Being Presidents’ Day and all, it’s as good a time as any to reflect on those people who could have been president but were not. I’m talking about those heart-beat-away-funeral-attending-ain’t-worth-a-bucket-of-warm …. vice presidents of the United States of America.
I am sure that the country is better off that some of the vice presidents never became president. I know I used to pray for President George H.W. Bush’s health because of his Veep, Dan Quayle. And I’m not even a religious man.
A lot has been said in the last week about Dick Cheney and the similarities of his veepancy with Aaron Burr. Of course, Alexander Hamilton was mortally wounded by Burr as a result of a duel. As far as we now know, Cheney’s shooting and wounding lawyer Harry Whittington was supposedly an accident. After all Cheney only had one beer for lunch that day.
But one has to wonder what the course of history had been if Franklin Pierce had died in office and his successor to the presidency was William Rufus de Vane King. Well, for starters the nation would have been in a hell of a fix because King died after serving only 45 days in office. King curiously took his oath of office in Cuba where he had gone for his health. Apparently the trip didn’t do him a whole hell of a lot of good.
Certain historians have speculated that King was gay (not that there’s anything wrong with it). He allegedly had a relationship with James Buchanan and King was sometimes called “Miss Nancy” by his critics. Oh well, you know what they say: Sticks and stones may break your bones but death will kill ya.
Happy Would-be Presidents’ Day Rufus.