Who Was President When You Were Born?

In honor of President's Day, who was the President at the time of your birth????

Reaching way way back in my memory, Ike is the first President I remember....however, Truman was President when I was born. Yes folks, way back in the Stone age.

I don't have a memory of his Presidency, but remember seeing clips of him in later years. One in particular when a reporter asks him, "What are you going to do now?" And Truman says, I'm gonna go back to work if you guys let me!" (something to that effect ). He seemed rather sarcastic but it made me laugh.

I must have been about 7/8 or so when I was downtown with my mother and Eisenhower was there (I assume maybe campaigning, don't know) and a lot of people had the "I Like Ike" buttons. That's all I really remember.

TIS

Who was president in 82?

I believe that would be Ronald Reagan! Gee, that seems so recent to me. You're so young DeNiro.


TIS

Yikes Stallionette....me too! Born in the Truman Administration.
I do remember the I Like Ike buttons, and little else.

Thats back when milk still got delivered to your houose in glass bottles, there were no microwaves, most people had no television sets, you made copies by using carbon paper or that purple stuff that smelled good, propellar passenger aircraft, pre- rock n roll.

Its gettin scary when people running for president are younger than you are!

I thought it was Reagan..I cant evan remember who was the british Prime minister in 82 think it was,Margarat Thacther?

LBJ -- born in '66


TIS -- you will be happy to know that I am planning on eating lunch at Dixon's Famous Chilli -- which was one of Truman's favorite places. Back in the 40's and 50's Truman (and secret service) while serving as Vice President and President usedto frequent the little chilli parlor. Life Magazine did a feature on them one time and they changed the name from Dixon's Chili Parlor to Dixon's Famous Chili.

Truman was know to frequent the place regularly upto his death.


Here is a piece from the Truman Library web site
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/places/kc18.htm

Vergne Dixon opened a chili parlor on the corner of 15th and Olive in Kansas City in August 1919. It had a counter with six stools running along one side. Dixon's recipe was for a dry, thick chili, made with ground beef and beans cooked together and seasoned lightly. He did not allow catsup in his parlor, nor did he allow smoking, reading a newspaper (no newspapers were allowed), or talking on the telephone (there was no telephone). He wanted his customers to eat their chili without interruption and make room for others on the six stools.

Dixon's became a favorite place of Truman's perhaps beginning sometime in the 1920s. When he was President, Truman sometimes ordered takeout chili from the presidential suite at the Muehlebach Hotel. His most celebrated visit to Dixon's occurred on December 23, 1950. Reporters and photographers watched and took pictures while the President of the United States ate a big plate of chili spread over tamales. Afterwards, Dixon and his wife wrote to Truman to thank him for coming to the chili parlor. "…Not only did we enjoy a visit from an old friend but had the honor of a visit from the President of the United States. Our patronage has almost doubled since your visit and we have had letters from all over the country." (Mr. and Mrs. Vergne Dixon to President Truman, December 30, 1950.) Truman responded, "I enjoyed the visit very much. It was like old-times…." (President Truman to Mr. and Mrs. Vergne Dixon, January 4, 1951. Official File.)

Vergne Dixon died in 1964. The new owners of the chili parlor sent a big container of chili to Truman every year on his birthday. The original store at 15th and Olive was closed in 1969. During the 1970s, Dixon's became a chain of as many as 16 parlors. By 1999, only one parlor remained, on the corner of U. S. Highway 40 and Blue Ridge Cutoff. Framed photographs and clippings on two walls reminded customers of the parlor's great days, when Harry Truman sat with friends and enjoyed Dixon's chili spread on tamales."



OK -- off to lunch!

Part,

Chili doesn't sound bad right now. Was Truman from Kansas?? I don't remember? Anyway, enjoy your lunch.

Deniro, I remember Margaret Thatcher. A very common name in the news way back when.

DT,

Not to go off topic, but I remember our milkman very well. John Pallozollo, of course an Italian guy that was a friend of a friend of my parents. He'd come to the house every week. God, it seems so "dated" now. Then again, I remember when Doctors would make house calls as well.

Back to Presidents, although I have the vague memory of seeing Eisenhower, the time I saw JFK, more or less up close, as he passed by in the motorcade, remains one of my fondest memories.

TIS

Truman.

This discussion inspired me to do some research on when JFK was in Grand Rapids, MI during his campaign. I can't believe I found this photo from October of 1960. I assume this is the same visit in which I saw him. By the picture, and my memory of G.R., this was after he passed by the Catholic School I attended when the entire school (all of about 50 kids ) walked to the corner to see him.

The sign on the building "Wurzburgs", was a big department store my mom would always shop at. And, for those of you who remember, see the S & H Green stamp sign on the building? Remember those?

TIS

http://www.grapids.lib.mi.us/photocoll?cat=onclick&keynum=19

Cool Picture..I bet he didn't think he would be killed sitting in back of car like that

I'm sure he didn't.

JFK was President when I was born, although I was just a toddler when he was killed.

Harry Truman.

The same Truman who is responsible for one of my favorite quotes of all-time: "Never kick a fresh turd on a warm day".

LOL,thats a good one

He really said that??? I never heard it before. I suppose that's good advice, even though it's something I can't say I've considered doing.

TIS

Which President said, " All you have to fear is fear itself."

Yeah... that quote is attributed to him. He was full of good advice like that!

BTW - Do you know what the "S" stood for in his name? (Harry S. Truman).

Hmmmm!!! I don't know, but once I hear it, I may remember. I do know his wife's name was Bess right???


TIS

OK... you get extra credit for knowing "Bess".

The "S" in his name meant nothing. He didn't have a middle name so it was made up for the press to use (especially after FDR).

I just looked up on wikipedia and I was born 5 months after Clinton took over.

Since my mom was pregnant with me when Kennedy was assassinated I'll take a gander Johnson was President when I was born.

Andrew or Lyndon?

Probably not surprising, did you know Lincoln was the tallest President? Does anyone know how tall?

And

James Madison was the shortest President standing at 5' 4".


TIS

I'll guess 6'4"

Whoever was married to Lady bird.

Which reminds me of a Robin Williams line in, I believe "Good morning Vietnam".

Q:"Why did you name your daughter Lady bird"
A. "Because we thought Lady dog would be too cruel".

Good guess!

There's some more interesting presidential trivia here...

Interesting! James Buchanan the only President who never married. I wonder if there were tabloids back then following his love life.

I didn't know that there was an attempt on Truman's life either.


Lincoln was 6'4"

TIS

I won!! I won!!

Uhhhh.... what did I win??

What is it now, 4 of us born under the Truman Administration. We win the prize of the "oldest geezers" on the BB. How special!!


TIS

Paul was 5, Tony Love is 6.

We're the baby-boomers.

Truman was from Missouri while Eisenhower was born in Kansas.

I was born when Lyndon Johnson was President, about 7 1/2 months after the assassination of Kennedy.

This is a good thread, TIS. I thought I'd add a feww presidential tid bits for the day.

James Garfield was able to read English text and simultaneously translate it into Latin with his left hand and Greek with his right. Gerald Ford was our only other ambidextrous President although he couldn't perform Garfield's stunt.

James Buchanan was the only bachelor to be President, and also the only pres from Pennsylvania.

William Henry Harrison was 68 when elected, the oldest up until Reagan. Harrison also delivered the longest innaugural address, which ultimately cost him his life. He caught a bad cold, developed pneumonia and died about a month after his innauguration, the shortest presidential term ever.

Washington's face was scarred from small pox, and he had to borrow money to attend his innaugural. He wore size 13 boots, and had no direct descendants.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

James Madison was an epileptic. He was 5' 4" and weighed about 100 lbs.

The first prwesident to be photographed was John Quincy Adams, who had a pet alligator in the White House. He is the only president to serve in the House after his presidency.

Andrew Jackson believed the earth was flat. His pet parrot was removed from his funeral because it cursed incessantly.

George H.W. Bush was the only president born in June.

Jimmy Carte was the first president born in a hospital.

