the First Funny - Lincoln is Hated More than Obama

(Vice) Pointless (Vice) Presidential (Vice) Pfacts #47 - "It Has Nothing to Do with 47% of Anything Except a Warm Bucket of Spit"

The 47th vice president is the incumbent, Joseph Biden of Delaware. President Barack Obama is the 44th POTUS but only the 43rd man to be president. President Grover Cleveland's two non-consecutive terms established how we count our presidents since Cleveland was the 22nd POTUS and his popular vote losing successor, Benjamin Harrison, was the 23rd POTUS and when the two had a rematch in 1892 Cleveland became the 24th POTUS instead of simply being known as just the 22nd POTUS.

For the vice presidency, there has not been a non-consecutive vice president to serve. But the reason there are more vice presidents than presidents, and only by 3, is because some vice presidents have served more than one president, some have been dropped and replaced by another, and then with the passage of the 25th Amendment, some have been appointed to fill a vacancy.

Only two vice presidents have served two different presidents. George Clinton was the first as Thomas Jefferson's second vice president, and first elected under the 12th Amendment, and while President Jefferson left office, Vice President Clinton was reelected to a second term with the newly elected James Madison. Clinton would also become the first vice president to die in office in 1812 as President Madison was seeking reelection that year. Interestingly, Clinton's replacement Elbridge Gerry would be the second vice president to die in office. The other vice president to serve two different presidents was John C. Calhoun. He was elected vice president with a majority of votes in 1824, unlike the presidential winner. Calhoun ran on 2 tickets in the same race so he was guaranteed to win enough votes to be the vice president. John Quincy Adams became president in 1825 and by the 1828 election the incumbent vice president was running against the administration. The ticket of Andrew Jackson and Calhoun won but the would become so antagonistic toward each other that Vice President Calhoun resigned, becoming the first to do so, and win election to the Senate to better combat President Jackson.

Vice President George Clinton.

While Clinton and Calhoun are the only two vice presidents to stick around for more than one president, some vice presidents haven't even been asked back for another term. Vice President Burr was not on the first ticketed election in 1804, Clinton was the first vice president to replace another in a second term of a presidency. Since Calhoun resigned in 1832, President Jackson got a new vice president for the second term, Martin Van Buren. Jump to 1860 when Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin won the general election with a plurality of the popular vote, but four years later President Lincoln would win 55% of the vote but without Vice President Hamlin. For his reelection, Lincoln ran on the Union Party ticket which represented not just the unity of the States and the Federal Government but the political factions within. So he chose a southern Democrat that remained loyal to the Union during the sectional crisis, a.k.a. the Civil War. That Democrat was Andrew Johnson of Tennessee. Ulysses S. Grant would get a new vice president for his second term. Franklin Roosevelt would have 3 different vice presidents over his four runs at the office. Gerald Ford was the last incumbent to drop the incumbent vice president for a new one. But FDR is the last to drop a vice president and win with a new one and Ford was the first to try since.

Gerald Ford being sworn-in as Vice President.

Ford is also a product of the 25th Amendment. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the threat of nuclear war brought the presidential line of succession into focus. Throughout the history of the presidency the vice presidency never had a remedy for a vacancy. Whenever the office was vacant it wasn't replaced until the next election and for some that was a whole four years. Such a thing could not happen in the Cold War era, so by 1967 the amendment was ratified. Just six years later in 1973, the amendment would be invoked and Gerald Ford would be the first appointed vice president. Then as President Ford, he too would appoint his own vice president, the moderate Republican Nelson Rockefeller...before dumping him in '76 for the more conservative Bob Dole.

Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, Senator and Vice Presidential-Nominee Bob Dole, President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford.

Pointless Presidential Pfacts #44 - "THE FIRST DEMOCRAT SINCE... PART 2: THE 50 PERCENT"

In 1996, President William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd POTUS, was the first Democratic president of the United States to be reelected to a second term since Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd POTUS. Harry Truman, the 33rd, and Lyndon Johnson, the 36th, were reelected to the office after finishing the term of the late president they succeeded. This pfact is focusing on full presidential terms. The difference between Clinton's reelection and FDR's, is that Roosevelt 32 received more than 50% of the popular vote in all four of his presidential runs. Clinton's plurality wins in both 1992 and 1996 is the first for a Democratic president since Woodrow Wilson's two-term wins in 1912 and 1916.

President William Jefferson Clinton the night he won reelection as the 42nd POTUS with the First Lady, Hillary, and their Daughter Chelsea on Election Night 1996.

