This election represents a new low/high/blah blah blah

[billvon 3,006]

We've all heard how this election is a new low, a new high, a new extreme of XXX, about how no one has ever done all the bad things that Obama has done or gone as negative as McCain has done. Obama is an elitist! ($150,000 worth of clothing at one shot, or owning half a dozen homes doesn't make you an elitist, apparently, but a diploma and the ability to write does.)

For today's look at the past I'll take the 1840 presidential election.

Whig candidate William Henry Harrison was running against democrat Martin Van Buren. Harrison was the "hero of Tippecanoe," a battle in which he invaded the Indian village of Prophetstown and defeated a band of Indians there.

However, the campaign had a problem. People were still bitter over the Panic of 1837, and some perceived Harrison to be a rich, mansion-dwelling landowner (which he was) and there was a lot of animosity towards "those types" for causing the economic woes. The panic was, in fact, caused by speculation fueling runaway lending, and when the bubble burst, banks could not make good on the loans.

To avoid problems associated with that connection, Harrison ran as "the Log Cabin and Hard Cider candidate." (They didn't have six-packs back then.) They played up his military service and his victories over Indians. Van Buren, the incumbent, was attacked as being a rich out-of-touch elitist, living on the sweat of others. Indeed, that was basically their only platform; there was very little else said about how they would solve the crisis. His campaign manager actually once said "let no committee, no convention, no town meeting extract from him a single word about what he thinks now or what he will do hereafter." They even had a song:

"What's the cause of this commotion, motion, motion,
Our country through?
It is the ball a-rolling on
For Tippecanoe and Tyler too.
For Tippecanoe and Tyler too.
And with them we'll beat little Van, Van, Van,
Van is a used up man.
And with them we'll beat little Van."

Van Buren was caricatured as an elitist who had the gall to install a BATHTUB in the White House! Only rich elitist snobs bathed so regularly that they needed a bathtub actually inside their home. Another song lampooned Martin van Buren's supposed riches:

"Old Tip he wore a home-spun coat, he had no ruffled shirt-wirt-wirt,
But Matt he has the golden plate, and he's a little squirt-wirt-wirt!"

The irony, of course, is that Harrison did in fact live in a mansion with a bathtub, china, crystal and all the other accouterments that the wealthy had back in the 1840's. He owned a lot of land and had several summer homes scattered around However, in an age where information did not flow freely, few knew this.

One minor problem they had was that Harrison was old, and his vice president was not very well respected. However, John Tyler (described as a "poor, miserable, despised imbecile" and given the nickname "His Accidency") was elected along with Harrison by a massive margin (over 70%.)

Harrison then proceeded to die after a month in office. This shocked everyone, because a) no one had ever considered what would happen if the president died, b) the Constitution was sort of unclear about the whole subject and c) few people considered Tyler up to the role of president. After much fighting he was finally sworn in as the new president, although there was at least one attempt to impeach him during his remaining tenure, and the Whig party officially expelled him from their ranks.

[Darius11 12]

Thank you for posting this.
As a new citizen I think in my mind I have this fantasy idea of how great things were back in the day. People had dignity and honor, it is kind of a relief to see things were not that much different. Politicians are always liars, and we still have a lot of sheep.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Politicians are always liars, and we still have a lot of sheep.

You are 100% correct here.

I have been totally turned off by this US election and while I voted in the recent Canadian election (our politicians in Canuckistan are not much better than what the US has to offer) I honestly would not know who to vote for if I was a US citizen.

My favorite candidate in 2008 remains "NONE OF THE ABOVE".

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[shropshire 0]

I bet more people vote on X-Factor and Idiot Celebs on Ice than in the political elections..... um

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[downwardspiral 0]

There's an article in the latest edition of Playboy regarding countries' rank based on voter percentage compared to total of those who are eligible to vote. America was ranked 141 with 49%. Ranked first was Italy with 92.8%.

www.FourWheelerHB.com

[shropshire 0]

I think that it's a duty to vote and should maybe even be a legal requirement.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[downwardspiral 0]

Interesting you should say that. That is actually the premise of the article in that 4 of the bottom 5 (iirc) countries, voting is mandatory.


but I disagree....voting is a right, not a duty.

www.FourWheelerHB.com

[shropshire 0]

Interesting, but I'm not sure... I right seems to imply that it's granted by someone but the only somebodies that could grant that right would be the government and THEY work for us, not the other way around.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Andy9o8 2]

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Politicians are always liars,

A very popular cliche'; but frankly, it's silly.
Governance does not occur on its own; government must run by somebody. Sure, we can have nothing but a cadre of professional bureacrats appointed by an anointed few, but that's generally thought of as a dictatorship. The bastion of a democratic republic is that those who govern the people are elected by the people. That means, like it or not, that there must be politicians to run, competitively, for election, and they must position themselves to run for re-election. And decrying "professional politicans" is simplisticly foolish, too. Simply having untrained, inexperienced citizens rotating in and out of government, just as they're beginning to gain meaningful experience, would be no more competent, or responsible, a way to run a government than having a major corporation run by nobody but 17 year old kids in the mailroom. Want to live in a democracy? Fine - then accept the imperfect, yet crucial, role of the political process. Or even be a part of it.

[jakee 1,500]

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Interesting, but I'm not sure... I right seems to imply that it's granted by someone but the only somebodies that could grant that right would be the government and THEY work for us, not the other way around.

So what's your argument? If you don't like the idea that it's the government telling you that you can vote, why do you want them to be able to tell you that you must vote?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[lawrocket 3]

Indeed. Things are in many ways more cordial now than before. And veep nominees were often made to shut the veep up. For example, that's why Teddy Roosevelt was made veep. The plan backfired when an anarchist capped McKinley, making "that damed cowboy president now."

Check out some of the things said during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Politics are tame nowadays.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[millertime24 8]

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I bet more people vote on X-Factor and Idiot Celebs on Ice than in the political elections..... um

I remember reading somewhere that more people voted for American Idol than voted for POTUS.

Muff #5048

[shropshire 0]

La-La-La Bzzzzzzzz Logic alert

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[downwardspiral 0]

Quote

Quote

I bet more people vote on X-Factor and Idiot Celebs on Ice than in the political elections..... um

I remember reading somewhere that more people voted for American Idol than voted for POTUS.

And THAT costs money! Hey wouldn't you cast your vote for president by text message if it only cost $3.99?

www.FourWheelerHB.com

[jakee 1,500]

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La-La-La Bzzzzzzzz Logic alert

I was wondering if you'd started on the friday night beers already

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[shropshire 0]

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome