Jan 23, 2009 2:29 AM GMT
With the inauguration of Obama, huge numbers of people tuned in and witnessed the pomp and circumstance of the day, with a number of the past presidents, their wives, vice presidents and their spouses as well. It was well done and very interesting.
I was at a social gathering of a few friends on Wednesday evening and was called over and encouraged to offer my opinion....
"Chris you probably have some view of this, Mike here thinks that part of the reason FDR got some of his legislation passed was that he (FDR) had a great listening pool there (at the 1933 inauguration) with the Republican presidents from the 20's there.
What do you think Woodrow Wilson (a democrat) thought of FDR's proposals"?
"What are you talking about", I asked? (Mike is a republican friend).
"There were no republican presidents there, except Hoover... everyone else was dead", I said.. which prompted a heated argument about Coolidge and his views. "Coolidge was dead at that moment", he had no views, I stated.
"Woodrow Wilson barely crawled out of the White House in 1921", I said, he was long gone and didn't even know about FDR".
The end jist of this was that I was told that there were a lot of former Presidents around at tubulent times... Mike pointed out that there were several presidents around at the time Lincoln took office in 1861". I asked him if he thought they were there at the 1861 inauguration? Mike wasn't sure. I told him I was... Pierce hated Lincoln and he, Buchanan and I believe it was John Tyler were southern sympathizers... they wanted Lincoln to fall on his face".
Today's inaugurations are much different than years in the past. For one most of those presidents didn't live very long after they left the White House.
When you talk about the political wrangling in Washington, just know that
these days... things are MUCH more civil than years ago.. Much improved.
I was at a social gathering of a few friends on Wednesday evening and was called over and encouraged to offer my opinion....
"Chris you probably have some view of this, Mike here thinks that part of the reason FDR got some of his legislation passed was that he (FDR) had a great listening pool there (at the 1933 inauguration) with the Republican presidents from the 20's there.
What do you think Woodrow Wilson (a democrat) thought of FDR's proposals"?
"What are you talking about", I asked? (Mike is a republican friend).
"There were no republican presidents there, except Hoover... everyone else was dead", I said.. which prompted a heated argument about Coolidge and his views. "Coolidge was dead at that moment", he had no views, I stated.
"Woodrow Wilson barely crawled out of the White House in 1921", I said, he was long gone and didn't even know about FDR".
The end jist of this was that I was told that there were a lot of former Presidents around at tubulent times... Mike pointed out that there were several presidents around at the time Lincoln took office in 1861". I asked him if he thought they were there at the 1861 inauguration? Mike wasn't sure. I told him I was... Pierce hated Lincoln and he, Buchanan and I believe it was John Tyler were southern sympathizers... they wanted Lincoln to fall on his face".
Today's inaugurations are much different than years in the past. For one most of those presidents didn't live very long after they left the White House.
When you talk about the political wrangling in Washington, just know that
these days... things are MUCH more civil than years ago.. Much improved.