When Clinton won the White House in 1992, he only won 43% of the popular vote, the same amount won by Richard Nixon in 1968. Unlike President Nixon's reelection in 1972, Clinton did not win in a landslide but just short of getting 50% with just 49%. So the last double plurality popular vote wins was President Wilson. Whereas Clinton faced a three-way race in 1992 between the incumbent Republican President George Bush and independent businessman Ross Perot, eighty years prior Wilson faced a four-way race against the incumbent Republican President William Howard Taft, the Progressive Party, or Bull-Moose Party ran former president Theodore Roosevelt, and Socialist Party candidate Eugene Debs. Wilson won 41% of the popular vote and in his reelection bid four years later he came just as close to 50% as Clinton would 80 years later in 1996.

Campaigning for Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

After Roosevelt 32, of the rest of the 20th Century Democratic presidents Johnson 36 and Jimmy Carter are the only other ones to receive more than 50% of the popular vote. In 1964, Johnson 36 won reelection in a landslide to the office he inherited through assassination. Then-former-Governor Carter got 50% of the popular vote in the super close 1976 election, not a mandate like Johnson 36's but 50%.

The first Democratic president elected in the 21st Century would be the first Democrat to win the presidency with more than 50% of the vote since Carter's win in 1976, and that would be Barack Obama in 2008. It would be with President Obama's reelection in 2012 that he would achieve what only two other Democratic presidents have achieved, winning over 50% of the popular vote in back-to-back elections. Andrew Jackson's two wins in 1828 and 1832 (there was also his plurality win, but of no matter to the House of Representatives in 1824) and FDR's 1932 and 1936 wins, as well as his 1940 and 1944 reelections to a third and fourth term, respectively.

President Barack Obama on the night he won reelection to a second term as the 44th POTUS.

POTUS QUOTUS - BHO44 SECOND INAUGURAL 2013 - "That Means All of Us"

The Private Inauguration Part 2 - The Obamas

The private swearing-in of the new administration continued hours after Vice President was sworn in by Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the Vice President's Residence. When compared to the last Sunday private swearing-in, President Ronald Reagan had his with a small audience in the foyer of the White House right after Vice President George Bush. President Barack Obama's was simpler than that. The president and the first family walked in to the Blue Room with the Chief Justice and the only audience seemed to be the film crew. Chief Justice John Roberts read the oath from a piece of paper, swearing-in Obama a third time since January 20, 2009. He and the president stumbled through the oath the first time around and non-believers in the president believed since he said it wrong he wasn't really the president so later that day the two redid the oath. A note on that presidents, chief justices and their vice presidential counter-parts have messed up the oath of office plenty of times. Even the man who took the oath as a president-elect and later administered the oath as chief justice, William Howard Taft substituted a word in the oath when swearing-in Herbert Hoover. Taft's response, "Before radio ... we messed it up even more than that."

Pointless Presidential Pfacts #28 - "From The East Front to the West Front"

Andrew Jackson's first term and the 11th inaugural ceremony on March 4, 1829, was the first to take place outside on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol building. This tradition of taking the oath on the East Front would last until President Jimmy Carter's swearing-in on January 20, 1977.

President John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961 on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol.

A new precedent began with a new president, with Ronald Reagan's swearing-in on January 20, 1981, presidents have taken the oath of office on the West Front. The West Front of the Capitol allowed for more space both on the make-shift stage and the crowds of people. It also gave the television audience sweeping scenes of the Mall.

President Barack Obama's first term inauguration in 2009 on the West Front.

Pointless Presidential Pfacts #26 - "The New 57"

When Barack Obama is inaugurated for a second term as President of the Untied States, it will be the 57th Inauguration ceremony since the U.S. Constitution began operating in 1789. So every four years, previously on a March 4th, now on a January 20th, the nation gathers to inaugurate a new presidential administration with the pomp and ceremony of royalty like that of old Europe. But it's an example of what makes the United States so unique and an example of the lasting power of the U.S. Constitution. Every four years, the power of the office goes from one individual to the next connecting the present, 2013, to the past, 1789 and the Revolutionary War two decades prior. No matter if it is your first swearing-in or your fourth, the oath of office is administered and a new term begins.

Comments to the Internets - Secret Service Protection 2

from POLITICO: Obama grants himself lifetime Secret Service protection

by JENNIFER EPSTEIN
1/10/13 1:19 PM EST

President Obama on Thursday signed a bill granting him -- along with George W. Bush and future ex-presidents -- lifetime Secret Service protection, reversing a 1990s law that limited post-presidency security.

The Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012 restores lifetime protection for presidents and spouses who served after Jan. 1, 1997, and gives the children of former presidents protection until age 16.

The existing law, passed by Congress in 1994, ended protection for former presidents a decade after leaving office. But members of Congress and law enforcement officials had since come to see lifetime protection as more necessary as global threats have grown.

my comment...
The reason the 1994 law was established was because presidents were living longer. In 1994 there were 5 former presidents alive (Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, and Nixon would die that year, but also he gave up SS protection in '85). The 1860s was the last time this many presidents were alive at once. When lifetime protection was established in 1965, there were only 2 former presidents alive Truman and Ike (Hoover passes away the year before). 2 days after Nixon's 2nd inaugural in 1973, there were no former presidents. Since presidents (and first ladies) were living longer the 1994 law was established. President Bill Clinton would sign the 1994 law and wouldn't be effected as most laws never effect the current office holder (i.e. the passage of the 22nd Amendment, term limits, in 1951 didn't effect Truman whereas Ike was the first to be limited). The 1994 law took effect in 1997, so had Bob Dole won the 1996 election he would've been the first to be limited to 10 years after office SS protection, but George W. Bush became the first effected by this. It was during the Bush administration that returning to the 1965 law was originally brought up. Seeing as how relatively young and healthy Bush 43 is, I would guess something caused the SS suggested to the Congress that a ten year limit wouldn't be prudent. The same probably could be argued for Obama.

in response to Obama not only "granting" himself Secret Service protection for life, another commenter believed he could become president for life. A lot of ignorant speculation all thanks to a misleading titled article thanks to the POLITICO reporter's lame title. Here is my response, aka my comment...

Interestingly a Democratic Congressman has been trying unsuccessfully to repeal the 22nd Amendment since 1997. IF by some chance the States ratified a constitutional amendment to repeal the 22nd amendment before Obama's term ended in 2017 (it's not a quick process, but there are exceptions), he probably wouldn't be allowed to run for a 3rd term until after he'd leave office since most laws (amendments included) always have a stipulation about the current office holder. In this hypothetical scenario, Obama would have to wait a presidential term before running for reelection...so that would be 2020. Another example, if the Democratic congressman was successful back in 1997, Bill Clinton would've been prohibited from running for a 3rd term in 2000 and would have to wait until 2004 (and any presidential election after), whereas Bush 43 (having won the 2000 election) would've been able to run for reelection in 2004 and as many times after as he'd want in this scenario.

Pointless Presidential Pfacts #24 - "SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!"

Only 6 Inauguration Days have fallen on a Sunday since 1789, Barack Obama's next and last as a president-elect will be the 7th. Only 2 were first terms, Zachary Taylor and Rutherford B. Hayes, while the other 5 were being sworn in for a second term. The first Inauguration Day to land on a Sunday was March 4, 1821, the start of James Monroe's 2nd term. After consulting the Supreme Court, Monroe waited until Monday, March 5, to be sworn in. Taylor continued the practice in 1849.

James Monroe was the first president to have Inauguration Day land on a Sunday in 1821.

James K. Polk left office at noon on March THIRD 1849 and since Taylor followed the precedent established by Monroe, the country did not have a chief executive or vice president since the Polk-George M. Dallas administration came to an official end Sunday the 4th at noon. Taylor wouldn't be administered the oath until Monday the 5th. It is believed that David Atchison, a senator and president pro tempore and thus next in line of succession after the vice president as it was back in the day, was acting president. It of course can't be true since technically his term as president pro tempore of the Senate would've expired the same as Polk's and Dallas and the rest of the government and wouldn't be sworn-in again as president pro tempore until minutes before Taylor and his vice president Millard Fillmore. Whereas Monroe was simply succeeding himself, in 1849 one president was leaving office while the other was entering all on a Sunday. That has only happened one other time, so far.

Zachary Taylor's one and only swearing-in ceremony was on Monday, March 5, 1849.

After the election of 1876 produced an unclear victor in various States, the Compromise of 1877 decided which candidate would receive the contested electoral votes needed to win, and just by one vote and just days before the Inauguration. While the popular vote winner, Democrat Samuel Tilden, governor of New York, didn't become president, Reconstruction of the South ended. Federal troops were removed. Just 12 years after the end of the Civil War, fear of a disrupted inaugural in light of the popular vote winner not becoming president. So Republican Governor of Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes, the president-elect, had a private swearing-in ceremony in the Red Room at the Executive Mansion with outgoing president, Ulysses S. Grant by his side. Since March 4th was on a Sunday, a private ceremony was held on the 3rd and the public one on Monday the 5th. Hayes promised to serve one term.

