GetListy » George W. Bush

Failed Supreme Court nominations

Bill Sullivan — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:40:59 +0000

With President Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court drawing plenty of scrutiny in Washington, she is hardly the first to feel the heat of the spotlight.

Supreme Court nominations often are contentious. In the Court’s history, 35 judges have withdrawn their nominations or failed to receive approval, with Harriet Miers the most recent back in 2005.

Here, by president, is a list of judges who were nominated for the nation’s highest court, only to be rejected or forced to withdraw:

Washington:

• William Paterson, nominated in 1793: Withdrawn

• John Rutledge (for Chief Justice), 1795: Rejected by 10 to 14 vote

Madison:

• Alexander Wolcott, 1811: Rejected by 9 to 24 vote

John Quincy Adams:

• John J. Crittenden, 1828: Postponed by 23 to 17 vote

Jackson:

• Roger B. Taney, 1835: Postponed indefinitely by 24 to 21 vote

Tyler:

• John C. Spencer, 1844: Withdrawn

• Reuben H. Walworth, 1844: Tabled by 27 to 20 vote, then withdrawn

• Edward King, 1844: Tabled by 29 to 18 vote

• John C. Spencer, 1844: Withdrawn

• Reuben H. Walworth, 1844: Motion to consider nomination was objected to, no further action

• Reuben H. Walworth, 1844: Tabled (no record of vote), then withdrawn

• Edward King, 1844: Tabled (no record of vote), then withdrawn

• John M. Read, 1845: Motion to consider nomination failed, no further action

Two-term U.S. presidents

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:08:37 +0000

Of the 43 men elected President of the United States, only 14 were subsequently re-elected and served two full terms. (One, Franklin D. Roosevelt, actually was elected four times but died shortly into his final term; Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms.)

Who managed to keep the country on his side well enough to earn eight (or more) years in the Oval Office?

Here’s the list:

1. George Washington: 1789-1797

2. Thomas Jefferson: 1801-1809

3. James Madison: 1809-1817

4. James Monroe: 1817-1825

5. Andrew Jackson: 1829-37

6. Ulysses S. Grant: 1869-1877

7. Grover Cleveland: 1885-1889, 1893-1897

8. Theodore Roosevelt: 1901-1909

9. Woodrow Wilson: 1913-1921

10. Franklin D. Roosevelt: 1933-1945

11. Dwight D. Eisenhower: 1953-1961

12. Ronald Reagan: 1981-89

13. William J. Clinton: 1993-2001

14. George W. Bush: 2001-2009

Source: whitehouse.gov

Worst U.S. presidents

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:56:56 +0000

In honor of Presidents Day 2009, C-SPAN released results of its second Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership. A cross-section of 65 presidential historians ranked the 42 former occupants of the White House on ten attributes of leadership.

Who were the Bottom 10?

33. Rutherford B. Hayes
34. Herbert Hoover
35. John Tyler
36. George W. Bush
37. Millard Fillmore
38. Warren G. Harding
39. William Henry Harrison
40. Franklin Pierce
41. Andrew Johnson
42. James Buchanan

To read the rest of the list, and to find out about the methodology behind the rankings, visit C-SPAN.

Top Bushisms

Bill Sullivan — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:03:19 +0000

George W. Bush has left the building, but he leaves behind a rich legacy of public mangling of the language that often resulted in both friend and foe shaking heads for much of his eight years in the White House.

In the process of saying goodbye to our 43rd President, Time put together its list of the “Top 10 Bushisms” uttered by the Chief Executive during his two terms in office.

Here goes:

1. “Is our children learning?”

2. “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.”

3. “Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.”

4. “They misunderestimated me.”

5. “There’s an old saying in Tennessee…I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee that says, ‘Fool me once, shame on … shame on you. Fool me… You can’t get fooled again!’”

6. “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful. And so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people. And neither do we.”

7. “Too many OB-GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women.”

