alway wrong; he continues to be wrong. Mondale must be a man who never looks in the mirror!
“The office languished in obscurity and irrelevance for more than 150 years until Richard Nixon saw it as a platform from which to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 1960. That worked, and the office has been an effective launching pad for aspiring candidates since.”
Load of crap. This was going on long before Nixon.
Vice Presidents Who Assumed The Presidency Due To Presidential Death Or Resignation:
John Tyler
Millard Fillmore
Andrew Johnson
Chester Arthur
Theodore Roosevelt
Calvin Coolidge
Harry Truman
Lyndon Johnson
Gerald Ford
20th Century Vice Presidents Who Secured Their Parties Nomination For President:
Theodore Roosevelt
Calvin Coolidge
Harry Truman
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
Hubert Humphrey
Gerald Ford
Walter Mondale
George H.W. Bush
Al Gore
20th Century Vice Presidents Who Became President Through Election:
Theodore Roosevelt
Calvin Coolidge
Harry Truman
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
George H.W. Bush
19th Century Vice Presidents Who Became President Through Election:
Martin Van Buren
Vice Presidents Nominated for President of the United States who lost the general election:
Al Gore (1993-2001) » 2000
George H.W. Bush (1981-1989) » 1992
Walter Mondale (1977-1981) » 1984
Gerald Ford (1973-1974) » 1976
Hubert Humphrey (1965-1969) » 1968
Richard Nixon (1953-1961) » 1960
Theodore Roosevelt (1901) » 1912
John Breckinridge (1857-1861) » 1860
John Adams (1789-1797) » 1800
The Vice Presidents after they left the Vice Presidency:
John Adams » President
Thomas Jefferson » President
Aaron Burr » Private Citizen
George Clinton » Died in Office
Elbridge Gerry » Died in Office
Daniel Tompkins » Private Citizen
John Calhoun » U.S. Senate
Martin Van Buren » President
Richard Johnson » Private Citizen
John Tyler » President
George Dallas » Private Citizen
Millard Fillmore » President
William King » Died in Office
John Breckinridge » Private Citizen
Hannibal Hamlin » U.S. Senate
Andrew Johnson » President
Schuyler Colfax » Private Citizen
Henry Wilson » Died in Office
William Wheeler » Private Citizen
Thomas Hendricks » Died in Office
Chester Arthur » President
Levi Morton » Private Citizen
Adlai Stevenson » Private Citizen
Garret Hobart » Died in Office
Theodore Roosevelt » President
Charles Fairbanks » Private Citizen
James Sherman » Died in Office
Thomas Marshall » Private Citizen
Calvin Coolidge » President
Charles Dawes » Private Citizen
Charles Curtis » Private Citizen
John Nance Garner » Private Citizen
Henry Wallace » Private Citizen
Harry Truman » President
Alben Barkley » Private Citizen
Richard Nixon » Private Citizen / President
Lyndon Johnson » President
Hubert Humphrey » U.S. Senator
Spiro Agnew » Private Citizen
Gerald Ford » President
Nelson Rockefeller » Private Citizen
Walter Mondale » Private Citizen
George H.W. Bush » President
Dan Quayle » Private Citizen
Al Gore » Private Citizen
Vice Presidents that failed to complete their terms in office:
George Clinton » Died in Office
Elbridge Gerry » Died in Office
John Calhoun » Resigned
John Tyler » Assumed Presidency
Millard Fillmore » Assumed Presidency
William King » Died in Office
Andrew Johnson » Assumed Presidency
Henry Wilson » Died in Office
Chester Arthur » Assumed Presidency
Thomas Hendricks » Died in Office
Garret Hobart » Died in Office
Theodore Roosevelt » Assumed Presidency
James Sherman » Died in Office
Calvin Coolidge » Assumed Presidency
Harry Truman » Assumed Presidency
Lyndon Johnson » Assumed Presidency
Spiro Agnew » Resigned
Gerald Ford » Assumed Presidency
http://www.vicepresidents.com/history/
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