The first president to use a telephone in office was Rutherford B. Hayes.

Franklin Pierce went to college with Hawthorne and Longfellow.

Theodore Roosevelt, our youngest president, was the first to leave the Continental USA while in office when he went to see the Panama Canal in 1906. He was blind in the left eye from boxing. His wife and mother both died on Feb. 14, 1884.

Which president was noted as the best cook among our chief executives? Eisenhower.

Lincoln was our tallest president at 6'4". He was the first to be photographed at his innauguration, and his future assassin, Booth, was near him in the photo. Lincoln is also the only president awarded a patent.

Martin Van Buren was the first president born after the Declaaration of Independence, and thus was the first president born a US citizen.

Warren G. Harding was the first president to speak on the radio and ride in a car to his innaugural. He also was the first to predecease his father.

The first president to have been a boy scout, serve in the Navy and hold a televised press conference was Kennedy.

The only president buried in Washington D.C. is also the only president to receive a Ph D, Woodrow Wilson.

Harry S Truman did not have a middle name other than the initial.

Richard Nixon was the first president to visit all 50 states.

Ronald Reagan is the only president born in Illinois.

Herbert Hoover was able to speak Chinese.

lets see, 88 so that would be reagan

Lyndon B. Johnson I was born 25 days after JFK was killed.

Someone needs a refresher with their roman numerals I think... Tony Love is 17

Hey Geoff, you didn't tell us under who's Administration you were born??? I'll guess Johnson.


TIS

Baby Boomers Rule!!!!

Yeah Geoffy spill the beans

I'm guessing Nixon.

Thanks Klydon



"James Garfield was able to read English text and simultaneously translate it into Latin with his left hand and Greek with his right. Gerald Ford was our only other ambidextrous"

This is amazing no?


Ha ha... and this must have been hilarious!

Andrew Jackson believed the earth was flat. His pet parrot was removed from his funeral because it cursed incessantly.

TIS

Yeah, TIS - Part' did the research for me thankfully -- I had no idea.
My earliest recollection was Watergate, tho... bastards taking away my TV time!!

My guess makes you younger...

I am younger... that's why I didn't wanna answer the question.

Never mind, TIS, there's only 5 of us.

The S stood for nothing. Truman had no middle name, but when he went on th national ticket with FDR some advisor of his (I think from the Pendergast gang) told him he needed a middle initial to appear classy, so they randomly picked S.

I remember listening to the song "Harry Truman". I was just a young kid and it made me cry. I thought the world would come to an end.

America needs you
Harry truman
Harry could you please come home
Things are looking bad
I know you would be mad
To see your favorite men
Prevail upon the land you love

Americas wondering
How we got here
Harry all we get is lies
Were gettin safer cars
Rocket ships to mars
From men whod sell us out
To get themselves a piece of power

Wed love to hear you speak your mind
In plain and simple ways
Call a spade a spade
Like you did back in the days
You would play piano
Each morning walk a mile
Speak of what was going down
With honesty and style

Americas calling
Harry truman
Harry you know what to do
The world is turnin round and losin lots of ground
Oh harry is there something we can do to save the land we love
Oh woah woah woah

Americas calling
Harry truman
Harry you know what to do
The world is turnin round
And losin lots of ground
Harry is there something we can do to save the land we love
Oh
Harry is there something we can do to save the land we love
Harry
Harry is there something we can do to save the land we love

My favorite presidential oddity involves Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln. Less than 2 years before his father's assassination, Robert fell onto a train track from a platform in Jersey City with a train barreling down on him. His life was saved when a brave man was able to pull him onto the platform just before the train roared by. The hero was Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth.

Also, Robert Todd was to accompany his parents to the theatre on the night Lincoln was assassinated, but at the last minute, declined the invitation and stayed home. He was invited to be with President Garfield at the D.C. train station in 1881 when Garfield was shot. McKinley had also invited him to be with him in Buffalo on the day he was assassinated. While present, Robert Todd didn't witness these shootings. He was present for the attempted assassination of Mayor Gaynor in New York in 1910, and rushed to his aid.

