The ‘Worst’ in History
Nowadays, people everywhere greatly enjoy playing the “the worst” or “greatest” in history. TV stations worldwide present the public with a couple of choices, say 10, of “the greatest” in this or that field, the public thinks about the subject for 20 seconds or so, votes, and in the end, “the greatest” or “worst” are generally individuals who lived recently or who still live: the people’s ‘memory’ is limited, it seems.
Americans too enjoy playing this game, and the network CNN was more than willing to use this eagerness in order to create some screaming new headliens.. It asked the public their thoughts about Vice President Dick Cheney. Is he the worst vice president in history, CNN wondered?
23% of those asked answered “yes” on that question: according to these enlightened, educated and informed individuals, Cheney tops the list of worst vice presidents in history. Sadly for them, their opinion tells us more about them than about Cheney. As Hot Air explains, naming Cheney the worst vice president in history is proof that one really does not know America’s (political) history very well.
Take, for instance, Aaron Burr. Burr was ‘the only VP to kill a man in office. He shot the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, in a duel after Hamilton (reportedly) deliberately shot wide. (Cheney shot a man by accident, who survived, but there’s a thin parallel for Cheney haters.) Burr had to flee to South Carolina while VP to avoid prosecution for murder in New Jersey Later, he formed his own army and by several accounts intended to rebel against the US and form his own nation in the Ohio valley.’
Of course there is also John Calhoun who ‘inspired the Civil War and an outspoken proponent of slavery. He served as VP to both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, resigning under the latter to take a seat in the Senate. He championed “nullification”, the supposed right of states to supercede federal law when they disagreed with it, and the right of secession. More than most, he amplified the bitter divisions between the South and abolitionists and set the stage for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans as well as the extension of slavery for decades.’
Spiro Agnew, Richard M. Nixon’s vice president, can also be considered far worse than Cheney. He was the only VP ‘to resign because of criminal charges.’
More names could be listed, among them Thomas Jefferson who, as a commenter at Hot Air also points out, did everything in his power to prevent President John Adams from accomplishing any of his goals.
Cheney may not be the favorite vice president of a great many American voters, but he can hardly be considered the worst.
One wonders how many of the respondents can even name, say, half a dozen vice presidents. Other surveys have revealed a shocking level of ignorance of the names of elected officials (even current ones, let alone historical figures) so I’m not inclined to place any weight whatsoever on these public pronouncements.
I’m certainly not a fan of Cheney but agree that the “worst in history” label is misplaced. Even leaving aside the above mentioned ignorance which would give the respondents a very incomplete basis for comparison, there’s also the fact that historical judgments can’t be made contemporaneously with the term of office. That’s kind of the point; historical assessments are based on a long term view and knowledge of a series of events which hasn’t even happened yet; events which determine how the actions of the current administration will play out.
EXACTLY!!!
To judge what is “historical” requires not a little distance in time. This is like sports announcer declaring “X” the greatest quarterback of all time WHILE “X” IS STILL PLAYING!!
Too bad approval ratings only go back to FDR. It’d be interesting to see the approval among the population of some politicians like Jefferson or Agnew while they were in office. They may not be perfect, but at least you get an idea.