TheGraphicOnline

Well, here we go in TheGraphicOnline.com –€“ only. I’€™ve sworn off the Pal-Item blog. Nothing wrong with their page, but I didn‒t think many people, if any, read these comments over there. Of course, I can’€™t tell if anyone reads them here, either. Not that the “€œhow many” is all-important, but after all, if no one is reading this stuff, why write it? At least we’€™ll try it here for awhile to see. Your comments are always helpful.

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Barack Obama’s choice of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate is the No. 1 conversation piece this week. And if you want to ask, “Why Not A Hoosier Veep?” it helps to look back into the history of vice presidents. I find the stories of these odd-ball office holders as interesting, if not more so, than many of the presidents. So I’ll share a few of their stories.

For starters, did you know that Indiana has had more vice presidents than any other state except New York. That’s kind of strange, don’t you think? Why not Ohio or Illinois or Virginia, or even Iowa or New Hampshire? No, we’re the runner-up, or “Reserve Champion,” as they say at the 4-H fair. You may wonder why. Thank you for asking. The reason that Indiana is second best in the U.S. (for at least something) is that for about the first one hundred years of the republic, Indiana was considered a “Swing State.” Situated on what was then considered the “western” part of the country, it could go either way in an election. This was most dramatically illustrated during the Civil War when our fair state could have given in to Southern sympathizers if Gov. Morton had not stepped in so decisively. Indiana is a “swing state” no more, although it is interesting that Obama is talking like he’d like to make it one.

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O.K. who were our five Veeps? They started with an old pol most people have never heard of – Schuyler Colfax, who was Speaker of the House when Grant chose him as his first V.P. He was a good ol’ boy from South Bend, who turned out to be a scoundrel when he was caught taking bribes in the Credit Mobilier scandal. Grant dumped him. Earlier, Abraham Lincoln considered him untrustworthy but did invite him to join his party at Ford’s Theatre, which he declined. He is buried at South Bend, the only Hoosier V.P. not buried at Crown Hill cemetery at Indianapolis.

Next up was Thomas Hendricks, a one-term governor of Indiana who served as Grover Cleveland’s first V. P. until he died in office.

Then came Charles Fairbanks, a longtime power in the conservative wing of the party who was U.S. Senator when chosen to be Teddy Roosevelt’s V.P. in 1904, a choice “The Great Trustbuster” did not favor and showed it by not endorsing him for president in 1908, choosing William Howard Taft instead. Fairbanks remained doyen of the far right in his party and, somewhat amazingly, ran for vice-president again in 1916 with Charles Evans Hughes when they opposed, but lost, to Woodrow Wilson.

Now, we ’re up to the guy everybody liked but rarely did anything noteworthy (in other words, a typical vice president). Thomas Marshall of Columbia City, was finishing his second term as governor of Indiana when he was chosen as Woodrow Wilson’s running mate in 1912. He stayed on for a second term and, as you may have guessed, was one of two Hoosiers running for V.P. in 19l6. He is remembered for only one thing, his offhand quip while presiding over the Senate, “What this country needs is a really good five cent cigar.”

In 1988, you might say, Dan Quayle broke the mold, since he was not chosen because he was from a “swing state,” but tabbed because he was a reliable conservative and projected an image of youth in contrast to George H.W. Bush. We’ll save any bragging about Dan for later. His most important accomplish is that he is the only Hoosier V.P. still alive. That is, we think he is, although he moved out of our beloved state to reside in Arizona.

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So there we are – and we haven’t even got halfway through all the neat stuff I have about Hoosier Veeps. We’d better try another go at it next week. Can you stand it – any of you out there – if there are any?

We’ll go into a little more on why Obama said bye to Bayh. And who were some of the Hoosier wannabees who did not even get nominated. And a few really unknown V.P. candidates who were nominated by minor political parties. And all about where you can find even more fascinating facts – in a book written by a Richmond author.

All for free. Come back.

Vic Jose :: Aug.25.2008 :: Uncategorized ::

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