Rutherford B. Hayes' second swearing-in for his first and only term as POTUS.

It would be 40 years until the next Inauguration Day fell on a Sunday, which was the start of Woodrow Wilson's second term in 1917. It would be the last March 4th Sunday and the first time a president had a private swearing-in ceremony on the Sunday, instead of simply waiting until Monday the 5th. Wilson was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol in the President's Room by Chief Justice Edward White and then again in a public ceremony on the 5th on the East Portico of the Capitol.

Woodrow Wilson's second second inaugural.

Another 40 years would pass for a Sunday inaugural, it's usually 28 to 40 years between Sunday inaugurals, until 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower's second inaugural. He was the first to have a January 20th Sunday, but continued the precedent established by Wilson and had a private ceremony. But instead of having it at the Capitol, Eisenhower had the Sunday swearing-in in the White House and the public ceremony on January 21st, a Monday.

Dwight D. Eisenhower being sworn-in for a 2nd term in the White House East Room on Sunday, January 20, 1957. The first January 20th Sunday inaugural.

Ike's public swearing-in ceremony the next day in 1957.

28 years after Ike, Ronald Reagan and the 50th Inauguration of a President would land on a Sunday. So Reagan the same as Ike, private Sunday ceremony at the White House and the usual public event on Monday. January 21, 1985 would be the coldest Inauguration Day on record, so cold that public ceremony was held in the Capitol Rotunda instead of outdoors.

Ronald Reagan being sworn-in on Sunday, January 20th, in a private White House ceremony.

The indoor public ceremony on the coldest recorded inaugural day, January 21, 1985. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administers the oath both times.

Unless January 21, 2013 is less than 7 degrees. Barack Obama will follow in the footsteps of the other Sunday inaugural presidents, but will probably follow the precedent established by Wilson and Ike. There will be a private swearing-in at the White House on Sunday and a public event the following day. Obama will have taken the oath of office four times by January 21, 2013. In 2009, Chief Justice John Roberts, due to nerves, his first swearing-in, stumbled the oath of office which then made Obama stumble through it. Later that night, back at the White House, the two redid the oath of office. But it will be Obama's last time to say the oath.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts readministers the oath of office to President Barack Obama at the White House in the Map Room on January 20, 2009.

Three more times this century, an inauguration day will fall on a Sunday, each 28 years apart...and then after that last one in the 21st Century it will be another 40 years until the next Sunday inaugural. USA! USA! USA!

POTUS QUOTUS - USG18 SECOND INAUGURAL 1873 - "Eat Your Heart Out Obama"

Pointless Presidential Pfacts #16 - "Back-to-Back 50 Percenters (D)"

Barack Obama is one of only 3 Democratic presidents to be reelected back-to-back with over 50% of the popular vote. Franklin Roosevelt received over 50% of the popular vote in all four of his elections (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944). Before FDR, you have to go back to the first Democrat elected president, Andrew Jackson won both his elections (1828, 1836) with over 50%. In 2008, Obama was the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter's 1976 election to receive 50% of the popular vote.

Pointless Presidential Pfacts #14 - "Reelection to a 2nd Term"

This is what I messaged upon the reelection of Barack Obama: 3 presidents were reelected in a row...hasn't happened since Jefferson, Madison, Monroe. nerdalert!!!

Pointless Presidential Pfacts #12 - "The Popular Candidates"

In 2008, Barack Obama received the most popular votes in a single election with 69.5 million votes. The second most number of votes in a single election went to George W. Bush in 2004 with 62 million. The person with the next most after Bush 43 went to John McCain in 2008 with 60 million, followed next by John Kerry in 2004 with 59 million. Ronald Reagan is next in 1984 with 54.5 million, a number that made him the person with the most popular votes in a single election until Bush 43's reelection. Before 2004, the closest any presidential candidate came to Reagan's 54.5 million was Al Gore in 2000 with 51 million votes. All numbers rounded.

Pointless Presidential 'Pinion - Obama's a Divider, not a Uniter?

