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February 20, 2002
President's Day Thoughts
I hope you all are rested and relaxed after your Presidents Day long weekend, which you probably are after your President's Day parties and cookouts. There is some confusion as to whether we celebrate the combined birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington on this day, or all of our presidents. For that matter, you can celebrate the president of Harvard if you like.
Every President these days seems to be concerned with his legacy, and the building of a library. I can imagine what types of books might be found on the shelves of our more recent President's libraries.
Lyndon Johnson---Zane Grey novels, Guns and Ammo magazines, Soldier of Fortune magazines.
Jimmy Carter---Little House on the Prairie novels, Martha Stewart Living, Sea Power and it's Relation to the War of 1812 (I actually have this book).
Ronald Reagan---None.
Gerald Ford---The History of Saturday Night Live.
John F. Kennedy---The Karma Sutra, Harold Robbins novels, and Sex for Dummies.
Bill Clinton---The Karma Sutra, Harold Robbins novels, and Sex for Dummies.
Of course we think of our greatest President's, but I think it's time we commemorate some of our lesser-known former Commander's-in-Chief, who as Red Buttons would say, "Never got a library."
Millard Fillmore---Best known today for having a fictional high school in Brooklyn named after him on the 1970's TV show Welcome Back, Kotter. Fillmore was a member of the Whig Party, which is nothing like a Tupperware Party. After his unsuccessful term, he joined the Know Nothing Party, which was the worst named political party since the "Don't Vote for Us" party.
Zachary Taylor---Remembered by many today as the guy they dug up in 1991 to see if he had been poisoned to death. On July 4, 1850, Taylor fell ill and died. Rumors have long since persisted that he was murdered. Using DNA technology, scientists were able to determine that Taylor had not been poisoned. This was a great relief to me, as I did not have an alibi.
James K. Polk---A lot of people today might ask, "Who is James K. Polk?" Ironically, in 1844 the Whig Party derisively asked "Who is James K. Polk?" Sadly, I'm not making that up.
Franklin Pierce---The only President to hail from New Hampshire was an alcoholic. It was likely his idea to put liquor stores on the highway's entering New Hampshire. Not known if it was also his idea to put fireworks stores around a nuclear power plant at Seabrook.
William Henry Harrison---Chiefly remembered today for giving a long inaugural speech that resulted in him catching pneumonia and dying a month into his term.
Benjamin Harrison---Chiefly remembered as being the grandson of William Henry Harrison. After what has been called the most corrupt campaign in American history, he was elected on the electoral college, even though Grover Cleveland had won the popular vote. Gee... this sounds familiar.
Warren G. Harding---Also presided over one of the most corrupt administrations in history, he had the good sense to die in office. You won't have Warren G. Harding to kick around anymore. Well, I guess they could dig him up to kick around like Zachary Taylor.
Well, now that it is after President's Day I can start my discount after-President's Day shopping.
Posted by dmargarita at February 20, 2002 7:26 PM