GetListy » George H.W. Bush

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

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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

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Unfortunate political one-liners

Bill Sullivan — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:23:54 +0000

After a bruising political season, plenty of Americans are weary of the “gotcha” preoccupation with catching a candidate or public official saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Still, some gaffes are more memorable than others, and more than a few presidents and wannabes would like to be able to go back in time and edit their comments a bit more carefully.

Time recently put together a list of “Top 10 Unfortunate Political One-Liners.”

Here’s a sampling:

“I am not a crook.” — Richard M. Nixon, 1973

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” — Bill Clinton, 1998

“Read my lips: No new taxes.” — George H.W. Bush, 1988

“The fundamentals of the economy are strong.” — John McCain, 2008

“I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” — Jimmy Carter, 1976

Want to see the rest? Visit Time.

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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.

Presidential disapproval ratings

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:25:13 +0000

In the wake of the 2008 elections, President George W. Bush’s approval rating with the American public sank to just 24 percent, meaning that 76 percent of those who responded to a poll taken by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation did not believe the president was doing a good job.

How does that compare to other presidents? In August of 1974, the month he resigned in the face of the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon’s disapproval rating stood at just 66 percent.

CNN offered a chart covering Bush and previous presidents, the rate of disapproval, and the date of the poll representing the lowest point:

George W. Bush: 76% – Nov. 2008

Bill Clinton: 54% – Sept. 1994

G.H.W. Bush: 60% – July 1992

Ronald Reagan: 56% – Jan. 1983

Jimmy Carter: 59% – June 1979

Gerald Ford: 46% – April, Nov., Dec. 1975

Richard Nixon: 66% – Aug. 1974

Lyndon Johnson: 52% – March, Aug. 1968

John F. Kennedy: 30% – Nov. 1963

Harry Truman: 67% – Jan. 1952

Sources: CNN and Politico

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Presidential Libraries

Bill Sullivan — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:37:22 +0000

What’s an ex-president without his own library?

Herbert Hoover has one. Richard Nixon has two. Even Gerald Ford (who, whatever his fine qualities, was never actually elected to the office) has seen his legacy spread over two different facilities.

Who else has one, and where are they all located?

Here’s the list:

Herbert Hoover: West Branch, Iowa

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Hyde Park, New York

Harry S. Truman: Independence, Missouri

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Abilene, Kansas

John F. Kennedy: Boston, Massachusetts

Lyndon B. Johnson: Austin, Texas

Richard M. Nixon: College Park, Maryland

Richard M. Nixon: Yorba Linda, California

Gerald R. Ford: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Gerald R. Ford: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Jimmy Carter: Atlanta, Georgia

Ronald Reagan: Simi Valley, California

George H.W. Bush: College Station, Texas

William J. Clinton: Little Rock, Arkansas

Source: National Archives

Republican VP Nominees

Bill Sullivan — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:41:57 +0000

For all the excitement about Sarah Palin’s family and political experience, she suddenly has become of the highest-profile vice presidential candidates in recent U.S. history.

Will she be a big help for John McCain, or will the choice prove to be ill-considered? It’s probably too early to tell.

If you’re looking to see what kind of impact a running mate can have on a race, however, consider the list of Republican nominees for the post over the last 40 years, a period in which the GOP won the White House seven of 10 times.

2004 — Dick Cheney (W)

2000 — Dick Cheney (W)

1996 — Jack Kemp (L)

1992 — Dan Quayle (L)

1988 — Dan Quayle (W)

1984 — George H.W. Bush (W)

1980 — George H.W. Bush (W)

1976 — Bob Dole (L)

1972 — Spiro Agnew (W)

1968 — Spiro Agnew (W)

Republican Nominees

Bill Sullivan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:55:50 +0000

John McCain may have his work cut out if he is to become the next U.S. President, but don’t be too quick to rule out the Republicans when it comes to closing the deal on election day.

Democrats ruled the middle of the 20th century, holding the White House for 20 years (1932-52). Lately, though, the roles have reversed, as Republicans have won the presidency in seven of the last 10 general elections.