Robert Todd died in 1926. Otherwise, he surely would have been in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

Wow Klydon, another tidbit I didn't know. You're a walking/talking histsory lesson. That is unbelieveable!!



TIS

Reminds me of the list of "similarities" made comparing JFK's assassination with that of Lincoln's. Some of the list was interesting: They were both succeeded by a man named Johnson, their wives both lost babies while in the White House, they were both elected to Congress in '46 (Abe in 1846, JFK in 1946), they were both elected President in '60 (Abe in 1860, JFK in 1960), etc.

Some of the list was pure hogwash: Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln (which he did) and that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy (not true).

My favorite on that list was: Five days before he was shot Lincoln was in Monroe, Maryland. Five days before HE was shot Kennedy was in Marilyn Monroe.

Also Kennedy was riding in a Lincoln automobile which was made by Ford Motor Company, and Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre.

Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theatre, Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre and was eventually captured in a warehouse (FYI a GREAT BOOK ON BOOTH AFTER THE ASSASINATION IS "MANHUNT") .

Both were shot on a Friday.

To continue with some more:

Both were shot in the back of the head in the presence of their wives

Both were assassinated by men known with three names comprised of 15 letters (John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald)

Both assassins were killed before they were tried for their crime

Well, I guess it's time for me to 'fess up. I was born when FDR was President. Probably my earliest childhood is of my mom and the other women in our apartment building in Brooklyn, sitting in the front of the building on wooden folding chairs and weeping when he died.
One of my favorite Presidential trivas:
Most people know that Gerald R. Ford was the only President who took office without appearing on a Presidential ballot or receiving a single electoral vote. Not everybody knows that he was the only President who was born with different first, middle and last names than those with which he was sworn in. He was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., and took the name Gerald R. Ford Jr. in honor of his stepfather, Ford Sr.

So much for waiting for TB to reply with "Roosevelt" and then having the opportunity to ask "Theodore?"

Eisenhower was born in Texas.

Its funny how we make certain associations. As a kid in school we had a weekly assignment to study "Current Events" (politics and newsworthy stories that we had to read in the newspaper and make a report to our class). For the longest time I associated the word "president" with "Eisenhower". In 4th grade, after Kennedy was elected, it took me months to get that association corrected (to be able to say "President Kennedy" and not "President Eisenhower").

Eisenhower was born in Texas.

Ronald Reagan for me

Reagan was on his second term for me. (87)

Well TB, you have the honor of (thus far) being the only person born under the FDR Administration, not to mention making those of us born under Truman feel a tad younger.

I forgot about Gerald Ford's real name, until you just mentioned it.

Does anyone remember any of these President's campaign slogan's??? I only remember "I Like Ike" and "All The Way With JFK." I can't even think of recent slogans.

TIS

How about some of these:

A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage (Hoover)

Are you better off than you were 4 years ago? (Reagan)

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow (Clinton)

Here ya go, TIS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slogan#U.S._presidential_campaign_slogans_.28listed_alphabetically.29

http://www.presidentsusa.net/campaignslogans.html

"Acid, Amnesty, and Abortion" and "Bozo and the Pineapple" are a couple of my favorites, I think.

How about "READ MY LIPS! NO NEW TAXES!" Lying S.O.B.!


I was born when Kennedy was President.

And if TIS doesn't mind, I'd like to add an additional question to this topic.

What was the first Presidential race that you voted in?

Ronald Reagan/Jimmy Carter was the first Presidential race that I voted in. I voted for Reagan.


Don Cardi

I voted for George McGovern (against Richard Nixon) in 1972.

Thanks Bogey & DC. I tried to find a link and couldn't find it for some reason. Actually, I only remember a couple of the slogans mentioned.

Good question DC. The truth is, I'd have to think about it. Ha ha. I really don't remember. If I'm not mistaken, when I was young, the voting age was 21 and then changed to 18, and than back again. Sound familiar???? It may have changed to 18 after I was already 21. I was 21 in 69, but I think the following Presidential election was probably 72 no???? The mind is the first to go I guess.

