I stumbled upon a fascinating online article by Elana Schor from Guardian.co.uk that appeared on August 23, 2008, which focused on the best and worst vice president picks of all time. It's difficult to argue with her picks. Here's her worst five:
1. Aaron Burr:
Pictured right, Burr was chosen by Thomas Jefferson but dropped from the ticket in 1804. He killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
2. Spiro Agnew: Nixon's first vice president, tax evasion forced from office.
3. Dan Quayle: Chosen by George H.W. Bush to appease conservatives...but he couldn't spell well.
4. John Tyler: He ascended to the presidency when William Henry Harrison died. Often referred to as "His Accidency."
5. Hannibal Hamlin: Lincoln chose him as his first-term running mate, but saw him as a mistake and dropped him for another loser: Andrew Johnson.
Read Schor's excellent analysis, and her top five picks, here.
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 The all-time loser is John Tyler, with a whopping eight failures: four of his nominations were withdrawn, one rejected, and three others died in the U.S. Senate due to lack of formal action.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.