8. Asked if he had ever “Googled” anybody: “Occasionally. One of the things I’ve used on The Google is to pull up maps.”

9. “I didn’t grow up in the ocean, as a matter of fact — er, near the ocean. I grew up in the desert. Therefore, it was a pleasant contrast to see the ocean. And I particularly like it when I’m fishing. It turns out I’m not the first president who liked to fish, it turns out the first president really liked to fish. George Washington, I was reading where one time he caught 100,000 herring in a single day.”

10. “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.”

To read more about these misspeakings and other malatalkings, visit Time.

Presidents’ retirement perks

Bill Sullivan — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:00:31 +0000

President George W. Bush may be riding off into the sunset, but he is hardly leaving the government payroll. Former Presidents get pensions, benefits, money for staff and travel, Secret Service protection and all kinds of benefits that your normal retiree can only dream about.

While in office, Mr. Bush made $400,000 a year in salary. His retirement package reduces that paycheck to a paltry $191,000, a figure tied to the current salary for a Level I federal executive.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

To give you an idea of what a Bush retirement might cost the American taxpayer, here’s a list of how much the government budgeted for ex-presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton for 2008:

Item	Carter	Bush	Clinton
Pension	$191,000	$191,000	$201,000 *
Staff Salaries	$96,000	$96,000	$96,000
Staff Benefits	$2,000	$64,000	$65,000
Travel	$2,000	$56,000	$50,000
Rental Payments	$102,000	$175,000	$516,000 **
Telephone	$10,000	$17,000	$79,000
Postage	$15,000	$13,000	$15,000
Other Services	$83,000	$76,000	$65,000
Printing	$5,000	$14,000	$14,000
Supplies	$5,000	$15,000	$26,000
Equipment	$7,000	$69,000	$35,000
TOTAL	$518,000	$786,000	$1,162,000

* Clinton requested $10,000 of health insurance benefit be applied.
** Clinton’s higher rental allowance reflects the fact that his office is in New York City.

Note: These costs do not include Secret Service protection. Clinton is the last U.S. President to receive Secret Service support for life. George W. Bush and those who follow will be given free protection for 10 years after they leave office.

Source: Office of the Budget, General Services Administration

Related lists:

U.S. presidents

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:07:22 +0000

As Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, here’s a list of the 42 men who preceded him into office, with years served.

(And, yes, we at GetListy can add…at least most of the time. Why only 42 predecessors? Grover Cleveland was elected to two non-consecutive terms. As a result, Cleveland is both the 22nd and 24 president.)

Meanwhile, back to the list:

Washington, George (1789-97)
Adams, John (1797-1801)
Jefferson, Thomas (1801-09)
Madison, James (1809-17)
Monroe, James (1817-25)
Adams, John Quincy (1825-29)
Jackson, Andrew (1829-37)
Van Buren, Martin (1837-41)
Harrison, William Henry (1841)
Tyler, John (1841-45)
Polk, James (1845-49)
Taylor, Zachary (1849-50)
Fillmore, Millard (1850-53)
Pierce, Franklin (1853-57)
Buchanan, James (1857-61)
Lincoln, Abraham (1861-65)
Johnson, Andrew (1865-69)
Grant, Ulysses S. (1869-77)
Hayes, Rutherford B. (1877-81)
Garfield, James (1881)
Arthur, Chester (1881-85)
Cleveland, Grover (1885-89)
Harrison, Benjamin (1889-93)
Cleveland, Grover (1893-97)
McKinley, William (1897-1901)
Roosevelt, Theodore (1901-09)
Taft, William H. (1909-13)
Wilson, Woodrow (1913-21)
Harding, Warren (1921-23)
Coolidge, Calvin (1923-29)
Hoover, Herbert (1929-33)
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (1933-45)
Truman, Harry (1945-53)
Eisenhower, Dwight (1953-61)
Kennedy, John F. (1961-63)
Johnson, Lyndon (1963-69)
Nixon, Richard (1969-74)
Ford, Gerald (1974-77)
Carter, Jimmy (1977-81)
Reagan, Ronald (1981-89)
Bush, George H.W. (1989-93)
Clinton, William J. (1993-2001)
Bush, George W. (2001-2009)
Obama, Barack (2009-)

Source: whitehouse.gov

Related lists:

Contested political offices

Bill Sullivan — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:32:18 +0000

Roland Burris, the would-be senator from Illinois, got a cool reception when he tried to show up for his first day of work. Al Franken was declared the winner of the disputed Minnesota senate race, but he’ll likely have to go through more legal wrangling before he can claim his seat.