At any rate, I know I voted in every Presidential election since I've been eligible to vote.

TIS

What was that, the tenth Presidential race that you voted in?



Don Cardi

Bingo!!! That must have been my first election also


TIS

William Henry Harrison was "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" while Herbert Hoover's famous one was "A Chicken in Every Pot."

Of the recent ones I remember Reagan in '84 "It's Morning Again in America." In '92 Clinton did well with "Putting People First", and I thought he was well served in '96 with "A Bridge to the 21st Century", which contrasted himself with an older Bob Dole.

George H.W. Bush ran behind "A Kinder, Gentler Nation" in '88.

Barry Goldwater lost big in '64 with "In your heart you know he's right." I guess America didn't know.

Perhaps, the most wicked campaign slogans were between Grover Cleveland and James G. Blaine. Cleveland's slogan was Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine. Continental Liar from the State of Maine. Blaine's supporters countered with the infamous, "Ma, Ma, Where's my Pa? He's Gone to the White House, Ha Ha Ha." the latter referred to the illegitimate children Cleveland had sired.

That was the first one I voted in LEGALLY.

Smartass.

So you were the one!

Don Cardi

And right after that was Polk's "54-40 or Fight" (an old personal favorite).

I was 20 years old in 1984 when I voted for Walter Mondale against Ronald Reagan. Reagan won every state in that election, except Mondale's home state of Minnesota, which he carried, if I recall correctly, by a percentage point.

Yeah.... George kind of lost BIG-TIME! If I had to do it all over again, I'd STILL vote for him, though.

Lincoln - "Don't Swap Horses in the Middle of a Stream"

There's one I've heard of Klydon!

To Klydon, SC or anyone more in the know on this topic than I (which is everyone ).. Adeli (sp) Stevenson? He ran for VP with whom??? And, wasn't there some kind of scandal associated with him????? Or, am I thinking of someone else?

TIS

I didn't go to school in those days (shows in my posts :p)...I did my sums with a piece of charcoal on the back of a shovel, by the light of a whale oil lamp...whales were plentiful in Jamaica Bay in that era...

Stevenson ran against Ike, twice.

Me to.

You're right. Stevenson was divorced, which was quite a scandal in the 40's and 50's for a politician. He lost two presidential elections to Eisenhower by large margins. His running mate in the second election was Estes Kefauve. I remember this because there was strong support among the Democrats to have a young John Kennedy be his running mate in '56.

Stevenson was known pretty much as an intellectual. He had a great line when he responded to a supporter, who said, "You have the vote of every thinking man in America," by saying, "Thanks, but I'm going to need a majority to win."

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone seen the movie Thirteen Days about the Cuban missile crisis? (one of my favorites)

My favorite part in it is when Adlai is talking to the
Soviet representative, and asks him directly if they're installing missiles in Cuba, then says "Don't wait for the translation, just answer - Yes or no!" Then says he'll wait til hell freezes over, and brings out the photographs. Its a great part in the movie, Adlai totally pwns him. Hah.

bogey -

That was an exciting (and very scary) time. I remember hanging out in front of my building, talking with my friends and debating whether we'd have a nuclear war.

As it turned out, we didn't (obviously) but it made us proud that our leader got Kruschev and the Russkies to blink!

THIRTEEN DAYS is a really darn good movie.

THIRTEEN DAYS (2000) - ****

Funny enough, Peter Sellers played himself as an Adlai Stevenson-esque President in DR. STRANGELOVE. "Now Dimitri, don't get hot under the collar..."

Anyway, George McGovern got his ass busted in 1972 because the Democrats were still dysfunctional as hell after the breakdown of the New Deal-party machine in 1968. Worse, McGovern made the unwise move of trusting his campaign hopes on the youth vote. Nevermind that whole Vice-President embarrasment when Eagleton turned out to be a sucker for electric shock. Yikes.

Thing is, I always wondered how better his electoral chances would have been if the election against Nixon had been held in 1973 or 1974, after it became clearer and more obvious of Tricky Dick's involvement in Watergate.

