Dead Presidents: Archive

Dead Presidents

January 2011

Women’s athletics are more ferociously competitive than men’s athletics, in my opinion. That may sound sexist, I guess, but it’s true. Female athletes are more tenacious — they fight harder, they play tougher, and they never quit. I don’t know what the reason for this is, but my experience is that a female athlete puts more work into mastering the fundamentals of their respective sport...

I think I am going to post a personal story I...

REVIEW: The President's Photographer by John...

The President’s Photographer: Fifty Years Inside The Oval Office By John Bredar (Foreword by Pete Souza) Hardcover. 256 pp. November 2, 2010. National Geographic Society The President of the United States has become much more than the head of government and head of state in the most powerful nation in the world. The President, and the office he holds, is a symbol for power and freedom,...

georgiaokeefersutherland asked: i recently started thomas paine's 'common sense' and would love to hear if you have a critical take on the work.

Anonymous asked: Did theodore roosevelt have the right to do what he did in the phillipines?

barefoothippy asked: I know this questions isn't technically about the president. Or past presidents and may not get answerted. My question is about national marijuana reform. And why you personally think our country hasn't legalized it or atleast allowed medicinal marijuana in all 50 states and stopped DEA involvement (Busts and raids on despensaries in states where medicinal marijuana is allowed). Which...

marcexplorer asked: so I'm taking a class all about the Presidency and I live it, but I was shocked to hear that my Professor didn't like George Washington much and think's he's overrated. His reasoning for this is because Washington always sided with Alexander Hamilton all the time, but never with Thomas Jefferson or at least comprise with the two of them. For this reason, and I'm sure you...

bbkld asked: In regards to the Mark Shields quote, here's the simplest and most appropriate analysis:

God Bless America.

bankston asked: Have you read "Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure" yet?

ghost-of-algren asked: The point of the Mike Shields quote is that in no other country on the planet would this confluence of people of different ethnic and/or religious backgrounds be probable, let alone unremarkable. Highlighting our differences does not devalue our Americanism, indeed it is the essence of Americanism. It is one of the few ways, perhaps the only way, in which America is unequivocally and indisputably...

tuckthis asked: I think that Obama is a closet atheist. I see it in the way he handles religion. This is just a hunch, I could be wrong. Which is why I want to ask someone who can more properly gauge this. You seemed like an expert, and Tumblr has this cool feature where I can directly ask you. Cool, huh? So what do you think, could Obama be a closet athiest?

mattdudek asked: Hey, I really love your blog! I am history nut too (nowhere near as much as you are, but I do spend a lot of free time studying history, especially US). Anyway, I am sure you've been asked this before, but I just couldn't find it - which means of media do you use to find/learn about such a vast amount of history? Do you just go to the bookstore and find books? Google? Do you have any...

shockisking asked: Could you analyze the quote made Mark Shields of PBS?

Last week we saw a white Catholic male Republican judge murdered on his way to greet a Democratic Jewish woman member of Congress, who was his friend. Her life was saved initially by a 20-year-old Mexican-American gay college student, and eventually by a Korean American combat surgeon, and ...this all was eulogized by our African...

thingsobamadidright asked: Good morning, just a little heads up that I recommended you (again) for Tumblr Tuesday. Keep up the outstanding work!

goliathanddavid asked: I recently watched Spielbeg's film "The Amistad", and I was curious as to what your thoughts are on the representation of Martin Van Buren, John Quincy Adams, and how the case effected the course of America's history.

Anonymous asked: Do you ever have to skim for research to answer the questions you're asked or are you able to write off the top of your head most of the time?

bbkld asked: Related to the question on Grant's post-presidential finances, what would you say would was the most ethically questionable financial deal accepted by an ex-POTUS? Didn't a recent ex-POTUS (Bush 41?) go on a speaking tour financed by a foreign government?

Anonymous asked: Was Carter really as bad as some people say he is? Like, worse than James Buchanan?

kaiyves asked: I'm reading Jerry Grey's "Enterprise" (about the development and design of the Space Shuttle), and I found the following quote about the Congressional response to Sputnik:

"In typical Johnson fashion, he introduced a resolution on February fifth to create the Special Committee on Space and Astronautics; it was passed on February sixth!"

Hi guys. I apologize for the lack of posts and answers to your questions over the past week. I’ve been tremendously busy and in the midst of several projects that have occupied my time, so it’s been tough to find a moment to do anything besides attempt to catch up on sleep. I hope to devote more time to Dead Presidents this week and weekend, and hopefully your questions will be...

January 22, 1973: Triumph and Tragedy

At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, a young man from Texas won a gold medal in heavyweight boxing while an old man from Texas proudly watched from the White House in Washington, D.C. As a teenager growing up in Houston’s rough Fifth Ward, George Foreman was spending his days and nights fighting in the streets and committing petty crimes. Foreman had little education, few role models, no...

jacobogara asked: I don't know if you've been asked this since it dropped on November 22, but what do you think of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy?

verbomanichistorian asked: Hey, I just want to say that I LOVE seeing your posts on my dashboard. I don't follow too many blogs, so it's mostly you and just a few others.