It's funny that Obama is considered the divisive politician or the reason for the divided nation when he was the one that ran on HOPE and CHANGE in '08. That hope and change was changing the divided nation of the previous 8 years. What happened...the Republicans did the opposite of what they did from 2001-2007, they took Nancy Reagan's advice and just said no to anything President Obama proposed or suggested. Anything he was for they were against, even though they were for it before they were against it (John Kerry!). Then their plan is made clear by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declaring the GOP goal is to make Obama a one term president. How is this divided country Obama's fault? George Bush was elected with a minority of the popular vote in 2000 (oh no there's that history again) and after Gore conceded, Bush proclaimed he was a uniter not a divider. Instead of uniting the country he acted as if he had a mandate to do whatever he wanted. It took the 9/11 attacks (Obama's failure with Benghazi is much worse than Bush's failure for the original 9/11, re: sarcasm), to unite the country and then Bush fucks that up (he didn't fuck everything up) by declaring/creating the Axis of Evil which was our march to the war of choice. Blaming Obama for our problems (he's not perfect) just proves we as a nation have a short attention span. To think Bush created a mess over his 8 years and Obama was to fix it in just 4 while dealing with politicians that can't behave like professionals simply because Obama is a Democrat.

Pointless Presidential Pfacts #6 - "Two Triple Two Termers"

If President Barack Obama wins reelection on Tuesday the 6th and survives politically and physically until January 20, 2017, this will be the second time that three presidents served two full terms back-to-back.

The last time was from 1801-1825, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. In 1800, Jefferson won the presidency as the incumbent vice president, after having challenged the sitting president in a tied election that was decided on by the House of Representatives. However in 1804, Jefferson easily defeated his Federalist opponent in a landslide Electoral College vote. Jefferson's secretary of state, Madison, was the heir apparent and defeated his Federalist opponent in 1808. In the midst of the War of 1812, the incumbent administration was reelected. Madison's secretary of state, Monroe, was to run in 1816. See a pattern. Monroe defeated the Federalist candidate in 1816 and in the Era of Good Feelings had no opposition in the 1820 election. The Federalist Party didn't have any power after their opposition to Mr. Madison's war which became very popular after a late surprise victory by General Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans, which took place in a time long before twitter and other instant forms of communication. So the three presidential terms back to back all from the same party the Democratic-Republicans which eventually splintered in the 1824 election leading to the formation of the Democratic Party and Whig Party.

After that political realignment, only Andrew Jackson was reelected to a second term. Once the Republican Party came into power, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Grover Cleveland would get reelected. Lincoln was assassinated early in his second term and Cleveland's reelection was separated by another president's term, so Grant was the only one to complete two full terms back-to-back. During the progressive era, William McKinley and Woodrow Wilson were elected to two terms. McKinley was also assassinated early in his second term, whereas Wilson served two full terms. Theodore Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge finished the term of their predecessors, but got reelected to the office in their own right. In the New Deal era, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon were elected to two terms, or for Roosevelt 32 he was elected to four terms. Roosevelt 32 died in office, early in his 4th term and Harry Truman finishing the near full term and then being reelected to the office in his own right in 1948. Eisenhower served full terms. Lyndon Johnson finished John F. Kennedy's term after being assassinated in 1963. Johnson 36 was easily reelected in 1964 to his own full term. Nixon resigned during his second term in 1974 facing impeachment for covering up the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building. Gerald Ford took over.

Ronald Reagan won reelection and completed his second term, the first Republican since Eisenhower to do so. President George Bush wasn't so lucky in 1992 when he was up for reelection, becoming the first Republican incumbent to lose since Ford in 1976. So when William Jefferson Clinton was elected in 1992 and reelected in 1996, he became the first Democrat since Roosevelt 32 won reelection. After George W. Bush won reelection in 2004, he became the first Republican since Reagan to win reelection and complete his term. Clinton and Bush 43 were the first full two term presidents, back-to-back since the 1801-1825 period of Democratic-Republican rule. Clinton and Bush 43 are of course from different parties.

Now with Obama's reelection a possibility this Tuesday and the completion of the term, a pointless president pfact will be achieved. If he loses to Mitt Romney, Obama will be the first incumbent Democrat to lose since Jimmy Carter and I'm sure the far Right will remind everyone of that fact. He'd also be that first incumbent president since Bush 41 to lose reelection. Here's waiting until January 20, 2017 to see the PPP fulfilled.

Why Mitt

President Barack Obama has a tough one-hundred-forty-seven days ahead of him. The 2012 Presidential Election is turning into a 50-50 race like 2004 and 2000, among many others. Obama or Governor Mitt Romney will be lucky to break 50% in the popular vote. Squeaking by with 270 or just a few more Electoral Votes will confirm the closeness of this race. The Republican Party probably speaks with confidence now that victory seems more and more likely. Mitt's the one!