SC, President John F. Kennedy did something that few American Presidents have ever pulled off: Be a Peacemaker without losing face.

That was Stevenson's finest moment.

I have no doubt that McGovern would have beaten Nixon, had the election been held in the midst of the Watergate scandal.

While we're talking about President's and presidential elections, it should be remembered that in 2000 Gore won the popular vote. I say that because so many commentators criticize Gore's campaign strategy.

I should feel confident that this interesting and non-partisan thread will not turn into the typical go-nowhere b.s. political sandbox thread. Right? Right?? Good.

Ironically, McGovern in '72 made the same mistake that Goldwater made in '64: Both took over party machinery in dysfunction (as you said) because of the loss of the previous elecstion. They captured the party machinery with their own people, and aimed their message at the farthest-out faction of the party. The enthusiasm, energy (and money) of the small but vocal number of "true believers" carried through the primaries and to the nomination. Then, in the general election, both Goldwater and McGovern failed to move toward the center. Result: they carried in the general election only those they attracted in the primaries--and both were swamped by "centrist" candidates who characterized them as "extremists."
McCain is about to make the same mistake.

From what I conjured from Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail: 72, sounded like a pretty lame election-year, but I have to agree with you based on what I read in that book.

Oh, and Hubert Humphrey is a tool.

That is all.

I should do a WHAT IF column sometime on 1968.

What if Robert Kennedy wasn't shot? Would his charismatic, populist campaign have won the Democratic nomination over Humphrey?

Talk about a whole different America as a result...

GREAT BALLS OF DOODY!!

THE END IS NEAR!!

RUN FOR THE HILLS AND HIDE YOURSELVES!!

Not only did TB post a political comment BUT he did so after Geoff specifically warned us about hijacking this thread with such political statements!

Maybe you should; it'd be an interesting discussion.

I can remember another political slogan:

Nixon's the One!

And, because of that, I'll always remember a bumper sticker I saw years ago:

Nixon - He Was the One in '68
He'll be a Bigger One in '72!

Signor V.

Lets not forget:

Dick Nixon Before He Dicks You.

I'm about 90 posts late in this thread but Jimmy Carter was president when I was born. Not sure if you're still interested TIS or anyone else.

Hi Bibble,

Let's see, are you the only one who said Carter? I don't feel like checking all the posts. Another youngster.


Vitelli,

You didn't mention who was President when you were born? Could you possibly be the Truman era as well?

SC, I remember the "Dick" Nixon jokes/slogans. The name was so easy to work with. Remember all the comics (Rich Little comes to mind) who'd imitate him??

TIS

I was born early in the Eisenhower admistration.

Here's another bumper sticker I saw:

McGovern Can't Lick Our Dick!

Now, as far as comics and impressionists having a field day with Nixon, the one I thought was the best was David Frye. (Remember his I Am the President album?)

Signor V.

Truman was from Missouri -- Independence to be specific, a suburb of Kansas City just north of the city where I live.

I try to hit Dixon's at least once a month and this is the second President's Day in a row that I have eaten there so I guess it is a tradition

I got my chili the way Truman preferered -- over three tamales. I told the waitress (who probably served Truman himself) that I should get the President Day discount in honor of their favorite son and sure enough got my meal (and daughters) free. Of course, I tipped her well!

TB moves away and he gets brave?

But not to worry. It's not like Geoff would ban him.

Eisenhower.

Is this another sneaky way to find out our ages?

Ha ha!! I see your point Lavinia, but trust me, I didn't even think of how it would "appear" by asking this question.

TIS

That was certainly a turbulent political time. It is certainly best known for the assassination of RFK in June and the police violence against the anti-war demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which sparked one of my favorite Daleyisms, "The police aren't here to create disorder; they're here to preserve it."

I dont know who ran with Stevenson in 52, but in 56 it was Kefauver (referred to by Hyman Roth in GFII). To my knowledge there was never anything Stevenson did that brought any scandal on him while he was in office. Apparently JFK disliked him and he resisted pressure to name him Secretary of State. Instead he sent him to be Ambassador to the UN which Stevenson considered beneath his station, but he served anyway.

