Letter to the Editor

Previous presidential peculiarities

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Dear Editor,

In 1984, Paul F. Bolier Jr. wrote a book published by Oxford Press which he called "Presidential Campaigns."

It reveals unusual facts about George Washington up until the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

Teddy Roosevelt was shot in the chest before a campaign speech. However, he managed to deliver an hour and a half oration.

Thomas Jefferson's and John Adam's longstanding friendship ended when Jefferson ran against Adams, who was seeking a second term. Jefferson's Republican-Democratic party called John Adams a fool, hypocrite, a criminal and a tyrant.

Opponents of Jefferson said all the Bibles of the country would be confiscated because he had torn out certain pages of his own Bible.

(He disagreed with certain passages.)

George Washington never campaigned, because a majority of Americans assumed he would be our first president. He was anxious to return to Mount Vernon and reluctantly served two terms.

William Henry Harrison wanted average Americans to vote for him. He grew up on a palatial estate in Virginia. His campaign was geared to people who still lived in log cabins on the Frontier. (He did build a spacious cabin for his bride when they got married.)

His slogan was "log cabin to Whitehouse."

FDR defeated Herbert Hoover with the greatest victory since James Madison. The Great Depression worried everyone. He promised that he would give his fellow Americans a "new deal." Somebody suggested that he sell Vermont and Maine to Canada.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was a military man, who was not used to political informalities.

When Governor Dan Thornton of Colorado greeted him with a slap on the back, and sad "How ya, Partner?" he gasped. His eyes blazed and he stiffened. Then he answered "Howya, Pardner?"

(They became friends during Eisenhower's presidency."

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Neb.

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