Spring Break
Top 6: Presidents who dropped the ball
Evan Connet
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: Diversions
With the inauguration of President Obama sitting comfortably in the rearview mirror of our minds, we move ahead into the shadowy unknown as our nation's collective majority decision to elect the man plays out for better or worse.
So here we are, in February, the month that should be recognized as not just a haven for Valentine's Day and Black history, but also a time for the rich and often turbulent history of the American president. Considering that this shortest of months contains not one, not two, but three days of presidential celebration, which are Lincoln's and Washington's birthday as well as Presidents Day itself. The time couldn't be better for a scathing report on the men who have held our nation's highest office and, one way or another, dropped the ball in their executive duties. Or maybe they just had something ridiculous happen to them or during their time. Regardless, they are entertaining in retrospect.
Before that, however, I ask for a moment to clarify my aim. I was criticized a few weeks ago for portraying history in a negative light and referring to our "real life" past as boring. It would be easy to dismiss the critics, claiming that my sarcasm was lost on the masses, but I must admit, I was a bit hasty in my extremely broad assessment of eons of human history. For every event that is actually boring, like the effect of the market revolution on American society and politics in the 19th century (yeah, I just wrote a hasty paper on that one), you find some absurd and interesting events like the 15th century witch hunts. With that said, and hopefully a cleared name, I will explore the depths of presidential wackiness and ineptitude in another handy and ever-popular list.
6. William Howard Taft (1909 - 1913)
More of a collection of fun facts than any actual critique of the man, William Howard Taft - rocking it Big-Willy style long before the Fresh Prince thought it up - was truly a larger-than-life figure. At 300 pounds and room to grow, he was the largest man to ever hold the office, and certainly large enough to get stuck in his bathtub. So what is the most powerful man in America to do? Lose weight? Not in Taft's Oval Office; he had a large, custom tub built for himself like a true master of his domain. Taft was also the last American president to sport an epic 'stache. He later revealed that he truly disliked holding the office of president, as he truly loved the judicial branch. So to prove his point, Taft became the only man to ever hold the position of both president and chief justice of the Supreme Court.
So here we are, in February, the month that should be recognized as not just a haven for Valentine's Day and Black history, but also a time for the rich and often turbulent history of the American president. Considering that this shortest of months contains not one, not two, but three days of presidential celebration, which are Lincoln's and Washington's birthday as well as Presidents Day itself. The time couldn't be better for a scathing report on the men who have held our nation's highest office and, one way or another, dropped the ball in their executive duties. Or maybe they just had something ridiculous happen to them or during their time. Regardless, they are entertaining in retrospect.
Before that, however, I ask for a moment to clarify my aim. I was criticized a few weeks ago for portraying history in a negative light and referring to our "real life" past as boring. It would be easy to dismiss the critics, claiming that my sarcasm was lost on the masses, but I must admit, I was a bit hasty in my extremely broad assessment of eons of human history. For every event that is actually boring, like the effect of the market revolution on American society and politics in the 19th century (yeah, I just wrote a hasty paper on that one), you find some absurd and interesting events like the 15th century witch hunts. With that said, and hopefully a cleared name, I will explore the depths of presidential wackiness and ineptitude in another handy and ever-popular list.
6. William Howard Taft (1909 - 1913)
More of a collection of fun facts than any actual critique of the man, William Howard Taft - rocking it Big-Willy style long before the Fresh Prince thought it up - was truly a larger-than-life figure. At 300 pounds and room to grow, he was the largest man to ever hold the office, and certainly large enough to get stuck in his bathtub. So what is the most powerful man in America to do? Lose weight? Not in Taft's Oval Office; he had a large, custom tub built for himself like a true master of his domain. Taft was also the last American president to sport an epic 'stache. He later revealed that he truly disliked holding the office of president, as he truly loved the judicial branch. So to prove his point, Taft became the only man to ever hold the position of both president and chief justice of the Supreme Court.
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