In politics, it isn’t over until it’s over…and even then, some close races don’t ever seem to end.

In light of the recent Burris and Franken episodes, Time magazine took a look back at some of history’s Top Contested Officeholders. Here’s what the editors came up with:

Roland Burris/Al Franken, U.S. Senate, 2008

Hiram R. Revels, U.S. Senate, 1870

Adam Clayton Powell, U.S. House, 1967

Rutherford B. Hayes, U.S. President, 1876

Mary Landrieu, U.S. Senate, 1996

Frank Smith, U.S. Senate, 1926

John Durkin, U.S. Senate, 1974

Theodore. G. Bilbo, U.S. Senate, 1946

George W. Bush, U.S. President, 2000

Frank McCloskey, U.S. House, 1984

To find out what made these races so controversial, visit Time.
Advertisement

Time Persons of the Year

Bill Sullivan — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:27:06 +0000

When Time named Barack Obama its 2008 Person of the Year, the president-elect joined an august if occasionally startling list of winners.

Charles Lindbergh won the first-ever award in 1927. Franklin D. Roosevelt was honored on three different occasions. Winston Churchill won twice, as did George W. Bush and Richard Nixon.

Over the years, the magazine has valued “doing” over “doing good.” That probably explains the back-to-back victories of Adolph Hitler (1938) and Joseph Stalin (1939).

Here’s the full list:

1927: Charles Lindbergh
1928: Walter Chrysler
1929: Owen D. Young
1930: Mahatma Gandhi
1931: Pierre Laval
1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933: Hugh Samuel Johnson
1934: Franklin D. Roosevelt
1935: Haile Selassie I
1936: Wallis Simpson
1937: Chiang Kai-shek/Soong May-ling
1938: Adolf Hitler
1939: Joseph Stalin
1940: Winston Churchill
1941: Franklin D. Roosevelt
1942: Joseph Stalin
1943: George Marshall
1944: Dwight D. Eisenhower
1945: Harry S. Truman
1946: James F. Byrnes
1947: George Marshall
1948: Harry S. Truman
1949: Winston Churchill
1950: The American Fighting Man
1951: Mohammed Mossadegh
1952: Elizabeth II
1953: Konrad Adenauer
1954: John Foster Dulles
1955: Harlow Curtice
1956: Hungarian Freedom Fighter
1957: Nikita Khrushchev
1958: Charles de Gaulle
1959: Dwight D. Eisenhower
1960: U.S. Scientists
1961: John F. Kennedy
1962: Pope John XXIII
1963: Martin Luther King, Jr.
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson
1965: William Westmoreland
1966: The Generation Twenty-Five and Under (Baby Boomers)
1967: Lyndon B. Johnson
1968: Apollo 8 astronauts (William Anders, Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell)
1969: The Middle Americans
1970: Willy Brandt
1971: Richard Nixon
1972: Richard Nixon/Henry Kissinger
1973: John Sirica
1974: King Faisal
1975: American women
1976: Jimmy Carter
1977: Anwar Sadat
1978: Deng Xiaoping
1979: Ronald Reagan
1981: Lech Wałęsa
1982: The Computer – Machine of the Year
1983: Ronald Reagan/Yuri Andropov
1984: Peter Ueberroth
1985: Deng Xiaoping
1986: Corazon C. Aquino
1987: Mikhail Gorbachev
1988: The Endangered Earth: Planet of the Year
1989: Mikhail Gorbachev
1990: George H. W. Bush
1991: Ted Turner
1992: Bill Clinton
1993: The Peacemakers (Yasser Arafat, F.W. de Klerk, Nelson Mandela, and Yitzhak Rabin)
1994: Pope John Paul II
1995: Newt Gingrich
1996: David Ho
1997: Andy Grove
1998: Bill Clinton/Kenneth Starr
1999: Jeffrey P. Bezos
2000: George W. Bush
2001: Rudolph Giuliani
2002: The Whistleblowers (Cynthia Cooper, WorldCom; Coleen Rowley, FBI; and Sherron Watkins, Enron)
2003: The American Soldier
2004: George W. Bush
2005: The Good Samaritans (Bono, Bill Gates, Melinda Gates)
2006: You
2007: Vladimir Putin
2008: Barack Obama