Mitt became the one not because he is a political genius, well maybe he was to be the 2012 Republican Party Presidential Nominee. I'm sure that's it's official name. But Mitt isn't the party's A-game. Mitt took the next-in-line concept and was...next-in-line. Just like John McCain was in 2008, George W. Bush in 2000, Bob Dole in 1996, and the list goes on. But he sort of got it by default. He was almost an understudy for the actual next-in-liner.

The time it takes a presidential candidate to seriously run for the nomination, he or she must begin as soon as Election Day is over. By the end of the mid-term elections, the candidate must be in-it-to-win-it. When the 2008 election ended, Obama the victory and the GOP on the losing side, the nomination for the 2012 election didn't have a next-in-liner like previous elections which had candidates waiting like a ride at Disneyland. The 2008 election cycle produced possible contenders; Romney the second place finisher in the primaries and Governor Sarah Palin, the second place finisher in the Electoral College for the vice presidency.

The A-game of the GOP like Mitch Daniels and Haley Barbour stayed out of the 2012 election because they didn't want to face a popular incumbent like Obama. Even with the economic troubles he faces Obama has a chance of winning reelection...even at 50-50. Obama's misfortune is Romney's gain, so the A-game might be rethinking their decision. Other A-gamers like Chris Christie didn't enter the race even at the halfway point of Obama's first term.

So not facing Obama in the general was one factor, and another factor in the A-game vying for the GOP nomination would be to face the Republican Party star Sarah Palin. After losing in the 2008 General Election, Palin became the party's frontrunner for the nomination. She had political capital after her national introduction at the Republican Party Convention in Saint Paul. She's a good politician. I don't mean she's one that writes legislation and works across party lines, but as a politician that can rally people for a cause. But she's not a traditional politician that plays by established customs. It didn't look like she was a serious contender for the 2012 nomination. All the other wanna-be-nominees waited for Palin's decision while still massing their armies for the primary-caucus battles. In the end she chose not to run for the nomination, disappointing her following and allowing the other candidates to try and win her over...as well as her following.

With Palin out of the way and the A-gamers not wanting to challenge a popular incumbent no matter the problems, the next-in-line would be Mitt Romney. As he would mention in the (2011-)2012 primary-caucus debates/forums, he wasn't a politician. But that was by the voters decision. He lost the 1994 Senate race against Ted Kennedy and used that failed election, as well as his business background, as a campaign for Massachusetts Governor...WHICH he won. But instead of allowing the voters to decide if he should continue being governor, Romney chose not to run for a second term. Instead he went after the 2008 Republican nomination and came in second to McCain. Instead of being rewarded with the second spot on the ticket, that went to Palin, he went to being considered as a fronter-runner for 2012.

While others with more experience, knowledge, education sat out because of fear of challenging two popular political figures allowed a non-"politician" out politician the politicians and Sarah Palin. Wait I don't think she's a practicing politician anymore. She's simply a political commentator...or agitator. But yeah...GO MITT! You did it. You got the party's nomination and if by some chance you connect with those few individuals that decide this election I hope you don't run for reelection. But once again...I don't think we'll have a referendum on a Romney Administration.

The Non-Cleveland Qualifications to be President

There are only 3 qualifications to be President of the United States, being a natural born citizen, 14 years residency, and 35 years old.

As long as these qualifications are met, then there should be no reason why one individual couldn't run for the highest office in the land. In the 2008 Democratic primary race, then-Senator Hillary Clinton of New York touted her experience (which is real, genuine, and legit), verse then-Senator Barack Obama of Illinois' lack of experience (which was just at the federal level of politics...or just ageism). Experience was the theme of the Hillary Clinton campaign in the first half of the primary before evolving to an experienced politician for the working class American.

Senator Clinton's experience then in 2008, qualified her to be president. Her resume included a college graduate, law school graduate, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States and senator from New York, and now she can include Secretary of State, an old stepping stone to the presidency. Let's just say, she's gone up in value since '08.

In that primary race her argument that then-Senator Obama wasn't experienced enough never stuck and the reason is because he met the qualifications to hold the office just as men before him with a small policial resume, like Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy.

While experience is not a qualifier to be POTUS, then-Senator Clinton's resume probably came the closest to having the chops for the job without having been president. She was married to the president so she has some first hand experience seeing what the office holder must go through. There has only been one person ready for the job of the presidency before winning on election day and that's Grover Cleveland...only because he had been elected president 8 years before resuming the office.

