Franklin Pierce had the distinction of being the only incumbent to be elected president who wanted to seek a second term in office, but who did not win his party's nomination for one. Some presidents came into office promising to hold the office for only one term. Others had become president upon the death of the elected president and were denied ( Read more... )

The Presidential transition of 1908 should have been one of the smoothest in history, and for a while it was. The transition was from one Republican to another and from one president to his good friend who was also his hand-picked successor. But while things began smoothly, they would end in one of the greatest political schisms in US history.

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President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born on November 20, 1942, making today his 82nd birthday. He is the first octogenarian US President. He was inaugurated as the 46th President on January 20, 2021 making him the nation's oldest president at the time of taking office. Previously Biden served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under ( Read more... )

The 2000 presidential election was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. The contest was between Republican candidate George W. Bush, who was the incumbent governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore, the incumbent vice president, as well as various third-party candidates including the well-known ( Read more... )

Some people consider Warren Harding to be one of the worst presidents ever. I disagree. True, a lot of "scandals" happened on his watch, not because he was personally dishonest, but because he trusted men who were. And sure, he loved the ladies a little too much, and went offside so much that he made Bill Clinton look like a monk. But Harding still ( Read more... )

In 1952, the popular General Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, defeating the professorial Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson by a margin of 442 to 89 in the electoral college. Eisenhower was a popular President in his first term, but showed some vulnerability in his re-election potential after suffering a heart attack near the end of his ( Read more... )

Today is the 134th birthday of President Dwight David Eisenhower. He was born on October 14, 1890. He is one of my favorite Presidents, and the Eisenhower Presidential Center in Abilene, Kansas, is also one of my favorite Presidential Libraries and Museums. I've been there four times (so far).


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In 1916, Democrat Woodrow Wilson was running for re-election as President. Four years previously, he had ended a four election string of White House victories for the Republicans, largely from being the beneficiary of a split in the GOP. Incumbent President William Howard Taft and his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt split the Republican vote, with ( Read more... )

As has been seen in some of the previous posts in this series, the 2024 Presidential Election will be a very close one and will ultimately be decided in a number of battleground states. Polling data does not show a pattern for any clear winner, and with a month to go in the campaign, the race remains a toss-up.

A number of websites that track ( Read more... )

Today is William Howard Taft's birthday. He was born on September 15, 1857. If he was alive today (as he was in Jason Heller's terrific novel Taft 2012, reviewed here) he would be 167 years old. William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States, was born near Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the only person to ever serve both as President and as ( Read more... )