Here’s a list of Republican nominees over that period, with the result in parentheses:

2004 — George W. Bush (W)

2000 — George W. Bush (W)

1996 — Robert Dole (L)

1992 — George H.W. Bush (L)

1988 — George H.W. Bush (W)

1984 — Ronald Reagan (W)

1980 — Ronald Reagan (W)

1976 — Gerald Ford (L)

1972 — Richard Nixon (W)

1968 — Richard Nixon (W)

Top TV Political Convention Moments

Ed Bark — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:08:03 +0000

From unclebarky.com.

Representatives of the donkey and elephant parties will be stampeding into Denver and St. Paul during the next two weeks to hold their quadrennial national conventions.

The Democrats go first, staring April 25th, with the Republicans right on their heels (Sept. 1-4). Here’s a top 10 countdown of televised moments to remember from previous conventions. Some are odd, others eventful. All made their marks.

10. Matthews vs. Miller — Two blowhards had a head-on collision after former Democratic senator Zell Miller of Georgia ripped into his old party as the keynote speaker at the 2004 Republican convention. MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews then questioned Miller’s insinuation that Democratic nominee John Kerry intended to defend the nation with “spitballs” after voting against various defense systems. During a live exchange, an increasingly angry Miller finally told his antagonist, “I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.” Matthews milked their confrontation for weeks and of course Saturday Night Live parodied it.

9. Read their lips — Three seconds seemed like an eternity when nominee Al Gore and wife Tipper locked themselves in an amorous embrace on the final night of the 2000 Democratic convention. “The Kiss” was twitted, dissected and viewed by many as a calculated effort to soften Big Al’s robotic, wooden image.

8. And furthermore . . . — Bill Clinton had his national coming out party on opening night of the 1988 Democratic convention. Instead he threw a slumber party with a widely ridiculed and interminable 32-minute speech in which he put Michael Dukakis’ name in nomination. Clinton proved resilient, though, turning his disaster into a triumphant appearance on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, where he played “Summertime” on his saxophone after the host first made fun of him.

7. Mondale’s Waterloo — The Democrats’ 1984 nominee, Walter Mondale, already was seen as a decided underdog to incumbent Ronald Reagan. He then dug his own grave at the 1984 convention with a memorably inept acceptance speech. The former vice president chopped himself off at the knees by telling America, “Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you. I just did.” Mondale later lost in a landslide.

6. The big brush-off — Sen. Ted Kennedy feverishly contested President Carter for the Democratic Party’s 1980 nomination, but came up shorter than Hillary Clinton’s bid to outlast Barack Obama. At the 1980 convention, though, Kennedy remained combative to the end. As Carter and running mate Mondale raised their hands in victory to the tune of “Happy Days Are Here Again,” Teddy turned his back on the incumbent president and refused to join him in any visible way. The lack of a conciliatory photo spoke volumes, with Carter eventually denied a second term by Reagan.

Presidents and Their Dogs

Cyndi Hughes — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:54:46 +0000

Forget the vice president; the president’s best friend and most reliable colleague is his dog. Bet you didn’t know about all of these dogs in the White House. And it was JFK who started the tradition of dogs meeting the presidential helicopter at the White House, after an assistant who cared for the dogs had them line up to greet the president once or twice as a gag. From then on, JFK insisted that they always be there when he got off the helicopter.

Here’s a sampling of presidential dogs:

John Tyler: Le Beau, an Italian greyhound

Theodore Roosevelt: Pete, a bull terrier; Sailor Boy, a Chesapeake Bay retriever: Skip, a Heinz 57; and Manchu, a spaniel

Warren G. Harding: Laddie Boy, an Airedale terrier, had his own chair to sit on at cabinet meetings.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Fala, a Scottish terrier (pictured), even starred in a Hollywood movie on the typical day of a dog in the White House.

John F. Kennedy: Charlie, a Welsh terrier; Pushinka, a gift from Khrushchev; Shannon an Irish cocker spaniel given by the president of Ireland

Lyndon B. Johnson: Him and Her, beagles; J. Edgar, a beagle given to LBJ by J. Edgar Hoover; Blanco, a white collie; and Yuki, a mongrel. Sadly, Him was run over and killed on the White House grounds. Yuki made the front page of the Wall Street Journal

Gerald R. Ford: Liberty, a golden retriever memorialized by Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live.

George H. W. Bush: Millie, a springer spaniel and the author of a book