In 1992, then-Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas just had five terms as governor under his electoral belt before running. His main opponent, President George H. W. Bush had an even bigger resume plus as the commander-in-chief during a time of war. In 1996, Senator Bob Dole of Kansas had racked up years of political service in Congress and even as a vice-presidential candidate on a national ticket. In 2000, Vice President Al Gore's resume led him to the nomination as the sitting v-p, just like Bush, while his opponent, Bush's son George W. Bush, got the electoral weight from one full term as governor of a large state, Texas, and an election to a second term. John Kerry used his military service in Vietnam and political service in the senate as building blocks to his candidacy and then-President Bush 43 used his first term on top of all his experience for reelection. So really there is no clear cut mold for a person to fit to become a nominee. Obama used his brief federal experience, and State-level experience, and everything that made him unique to help him win the nomination, just as his opponent Senator John McCain used to prove to the electorate that he too was qualified to be president. In 2012, Obama is using his first term and Mitt Romney (assuming he is the nominee) will use his one term as governor and business career (he'd be using his political career had he won the senator race against Ted Kennedy in 1994) to be president. So why in 2008, didn't Sarah Palin's unique resume make her qualified for the bottom of the ticket?

Her lack of intellectual curiosity was made clear in her interview with Katie Couric and then later with Charlie Gibson and it was nobody's fault but her own...and probably the McCain camp's vetting team. Palin's resume is a political dream come true and only if she had intelligence to back up her short political resume, she would be a political super-star just like Obama, Reagan, Bush 43 (pre-2006), and both Clintons. She can muster a following, but if there was only substance to back it up would her following become more powerful in putting her into a position of power.

There are only 3 qualifications to be POTUS and they are clearly stated in the Constitution. Individuals like Obama and Palin have vied for it and have had to prove themselves beyond the qualifiers mentioned in one of our founding documents. You don't have to be a life long politician to be president but you have to show some knowledge of current events...just like students in a social studies class. Or if you're lucky, you can run for a non-consecutive term like Cleveland...but that's difficult in this 22nd Amendent era we live in.

Madame Vice President

In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro of New York was the first female on a national ticket. 64 years after gaining the right to vote, a female was on the ticket for the vice presidency. She lost. That presidential ticket lost, to quote a vice president...big time.

There wouldn't be a female on the ticket again until 2008. The Democrats never opined the idea again after 1984, with the exception of the brief flirtation with a female at the top of ticket during the heated 2008 Democratic Party Primary when it was clear Senator Hillary Clinton, of New York by the way, was not going to be the presidential nominee. It took the Grand Old Party 152 years, but they broke the white-males-only ticket streak, with the selection, by Senator John McCain of Arizona, of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska.

Once again the ticket with the female on it did not win. Women voters voted for the ticket without the female on it both in 1984 and 2008. If McCain had his way he'd have former-Democratic-but-still-siding-with-said-party-now-Independent Joe Lieberman. But in 2008 that would not happen. Clinton's major defeat during the primaries, which came with "18 million" or 48% of the primary vote a few hundred thousand more than the man that won the nomination. Her near victory was a great way to attract voters (i.e. woman voters) that were hoping for a female on the ticket. So selecting the young (opposite of McCain), attractive (same as before), and executive branch experienced (about as much "experience" as then-Senator Barack Obama). Choosing Palin, McCain went with the way to get votes and not the person that would work best with him to governor if he won. No offense to the other female politicians or non-politicians in the GOP circa 2008. Remember Alaska doesn't bring the Electoral votes. It's already in the GOP column.

The third time can happen in 2012...and with the GOP too. Recently the GOP has had difficulties with women, just like a Star Trek fan at any age. The GOP can save themselves with the women vote by putting a female on the ticket. They of course have to go with the opposite of Palin. The woman does not have to be old, unattractive, that would be an insult to the would be candidate. But the party can find a vp candidate in the governor mansions, Congress, in the judiciary, and the non-political world. They just need to be opposite of Mitt Romney ideologically...whatever that is or the election he's running in. So the general election by the time it's important.

Now while the GOP have the opportunity to put a female on the ticket and a political reason, the Democrats have probably until the end of August/start of September to nominate their candidates. If the GOP put a female on the ticket and the benefit, there's nothing stopping the Democrats from doing the same. Vice President Joe Biden will be 73 in 2016, the same age President Ronald Reagan was when he ran for reelection in 1984...the election Ferraro lost as vp. Biden will be 74 a few weeks after the election in 2016. Not really presidential age. The loyal and foreign-policy-minded Biden could be persuaded to step down from the ticket with a new post at the head of the State Department, Hillary Clinton's current job. The dream ticket of 2008, thought of during the heat of the primary battle, can be a reality in 2012. If it happens, 2012 and the third time a female is on the ticket (2nd time for both parties) could be the charm.

