Posted on 01/15/2024 9:07:20 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
Much discussion is being made these days over who Trump should pick as his vice presidential candidate.
But we're not here to discuss that. We are here today to discuss the last good and effective vice president. Or maybe talk about the veeps that have done great harm and damage to our nation. Especially those individuals that have gone on to become president.
Here in the last 70 years or so is the list of Vice Presidents. Which were good, bad or indifferent?
Kamala Harris
Mike Pence
Joe Biden
Dick Cheney
Al Gore
Dan Quayle
George HW Bush
Walter Mondale
Nelson Rockefeller
Gerald Ford
Spiro Agnew
Hubert Humphrey
Lyndon Johnson
Richard Nixon
Pardon me?
Bush Senior
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I like Poppa Bush. But his being a former CIA director and likely was involved in, or knew the principals of, the JFK assassination is a deal breaker.
All of these VPs have served during my lifetime. There was nothing wrong with Nixon as VP. If the Democrats hadn’t stolen the 1960 election there would not have been a Vietnam war. Just saying.
I liked Spiro Agnew. And then he evidently turned out to be a Biden-like crook, accepting kickbacks and bribes. Dan Quayle was a decent enough guy, but a total lightweight.
I’ve read that Bush Sr picked Quayle because Bush was tired of being in Reagan’s shadow for eight years. Bush wanted the spotlight all in him. So he picked a lightweight VP. I don’t know how true that is, but it does make some sense.
Oh I forgot about Truman. He was good. A 4 out of 5 rating on the good scale. He didn’t always agree with FDR policies.
The Dude Abides!
Nixon was a bowler.
Agreed. Cheney was the most influential and consequential VP probably in the history of the country. Some will disagree with me here but I think Vivek has the potential to be such a VP, maybe even more so, if Trump delegates him tasks and lets him loose.
None of the Above
Ditto.
Cheney was a rare case of a VP who had no aspirations to run for President, and who was also more competent than the President he served under.
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Yet Neocon Cheney pushed W into 10 years of a useless war in Afghanistan.
Nixon
A VP has almost no formal authority, so it’s hard to rate them based on political merits unless they later become President.
All of these VPs have served during my lifetime. There was nothing wrong with Nixon as VP. If the Democrats hadn’t stolen the 1960 election there would not have been a Vietnam war. Just saying.
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Or a Great Society that is still screwing over the Nation today. LBJ was an evil bastard. Hands down the worst VP and President ever.
Realistically (and perhaps unfortunately) Vice-Presidents are typically picked because of their ability to sway enough voters for the head of the ticket to get into office. There are only two that I can think of on this list who may have done this. One was Dick Cheney (for George W. Bush), who was viewed as offering experience and stability to the ticket. Florida was so close that Cheney’s addition was probably enough to make the difference. The second one was Mike Pence. His takedown of Tim Kaine in their VP debate probably caused enough confidence enabling Trump to eke out victories in key swing states.
It’s always a careful balancing act, the selection of a VP. They want someone who brings votes to the ticket, but not someone who might disagree or act “disloyal” to the Administration and its policies, not matter how idiotic they may be. Also, that individual can’t be too ambitious and attempt to run themselves in the next election cycle. In other words, the establishment always wants a weak yes-man who will toe the line, raise money, be willing to take the blame for anything that might damage the President, etc., etc. etc.
Never forget, our elections boil down to voting for what we perceive to be the best of the bad choices.
A VP has almost no formal authority, so it’s hard to rate them based on political merits unless they later become President.
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Even as veep, they wield power and control.
Cheney influenced Bush into a protracted war.
Biden talked Obama into passing queer marriages.
Pence turned traitor and allowed a coup d’etat.
> Cheney was the most influential and consequential VP probably in the history of the country. <
True that, but not in a good way. How much of the Afghanistan and Iraq debacles are due to Cheney’s advice to Bush II? We’ll never know for sure, but I’d guess quite a bit.
Harry Truman was the last decent VP
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