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presidential history
“There were probably more constitutional constraints operating on George III in 1776 than now operate on the US president”
Here is constitutional historian Grace Mallon responding to the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump vs. United States. Early American historian David Waldstreicher’s response is on the mark: One wonders why U.S. history departments “sold off constitutional history to Poli Sci […]
“I am left to conclude from these opinions that our greatest problem …is with the people of this land! We have lost our ability to discern the difference between right and wrong.”
This September 1998 James Dobson letter to his Focus on the Family constituency is loaded. (See our last two posts.) I was also struck by this passage: At one point during the shocking revelations last month, Clinton’s public approval rating […]
“Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring (James 3:11 NIV)?”
I have been rereading James Dobson’s September 1998 letter to his Focus on the Family constituency in the wake of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. It is an amazing primary source, especially in light of the evangelical embrace of Donald Trump, a […]
“There were other indications that [he] was untruthful and immoral. Why, then, did the American people ignore so many red flags”
This was James Dobson in a letter to his September 1988 newsletter to his Focus on the Family constituency. Read it here. By the way, the “he” in the title of this post is a reference to Bill Clinton. The […]
Lindsay Chervinsky named Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon
I knew her before she was famous! We overlapped briefly as fellows at the George Washington Presidential Library. Congrats, Lindsay! Well-deserved. Here is the press release from Mount Vernon: MOUNT VERNON, Va., May 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association is proud […]
For the first time in U.S. history, a former president faces criminal charges
Trump’s New York hush money trial begins today. It is the first of four indictments to go to trial. The PBS News Hour gives us three things to watch: Who controls the narrative? There’s going to be a lot of […]
The cowardice of ten United States Senators
Republican Senators could have “ended Donald Trump’s political career,” but ‘they chose not to.” Today at The Atlantic, editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg offers a list of the “cowards.” They are Rob Portman (OH), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Chuck Grassley (IA), Mitch […]
“You can’t love your country only when you win”
I am on the road this month so my reaction to news stories has been a bit slower than usual. Today I finally got caught up on the responses to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address: Watch the entire […]
“Should the president now go scot-free, we will teach the next generation very different, more cynical rules”
Here is David Gergen during the Bill Clinton impeachment investigation in 1998: …At the end of the day, we should recognize that the heart of this case is not about Clinton, nor is it about Starr. It is about us, […]
Scholars: Trump is the worst president in American history.
Here is the top 20 from the “2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey.” Obama and Ulysses S. Grant are on the upswing. Andrew Jackson and Calvin Coolidge out of the top 20. The bottom three: Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, and […]
Presidential love letters
Here is your Valentine’s Day post. It comes, via LitHub, from Are You Prepared for the Storm of Love Making?: Letters of Live and Lust from the White House. A taste: When a man writes a letter to a woman […]
Biden jokes about his age and memory
Remember this: And today Joe Biden offered this: I love it! It seems like this is the best way for Biden to address the “age” issue in the wake of the recent special counsel’s report on classified documents.
Joe Biden joins the United Auto Workers picket line in support of striking workers
For the first time in United States history a sitting president joined a picket line. Here is Joe Biden at a General Motors warehouse in Van Buren Township, Michigan: More here. Interesting take from a Cambridge University historian: Socialist Jacobin […]
The Author’s Corner with Melissa Blair
Melissa Blair is Associate Professor and Department Chair of History at Auburn University. This interview is based on her new book, Bringing Home the White House: The Hidden History of Women who Shaped the Presidency in the Twentieth Century (University […]
Too old to be president?
Is Joe Biden too old to serve another term as president? Everyone seems to be talking about this as the 2024 election approaches. But did you know that debates over presidential age are not new? Readers of a certain age […]
Trump is out on bail. What does that mean?
Now that Donald Trump is the first ex-president to be let out of prison on bail, many Americans may be wondering what it all means. Megan Stevenson, a law professor at the University of Virginia, explains in her recent piece […]
Trump is the only president in American history with a mugshot
He is also back on X (Twitter); On the day he surrendered at the Fulton County Jail, Trump tweets that he will “never surrender.”
Fulton County, Georgia grand jury indicts Donald Trump. That’s #4. Evangelical lawyer Jenna Ellis also indicted. (UPDATED)
Trump may be done-in by the political philosophy of federalism. Since this Georgia indictment is a state charge, not a federal indictment, Trump cannot pardon himself should he win in 2024. Ironically, it may not be Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, […]
Will Chris Christie be the new James Garfield?
He thinks it’s possible. This is from a South Carolina campaign stop: The historical analogy is a huge stretch, but I’m guessing Christie is the only GOP candidate who knows anything about our 20th president.