Work on Those Final Words

Most people would agree that a president's last words should be memorable and inspiring. But it hasn't always worked out that way. Millard Fillmore, after eating some soup, said, "The nourishment is palatable" and then expired. Ulysses S. Grant reportedly uttered "Water!" before he died. Lyndon Johnson's "Send Mike immediately!" is memorable for having been uttered into his bedroom telephone upon feeling ill. Some presidential final phrases reflect that they weren't aware of their impending doom. Just before Oswald's bullet hit him, John F. Kennedy answered, "That's obvious," to Mrs. Connolly's question: "Mr. President, you can't say that Dallas doesn't love you." Moments before Booth put a bullet in his head, Abraham Lincoln said, "It doesn't matter," when his wife refused to hold his hand. Other presidents had the opportunity to be rather eloquent, such as Dwight Eisenhower's, "I've always loved my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, and I've always loved my country. I want to go. I'm ready to go. God, take me." Grover Cleveland's, "I have tried so hard to do right," is rather touching. Theodore Roosevelt's final words, "Please put out the light," seem inadvertently perfect. But the award for the lamest final words goes to Andrew Johnson, who said, "I need no doctor. I can overcome my troubles." (Photo of Andrew Johnson, Library of Congress)

By Any Other Name

What's your opinion of President Blythe? How about President King? If you haven't heard of them, you're not alone. But they were presidents, just the same. That's because some presidents have undergone name changes over time. Here's a look at the morphing names of presidents.

• Born Hiram Ulysses Grant, a Congressman mistakenly identified him as Ulysses S. Grant when nominating him for admission to West Point. Grant objected to the error, but it stuck.
• Leslie Lynch King Jr.'s stepfather was Gerald Rudolff Ford. At a very young age, Leslie's mom and stepfather (though never legally adopting him) began calling him Gerald Rudolff Ford Jr. He formally changed his name in 1935, but chose a different spelling of his middle name. Thus he became Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr.
• William Jefferson Blythe III's father died before he was born. His mother remarried to a gentleman named Roger Clinton. When William was 14 years old, he formally changed his name to William Jefferson Clinton.
• While not a name change, Harry S. Truman's middle initial stands for...nothing. His parents didn't give him a middle name, just the letter S.
• Dwight David Eisenhower was actually born David Dwight Eisenhower. He changed the order of his names when entering West Point.

Admitting Mistakes

Sometimes, presidents point fingers at themselves. For a time, George W. Bush famously denied he made any mistakes. But at least one predecessor took a more modest view of himself. Dwight Eisenhower has been quoted as saying the two biggest mistakes of his presidency were the appointments of Justice William J. Brennan Jr. and Chief Justice Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court. According to Kim Eisler, who wrote a biography of Brennan, Eisenhower's regret was documented in Justice Harold Burton's diaries. Says Eisler: Burton recounts a meeting with Eisenhower in 1957, when he told the President he was leaving the Supreme Court. He confirms that Eisenhower expressed his regrets in appointing Warren and Justice Brennan and described both appointments as big mistakes. The President described the favorable recommendation he had received on Justice Brennan as ''off-base.'' Eisenhower finished his observations to Burton by saying that in finding a replacement, he would pay more attention to ideology than he had in the Warren and Brennan appointments, which were both made for political reasons. You can read Eisler's full comments here, as published in The New York Times.