With David Souter retiring, President Obama has his first opportunity to make a mark on the U.S. Supreme Court. But the nomination process can be a minefield of potential stumbles and mistakes. If history is an indicator, Obama shouldn't have too much of a problem, especially because of the large Democratic majority in the Senate. Most nominees are confirmed. But some presidents have had more difficulty than others. The all-time loser is John Tyler, with a whopping eight failures: four of his nominations were withdrawn, one rejected, and three others died in the U.S. Senate due to lack of formal action. (Several of Tyler's nominations were of the same candidates.) Behind Tyler are Grant and Fillmore with three failures, then Washington, Madison, Polk, Cleveland, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan with two each. The most recent Senate rejection was Reagan's choice of Robert Bork (pictured) in 1987. The latest nominee withdrawal was George W. Bush's selection of Harriet Miers.
If you were president and were looking for a way to lose election to a second term, a place to start might be to become well known for excessive drinking. Wait...that's been done already. Ask President Martin Van Buren. When he was younger, his heavy drinking earned him the nickname "Blue Whiskey Van." During the election of 1840, his opponent, William Henry Harrison, used this nickname as a weapon against him, which helped Harrison defeat Van Buren. Harrison's campaign also mocked Van Buren for his diminutive size. At just 5 feet 6 inches, Van Buren was the second shortest president, beat out only by James Madison, who was 5 feet 4 inches tall.
Most historians agree that James Madison made a terrible blunder in failing to stop the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain. The war was preventable, but Madison felt pressured to declare war (which he did on June 1, 1812) by the War Hawks, 20 members of Congress who strenuously objected to Britain's practice of boarding American ships and abducting Americans while purportedly searching for Royal Navy deserters. The 1814 burning of Washington was a direct consequence of Madison's decision. Among the structures torched were the Senate and House of Representatives buildings, the Library of Congress, the United States Treasury and, most alarmingly, the White House.
Yep, I'm getting to be an expert on presidential blunders. Hell, I wrote a book about one of the biggest. If you want to nominate one, or if you want to yell at me, send email to prezblog@gmail.com.
With David Souter retiring, President Obama has his first opportunity to make a mark on the U.S. Supreme Court. But the nomination process can be a minefield of potential stumbles and mistakes. If history is an indicator, Obama shouldn't have too much of a problem, especially because of the large Democratic majority in the Senate. Most nominees are confirmed. But some presidents have had more difficulty than others. The all-time loser is John Tyler, with a whopping eight failures: four of his nominations were withdrawn, one rejected, and three others died in the U.S. Senate due to lack of formal action. (Several of Tyler's nominations were of the same candidates.) Behind Tyler are Grant and Fillmore with three failures, then Washington, Madison, Polk, Cleveland, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan with two each. The most recent Senate rejection was Reagan's choice of Robert Bork (pictured) in 1987. The latest nominee withdrawal was George W. Bush's selection of Harriet Miers.
