Thursday, July 15, 2004
Periodic Presidents 10: Popular Presidents
There's something about these Presidents. Franklin Pierce was attractive to the ladies. Warren G. Harding let his people do what they want, and they got into peccadilloes and scandals all over the place. And then there's Bill Clinton with that intern, leading to some dispute over what the definition of "is" is.
Nevertheless, it is hard for me to place a word on these. I first called them Sexy Presidents, and there was certainly sex involved with Clinton. But it is only sexy looks with Pierce, and although there may have been a bordello in Washington, there was much more to Harding than just sexual things. I thought of "sleaze", and am thinking of the individual who gets his way with people by dealing with them and giving them what they want. Both Harding and Clinton were good at this, and it is a primary reason why both became Presidents. I shall call them Popular Presidents because of this column's way with people.
So how could Presidents get away with these things? Because people are off doing their own thing, and they let civic structures, including the Presidency, fall apart. These are typical Third Turning presidents, especially late Third Turning, where things may be headed towards a turning point. In fact, when a Popular President is in the White House, a crisis is 5-10 years away.
Franklin Pierce differs somewhat from the others. He was a handsome president, which caused Harry Truman to write, "He's got the best picture in the White House, Franklin Pierce, but being President involves a little bit more than just winning a beauty contest, and he wsa another one that was a complete fizzle." I don't agree with him. Pierce did make some accomplishments, such as the Kansas-Nebraska act (but he let the battles of Bleeding Kansas proceed), and the Gadsden Purchase, which completed the present familiar outline of the 48 contiguous states. He was a limited-government person, and this led to the country continuing to split along North-South lines, and is not regarded highly by historians.
Warren G. Harding got his way into the White House through his popularity as a Senator. Like Pierce, he was attractive. He sought to run a smooth operation by hiring his friends and cronies into his staff. This soon led to influence peddling and other sorts of unethical behavior, and Harding would host poker games in the White House. He did accomplish a few things, such as ending World War I and speaking out for the black people in the rural South. However, some of his friends got into huge scandals, such as Teapot Dome, and a number of the officials in his government wound up in prison or worse. He died in office, probably of food poisoning but the nature of the death was somewhat mysterious.
Bill Clinton, to me, looked like the best candidate that the Democrats had going in 1992; he spoke well and he had some good plans. But right from the beginning he was bedeviled with rumors about his extramarital involvements. This did not seem to hurt his run for the White House, which was surprising since the same sort of thing derailed Gary Hart in 1987. While President he accomplished many minor accomplishments and faced down the Republicans in the shutdown crisis of 1995. He also attacked Iraq after that country would not allow inspectors to function fully. But he was (Linda?) tripped up by a dalliance in the Oval Office with Monica Lewinsky; not only that, but he lied about it to investigators, leading to his impeachment but not his removal.
Next: The Nero Presidents, getting right up to the crisis.
Nevertheless, it is hard for me to place a word on these. I first called them Sexy Presidents, and there was certainly sex involved with Clinton. But it is only sexy looks with Pierce, and although there may have been a bordello in Washington, there was much more to Harding than just sexual things. I thought of "sleaze", and am thinking of the individual who gets his way with people by dealing with them and giving them what they want. Both Harding and Clinton were good at this, and it is a primary reason why both became Presidents. I shall call them Popular Presidents because of this column's way with people.
So how could Presidents get away with these things? Because people are off doing their own thing, and they let civic structures, including the Presidency, fall apart. These are typical Third Turning presidents, especially late Third Turning, where things may be headed towards a turning point. In fact, when a Popular President is in the White House, a crisis is 5-10 years away.
Franklin Pierce differs somewhat from the others. He was a handsome president, which caused Harry Truman to write, "He's got the best picture in the White House, Franklin Pierce, but being President involves a little bit more than just winning a beauty contest, and he wsa another one that was a complete fizzle." I don't agree with him. Pierce did make some accomplishments, such as the Kansas-Nebraska act (but he let the battles of Bleeding Kansas proceed), and the Gadsden Purchase, which completed the present familiar outline of the 48 contiguous states. He was a limited-government person, and this led to the country continuing to split along North-South lines, and is not regarded highly by historians.
Warren G. Harding got his way into the White House through his popularity as a Senator. Like Pierce, he was attractive. He sought to run a smooth operation by hiring his friends and cronies into his staff. This soon led to influence peddling and other sorts of unethical behavior, and Harding would host poker games in the White House. He did accomplish a few things, such as ending World War I and speaking out for the black people in the rural South. However, some of his friends got into huge scandals, such as Teapot Dome, and a number of the officials in his government wound up in prison or worse. He died in office, probably of food poisoning but the nature of the death was somewhat mysterious.
Bill Clinton, to me, looked like the best candidate that the Democrats had going in 1992; he spoke well and he had some good plans. But right from the beginning he was bedeviled with rumors about his extramarital involvements. This did not seem to hurt his run for the White House, which was surprising since the same sort of thing derailed Gary Hart in 1987. While President he accomplished many minor accomplishments and faced down the Republicans in the shutdown crisis of 1995. He also attacked Iraq after that country would not allow inspectors to function fully. But he was (Linda?) tripped up by a dalliance in the Oval Office with Monica Lewinsky; not only that, but he lied about it to investigators, leading to his impeachment but not his removal.
Next: The Nero Presidents, getting right up to the crisis.