Source: Time

Elections that changed America

Bill Sullivan — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:17:21 +0000

While Barack Obama’s election as President of the United States already has made history, his impact as chief executive and would-be leader of the free world has yet to be determined. Will his tenure produce important and enduring change, or will he be just an interesting footnote in the process?

It will be a while before we get those sorts of answers, but Time has weighed in on other elections that changed the country.

Here’s the list:

1792: Washington runs unopposed and is elected to a second term.

1800: Jefferson defeats Adams.

1828: Andrew Jackson over John Quincy Adams.

1860: Lincoln wins with just 40 percent of the vote.

1896: William McKinley defeats William Jennings Bryan in battle over economic philosophies.

1912: Woodrow Wilson wins three-way fight with William Howard Taft and Teddy Roosevelt.

1932: F.D.R. defeats Hoover and ushers in a New Deal.

1964: L.B.J. and The Great Society win over Barry Goldwater.

1980: Reagan’s rout of Carter moves country to the right.

2000: The Supreme Court declares George W. Bush the winner.

To read more about these historic campaigns, and to see a slideshow, visit Time.

Top celebrity sports fans

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:44:37 +0000

For a not-so-brief and thoroughly lamentable time, Monday Night Football became more about promoting celebrities and their upcoming vehicles than about the game.

Each week, star types would be dragged into the booth. Many of them made it perfectly clear that this minute or two before the cameras was the only reason they were within 50 miles of the stadium.

Game? What game?

Not all celebs are this way, of course. Many actually buy season tickets and enjoy making it out to the stadium or arena. Quite a few even know more about the home team than the average fan.

Here’s a list of some well-known folks who seem to be genuine sports enthusiasts. We probably missed a few, but, hey, these things happen.

Jack Nicholson: He’s there for the Lakers thick and thin. And, until the 2008 Finals, there had been plenty of thin since the Showtime days.

Billy Crystal: Yankees fan made the very respectable baseball movie 61. He’s also a Los Angeles Clippers season ticket holder. Now that’s a fan.

Bill Murray: Longtime (and long-suffering) Cubs fan, not to mention a golf enthusiast who has been known to liven things up at Pebble Beach.

Spike Lee: Woody Allen is a diehard Knicks fan, too, but Spike actually participates.

Rudy Giuliani: Former New York mayor has been a fixture at Yankees games, particularly the ones on national TV.

Ashley Judd: University of Kentucky alum once posed in a hockey sweater (and, from the looks of things, little else) to help promote the Wildcat pucksters. When the UK men’s basketball team is in the NCAA Tournament, she’s a regular face in the crowd.

George W. Bush: Longtime baseball fan once was managing general partner of the Texas Rangers.

Mark Cuban: Mavericks owner bought the team when it was awful because he loved the game. Now, he’s a courtside referee-baiter. Also made a bid to buy the Cubs.

Eva Longoria: Wife of San Antonio point guard Tony Parker is a regular at Spurs games.

Stephen King: Longtime Red Sox fan co-wrote a book about the team’s breakthrough 2004 World Series championship.

Will Ferrell: Actor/comedian is a big supporter of University of Southern California football.

Matthew McConaughey: Actor attended the University of Texas and is very visible at Longhorn football games.

George H.W. Bush: The elder Bush and wife Barbara are big fans of the Houston Astros.

Bill Cosby: A tireless supporter of his beloved Temple Owls.

Regis Philbin: Notre Dame alum is a big advocate of the Fighting Irish.