Anyway, I'm not sure if you've mentioned this before or not, but I've come across a book in my collection called Presidential Anecdotes by Paul F. Boller, Jr., and I hadn't read any of it. I think I may have...

Anonymous asked: What are your feelings on Aaron Burr? History has been pretty hard on the guy. Do you think it's completely deserved?
( I know he wasn't actually a President, but he was pretty damn close in 1800... )

theunionpacific asked: Last night, the History channel aired the first episode of their new series, Decoded. Last night's episode centered around the cornerstone of the White House and how no one really knows where it is currently. Of course it plays into the fall-back conspiracy theory of the Masons. It is a well known fact that 14 of our Presidents have been Masons. What are your thoughts on that? How about...

Anonymous asked: How did the Grants finance their tour of the world?

Anonymous asked: I don't know if you've been asked this before, but I was curious: If you could travel back in time and have tea with any president in history, who would you choose? This isn't a traditional, 'Who's your favorite' question, because I want to know who you'd most like to have the opportunity to chat with and discuss particular decisions and experiences, who's...

effervescentreflections asked: Could you describe the origin of your interest in presidents? I always love hearing about the beginning of a passion.

Random Dead Presidents Fact of the Day: 1.20.11

As you might have seen elsewhere today, this is the 50th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration. January 20th has been the date of the quadrennial Presidential inauguration, beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s second Inauguration on January 20, 1937. Previously, the Presidential Inauguration Day was March 4th. George Washington’s first Inauguration, however, was on...

Thanks again, Tumblr, for letting my queued posts...

tulowowsky asked: What's up with all the dogs gettin' the presidential love? Why not a first cat? I'd love to see Obama walkin around with a huge Maine Coon in his arms

bbkld asked: On this day of remembrance, who do you think was the greatest American ever? You can only pick one but Washington, Lincoln, MLK have to be in the discussion.

christinelo asked: Are you planning on publishing a book based on your blog?

christinelo asked: Are you planning on publishing a book based on your blog?

Anonymous asked: Since it is Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Day, do you think that he could have been a good president?

Anonymous asked: Since it is Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Day, do you think that he could have been a good president?

bbkld asked: On this day of remembrance, who do you think was the greatest American ever? You can only pick one but Washington, Lincoln, MLK have to be in the discussion.

bbkld asked: On this day of remembrance, who do you think was the greatest American ever? You can only pick one but Washington, Lincoln, MLK have to be in the discussion.

christinelo asked: Are you planning on publishing a book based on your blog?

bbkld asked: On this day of remembrance, who do you think was the greatest American ever? You can only pick one but Washington, Lincoln, MLK have to be in the discussion.

margarittaville-beachbum asked: I just saw this on BBC. I'm not sure I agree with their list. I was wondering if you agree with it and if not, if you thought it was skewed because of everything FDR did to help Britain during the war or just because British and American values aren't always the same http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12195111

mjmoss asked: I just stumbled across this video the other day: http://vimeo.com/18864216
It's a recording of Lyndon Johnson ordering some new pants.

Anonymous asked: I know you must have heard the historic tape of LBJ ordering pants. Put This On added a cool animation to it:

http://putthison.com/post/2795418773/in-1964-lyndon-johnson-needed-pants-so-he-called

margarittaville-beachbum asked: I just saw this on BBC. I'm not sure I agree with their list. I was wondering if you agree with it and if not, if you thought it was skewed because of everything FDR did to help Britain during the war or just because British and American values aren't always the same http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12195111

mjmoss asked: I just stumbled across this video the other day: http://vimeo.com/18864216
It's a recording of Lyndon Johnson ordering some new pants.

thatshaneguy asked: I just heard a rumor from a relative that Martin Van Buren or James Buchanan could have been homosexuals. As a history major, I have yet to study these presidents. I have never heard of these rumors until now and I was wondering what your take on this was?

Anonymous asked: Most people feel as if LBJ could have successfully funded either the Great Society or the Vietnam War, but as history proved, not both. Which do you think he should have put all his resources into?

Random Dead Presidents Fact of the Day: 1.16.11

Five Presidents have married the daughters of ministers. The wife of John Adams, Abigail, was John’s third cousin and the daughter of Reverend William Smith, a Congregational minister in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Millard Fillmore married another Abigail — Abigail Powers — in 1826. Millard’s Abigail was the daughter of a Baptist minister from Moravia, New York. ...

tulowowsky asked: What's up with all the dogs gettin' the presidential love? Why not a first cat? I'd love to see Obama walkin around with a huge Maine Coon in his arms

josiek asked: These are all great but this one tells the story of a president whose time in office was cut short. enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDukCTcITLY&feature=related