The 1948 election wasn't a close one as it turned out. But it did illustrate how the polls can get it wrong, in this case, very wrong.

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The 1948 election was more of a November Surprise than an October one, but the month of October was pivotal for Harry Truman, as he refused to believe what almost everyone else in the country believed: that the election was a slam dunk for the Republicans. Instead Truman used October to fight back, and his perseverance paid off.

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An October surprise is a news event that may influence the outcome of an upcoming November Presidential election, whether deliberately planned or spontaneously occurring. Because election day is in early November, events that take place in October have greater potential to influence the decisions of prospective voters and allow less time to take ( Read more... )

The story of Thomas Eagleton isn't so much a scandal as it is a shameful example of how dirty politics can be sometimes. Eagleton was a Democratic Senator from Missouri and for 18 days he was a candidate for Vice-President of the United States. He was dumped from the ticket by Democratic Presidential Candidate George McGovern. Eagleton's sin? He ( Read more... )

Some have compared President Joe Biden's recent decision not to run for re-election to that of Lyndon Johnson, who, in March of 1968, announced to the nation his decision not to seek another term in office. But Johnson's decision was not based on concerns of competency or age (Johnson was not yet 60 when he decided not to seek another four years in ( Read more... )

When Lyndon Johnson became president following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, he opted for a different approach to the issue of Vietnam than his predecessor was expected to take. Whereas Kennedy had talked about a decreased US presence in Vietnam, Johnson was a firm believer in what was known as "the Domino Theory" (i.e. the idea that if ( Read more... )

Lyndon Johnson was a long time Washington politician who had served in the Senate from 1949 until his inauguration as Vice-President in January, 1961. He had been the Senate Majority Leader and was known as the "Master of the Senate" before becoming Vice-President and he became President of the United States on November 22, 1963, following the ( Read more... )

FDR's successes in addressing the Great Depression and managing the second world war led to a spirit of national unity so strong that the President was elected to four consecutive terms, a record that will never be surpassed without a constitutional amendment. He would not survive his final term, and his successor Harry Truman would not enjoy the ( Read more... )

It was 56 years ago today, on June 6, 1968 at 1:44 a.m. that Robert F. Kennedy died. He was shot just over 25 hours earlier in a kitchen adjacent to the Embassy Ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, where he had just delivered his victory speech following his winning the 1968 California Democratic Primary. He was 42 years of age.


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It was 30 years ago today (on April 22, 1994) that Richard Nixon died. Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and was also the 36th Vice-President of the United States. He had served as both a member of the House of Representatives and a United States Senator from California, and he was also the only President to ever resign from office ( Read more... )