Presidents' Day

This is one that I had to think long and hard about. I haven't blogged in quite awhile, but one of the things that drew me into history was presidents.

I'd like to start off with my two cents, which is I believe that we really need to go back to the traditions that our parents and grandparents had: two people, two days: February 12, Abraham Lincoln (arguably the most important US President, as he kept the Union together) and February 22, George Washington (arguably the most important US President, as he proved that an elected leader of a country can step down and allow for a successon that wasn't hereditary).

The problem with Presidents' Day is, arguably, that legends in our country are being watered down.

My favorite reference comes from The Simpsons with their little tune they did once. The kids in Lisa's class were doing a play and many were dressed up and sang this song:

We are the mediocre presidents.
You won't find our faces on dollars or on cents!
There's Taylor, there's Tyler,
There's Fillmore and there's Hayes.
There's William Henry Harrison,
Harrison: I died in thirty days!
All: We... are... the...
Adequate, forgettable,
Occasionally regrettable
Caretaker presidents of the U-S-A!

Of course it's funny to think of presidents in this way. A president that died in 30 days? Seriously? Yup and it was his fault because he didn't wear warm enough clothing and gave a very long inaugural speech and then contracted pneumonia. Then the President of the United States died.

So let's break it down for a minute. Taylor: Zachary, the 12th President of the United States. He fought in the the War of 1812 and even the Blackhawk War here in Wisconsin and in parts of Illinois. He was exhumed in 1991 as part of a conspiracy theory that he was the first president assassinated in office. The tests came back that he died of natural causes. Another funny thing, he was the father-in-law of the future and only President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. But he was insignificant, right?

How about Tyler? John Tyler. What can we say about him? Tenth president of the United States. He was quite possibly the first president who stood on his own two feet and pushed back against the political machine that put him in the Vice Presidency. He replaced William Henry Harrison ("I died in 30 days!"). He was viewed by the others around him as unconstitutional. We have to understand that back then there was no truely clear picture of how the president is replaced if he would step down, be impeached and removed, die, etc. Tyler stepped up and assumed full powers. He worked with his elected successor, James Polk and Texas to annex the republic days prior to leaving office in 1845. Not to mention, in 1861, he sided with the Confederacy and became a member of their House of Representatives. This led to a black mark on his legacy as he would be viewed, after the Civil War, as a turncoat and remembered for the latter part of his life.

Millard Fillmore took the place of the deceased Zachary Taylor making him the 13th President of United States. Just to make him wonder if he was up to the challenge, Taylor's entire cabinet resigned when he took office. He probably was the "caretaker president" as The Simpsons called them, who had the most difficult situation to come into. The country he took over was debating about the boundaries of slavary (the Compromise of 1850, which would resurrect little known, failed one-term Congressman Abraham Lincoln into the limelight to fight the author of the bill, one Stephen A. Douglas, setting up a decade of political battles and grandiose). Fillmore also had to deal with Napoleon III who was trying to annex the Hawaiian islands. He worked with Japan to open the channels for trade. Although the success was finalized by his successor, Franklin Pierce, he did the footwork. Maybe his recognition was stolen because of misinformation.

Maybe all of theirs were.

How about good old Rutherford Hayes? The 19th President of the United States. Didn't win the popular vote, lost it to Samuel J. Tilden in a contested Presidential election. It ended up with the Republican party sending it to the courts, where the electoral college was locked and the party-controlled judges ruled in favor of Hayes. Sound familiar?

Those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it. I'm not here to start politics, I'm here to focus on the history. We always think we live in such extraordinary times and that something like this never happened before, when usually, it has. That's why its important to know, learn and remember.

It's critical that we stop this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR93eRNgq7M because we're doing it to ourselves, and making ourselves look like fools.

So what am I getting at after this whole blog? Presidents' Day, do we need it? Yes. It's a pretty exclusive club, there's only been 44 in 222. Think about that. Muammar Gaddafi who was just overthrown in Libya ruled for 41 years. That's just one person. These men deserve our gratitude because they served our country and did the best that they could to protect and lead our nation. There are no lessers or care-takers. You may not agree with some, but life's not perfect and no one is -- not even the Presidents of the United States.