Shortly after he retired, he dropped dead on a London street of a massive heart attack. Supposedly he was having an affair with Katherine Graham of the Washington Post at the time.

I was just kidding, TIS. My only regret is that I missed Kennedy's presidency, he was my younger days' hero.

Stevenson's running mate in '52 was Sen. John Sparkman of Alabama.

JFK and Stevenson disliked and distrusted each other intensely. Stevenson told JFK he wouldn't run for the Dem nomination in '60, but he didn't discourage his followers from attempting to "draft" him. A last-minute demonstration for Stevenson on the convention floor in LA nearly derailed JFK's nomination. JFK told him, "I like you, Adlai. But if you get in my way, I'm just going to have to s**t all over you."

After the election, liberals, who distrusted JFK, demanded that he name Stevenson Secretary of State. Since Stevenson was far better known and respected around the world than JFK at that point, he could easily have depositioned his President. So JFK named him UN Ambassador and elevated the post to "Cabinet rank." This was a great political ploy on JFK's part: Liberals were ecstatic because they regarded the UN as the Taj Mahal of international affairs. But as Ambassador, Stevenson had no real policymaking power--his job was to read speeches written for him by State Dept. and White House functionaries. "Cabinet rank" was meaningless, too: he was still subordinate to Secretary of State Dean Rusk; and JFK seldom held Cabinet meetings anyway and never discussed anything important at them.

JFK humiliated Stevenson more than once. During the Bay of Pigs brouhaha, JFK neglected to tell Stevenson that the clapped-out WWII bombers that hit Cuban airfields before the invasion were flown by CIA operatives. So Stevenson unknowingly spread the lie at the UN that they were flown by "Cuban patriots," and his prestige took a huge nosedive. During the missile crisis, Stevenson repeatedly demanded proof that JFK prove to him that the Soviet missiles in Cuba were really offensive, not defensive, units.

After the crisis was over, JFK told favored newsmen "off the record" that Stevenson had proposed trading American Jupiter missiles in Turkey for the Soviet missiles in Cuba; when in fact Defense Secretary Robert McNamara had made that proposal.

The differences twixt JFK and Stevenson were personal, too. JFK, a gold-medal womanizer, constantly resented Stevenson for the attraction he held for young, good-looking women. JFK could never accept that balding, paunchy, middle-aged Stevenson could be almost as much a Lothario as he was.

[quote=Turnbull '60, but he didn't discourage his followers from attempting to "draft" him. A last-minute demonstration for Stevenson on the convention floor in LA nearly derailed JFK's nomination. [/quote]


I remember that "draft" Stevenson moment watching the 60 convention on television. I believe none other than Eleanor Roosevelt placed his name in nomination, and suddenly the floor was filled with "Stevenson" placards, etc. This of course when nominating conventions actually meant something and this was the left wing of the party using its last gasp to stop JFK.


It is correct that JFK rarely had cabinet meetings. Other than
Robert MacNamara and rarely Rusk, he relied on his inner circle of White House advisers, and his brother (who was in the cabinet).

I also seem to recall that the republicans tried to smear Stevenson by alleging he was a homosexual.

To say nothing of the fact that Stevenson walked around with holes in his shoes.

She was the #1 JFK doubter in the Democratic Party. After the nomination, JFK spent days sucking up to her to get her endorsement. Of course, the fact that the GOP nominated Nixon was the decisive factor--Eleanor hated him even more than JFK.

I am convinced that he would have won the Presidency. Yes, America would have taken a whole new direction. Of course, no telling if that woul dhave been good or bad.

December 1970 - I'm not sure who was president when I was born. Was it Johnson or Nixon? I really don't know! The first one I remember on TV was Nixon though.

Nixon won the '68 election, so he took office in January, '69.

Okay, SC. thank you.

Ronald Reagen here...

I was born August '70 so it would have been Nixon?
Is that right?

Yes indeed.

I was a Reagan kid.......

Thank you Klydon