Nobel Peace Prizer Obama

NOOOOOOO!!! we were already told that the world did not like him, that's why the Olympics rejected him. this is nothing but liberals picking liberals...Obama hasn't done anything to change the world since Bush left. we're still in two wars, what has he done to create this atmosphere of ease...ooo wait that's it. that atmosphere of ease is what is different from the bushies. that's pretty awesome to get this award simply for offering hope and change and the majority said he shall be our president and the world knew things were going to be okay bc Bizarro Dick Cheney in a dress wasn't going to any where near the line of succession.

see those that would believe what they've been told by unfortunately-named-Rush see the world through a weird ass lens, I'm guessing they're wearing drunk-goggles, the only explanation for how they view things, and they don't see facts or understand how the change in administration from Bush/Cheney to it could've been Clinton but it's Obamer (as they say back east) brought about restored belief in a country that the world has always loved just not when run by extremists.

this small minority that has an extremely loud voice will find a way to make it sound like Obama isn't popular here or abroad.

I think the prize is way better than the Olympics. It was great when Gore got it and Bush had to do the old photo-op, sure Gore and all of us wish it was President Gore at the end of his term doing the photo-op with someone else...but that moment was so cool. Does Obama have a photo-op by himself? It's good to know that the rest of the world sees Obama for who he is and not for the falsehoods and names spread and called by ignorant, misinformed far righties.

on another note, previous winners of the prize were the first sitting POTUS winner TR, former president Carter, and former vp Gore. The other members of the club of (V)POTUS/NPP winners like the second sitting POTUS to get the prize was Wilson and the first sitting VPOTUS (unless they awarded it in the first 2 months of 1925) Charles Dawes got it.

Anti-Progress

Progress in the United States has its counterpart and it is Anti-Progress. The choice of the Founding Fathers to rebel against King George III is the first strike for progress of the young nation. The Founders chose to become a separate government and one where the people rule. Shocking thing for the humans on Earth in the late 18th Century. The idea of more freedom appealed to the Founders and they wanted it to be part of the country they were creating.

The first signs of Anti-Progress appeared when it became clear that not all men are created equal. To include non-white males in this new government was too much progress for the collective States calling themselves a nation. One have of the nation relied heavily on the enslavement of blacks, and this peculiar institution needed to be maintained. Compromises were made in the drafting of our nation's second Constitution in 1787. Freedom for some, about zero to three-fifths for others. Major progress was averted.

The progress for blacks to be equal to whites would take time. Those demanding abolition were unable to end slavery in the United States peacefully, and after over 80 years of boiling up civil war erupted. While President Abraham Lincoln offered a peaceful resolution to succession he vowed to preserve the Union. The South chose war. And it became a war to free the slave and progress the nation toward that freedom our Founding Fathers sought in 1776.

Believing that progress won after the Civil War ended in 1865 is wrong. The supporters of an Anti-Progress mindset would be the true victors. The failure of Reconstruction in the South by both President Andrew Johnson from 1865-67 and the Radical Republicans from 1867 until 1877, contributed a lot to the success the Anti-Progress movement would have over the next ninety years. Presidential Reconstruction and Congressional, or Radical, Reconstruction both failed to live up to Lincoln's wish of malice toward none. Segregation and lynchings would leave the supporters of Anti-Progress as the victors in the 20th Century.

Sure the supporters of progress had some victories with women suffrage granted early in the century. As our history has shown progress takes time and the reason that is true is because of Anti-Progress and its followers. With the victories in the Civil Rights Movements of the 1950s and 1960s led by Martin Luther King Jr. and President Lyndon Johnson, to name two of the many, progress was taking place. Anti-Progress was hit hard and they adapted to the times. The spirit of 1776 was making its way through the country's growth.

The Minority Majority, the small portion of Americans supporting Anti-Progress have made a push for Anti-Progress since President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009. Their presence was made known when same-sex marriage started appearing on the ballot, at City Hall, and before State Supreme Courts. They are the descendants of those that bonded and sold human beings, treated women as second class citizens, segregated society, happily and freely kill the innocent. The reason they support these Anti-Progress and not the freedom sought by the Founders in 1776, is because they the Minority Majority are misinformed and show no signs of intelligence.

The progress of our nation is something that bothers these people so they accept what they are told about legitimate birth certificate of Barack Obama or screaming while spreading the falsehoods of the health care debate. Anti-Progress is fueled by the misinformed and contribute to the explanation why progress takes time.