April 10, 2009
Which President Am I?
I was born in Massachusetts. I graduated from an elite Ivy League university and served as a U.S. ambassador before serving as Vice President for all eight years to one of the most popular Presidents in history.
I then served as the next President, for four years. I put three new justices on the Supreme Court of the United States.
I lost re-election to another very popular President, who served for eight years. We were political enemies while serving as President, but after we were both out of office became friends.
My son became President later, despite coming in second place in the popular vote. He faced stiff opposition from members of Congress angry over the victory, and he lost support even in his own party for his support of leniency and reconciliation for undocumented non-citizens.
Cross-posted on <pudge/*>.
Posted by pudge at April 10, 2009
10:26 AM | Email This
1. GeeDub?
2. John Adams
4. John Adams.
5. Either John Adams or George H.W. Bush. I think the former.
6. POTUS 41. If you had said former Director of the CIA it would have been a dead give away. Besides Thomas and Souter who is the third SCJ?
7. It's Adams, Bush only appointed 2 SCOTUS.
8. John Adams -- great read -- the book about him by David McCollough!
9. The more things change the more things stay the same, which gives me hope that our best years are still ahead.
10. Agree that it is John Adams. As Judas said at #7, Bush only appointed two to SCOTUS--Souter (worst mistake of his presidency) and Thomas (great appointment). Adams actually NOMINATED 4 justices to SCOTUS, but John Jay (who was Chief Justice under Washington), declined to serve again as Chief Justice.
Interesting similarities between the Adams' and the Bushes though isn't it? John Q. Adams only served one term though, although he served many years in Congress after he left the presidency.
11. Nice trick question. As others have stated, the correct answer is John Adams, George Washington's Vice President for eight years, succeeded by Thomas Jefferson, whose son John Quincy Adams won a plurality (though not a majority) of the popular vote and the electoral college to become the 6th President of the US.
12. The Tim ... no no no. As I said, the man in question came "in second place in the popular vote." If John Quincy Adams won a plurality, then I am not talking about John Adams.
13. So will the incorrectly guessed president and his successor both die on July 4, 2026? That still affords Bill Clinton a respectable lifespan of almost 80 years -- perhaps optimistic given his cardiac and other less than ideal health problems. Maybe if the senior George Bush can parachute out of airplanes in his 80's, he can be the first president to live past 100.
14. The Tim ... no no no. As I said, the man in question came "in second place in the popular vote." If John Quincy Adams won a plurality, then I am not talking about John Adams.
Uhh...I don't think Quincy won the popular vote...
Anyhow, who are you talking about then? I'm pretty sure nobody else comes even close to fitting that definition.
15. Per Wikipedia, John Q. Adams ran against 3 opponents, and won a plurality (the largest share, but less than 50%) of both the electoral and popular votes.
16. John Adams, of course.
17. cliff: I said "if." I am not asserting whether he won the popular vote. ewaggin: Wikipedia is as Wikipedia does.
18. pudge @12 -
Are you sure about that?
There are only 2 father-son POTUS pairs: Adams 2 and Adams 6, and Bush 41 and Bush 43.
According to Wikipedia, Adams 2 appointed 3 SCOTUS judges (a fourth, John Jay, declined to serve), while Bush 41 appointed 2.
19. ewaggin: yes. I am sure.
20. pudge @ 12,
*slaps forehead* Whoops, back to history class for me. JQA didn't get the plurality in the popular and electoral vote in 1824, Andrew Jackson did. JQA ended up president by a vote of the House.
I can't even imagine the political hand-wringing that we would see today should something like that happen again.
21. I am John Adams. My son John Q. Adams came in second in the "popular vote" (of which there is no such thing in presidential elections). No one won the necessary electoral votes to win the presidency, so the election was decided by the House of Representatives. The undocumented non-citizens he supported were the Native Americans.
BTW, watch my mini-series. Paul Giamatti did an excellent job.
On another point, what would have happened if Al Gore had run in 2004? Would he have defeated Dubya like Andrew Jackson, 1st in the "popular vote" in 1824, defeated my son in 1828?
22. Obi-Wan, I normally put "popular vote" in quotes, but if I had done so in this context, people might have thought it was a trick. So I refrained.
And I think there's no way Al Gore would have won in 2004. Al Gore is no Old Hickory. Then, George W. Bush is no John Q. Adams.
23. I said "if." I am not asserting whether he won the popular vote.
Ah, I thought so.
JQA didn't get the plurality in the popular and electoral vote in 1824, Andrew Jackson did.
That's what I thought...
24. Pudge,
Interesting. Funny, how history repeats itself. Maybe GW should have studied history better to not repeat some of the same mistakes.
