America's Worst VP?

[JackLuis]

I ran across this on a Time Magazine page.

Arron Burr was first place winner. But he only shot Alex Hamilton, fomented a would be invasion of Mexico and so, was Dick Cheney really that bad?

 

[Dragonlipz]

I ran across this on a Time Magazine page.

Arron Burr was first place winner. But he only shot Alex Hamilton, fomented a would be invasion of Mexico and so, was Dick Cheney really that bad?

You forgot that he tried to usurp the results of the presidential election of 1800 (in which Jefferson won after 36 ballots)......

I still think that he's a distant second behind Darth Cheney who will, (if prompted by the appropriate Tom Cruise prosecutor) admit that he ordered the 'code red' for torture.....

Nicholson is so compelling and credible in that role that I never fail to watch that final court room scene between him and Cruise....truly one of the great moments in American cinema......

 

[Violette]

I'm always surprised when people know ANYthing about the Vice President. That position is like an airbag; you know it's there, but you pray you never have to use it!

 

[sr71plt]

My first thought was Spiro Agnew. Surprised he didn't rank about the 13th worst. Wonder if any of the ones above him were forced to resign before the end of their term.

 

[Dragonlipz]

My first thought was Spiro Agnew. Surprised he didn't rank about the 13th worst. Wonder if any of the ones above him were forced to resign before the end of their term.

Good point, but didn't Burr have to stand trial for sedition or some shady stuff? Agnew was a typical republican: took some bribes (campaign contributions) from some rich guys, gave out some contracts, all the standard stuff, but back then no one had an appreciation for some good hair: His pompadour would have bitch-slapped Blago's...........

 

[Xelebes]

My first thought was Spiro Agnew. Surprised he didn't rank about the 13th worst. Wonder if any of the ones above him were forced to resign before the end of their term.

These are not ranked in any ordinal fashion outside of chronology.

 

[sr71plt]

These are not ranked in any ordinal fashion outside of chronology.

Ah, thanks. I didn't see that from my scan.

(And I think Aaron Burr suffers from historical hindsight. Folks were standing in line to duel Alexander Hamilton, who was pretty deserving of being shot--he'd screwed Burr out the presidency, which is as good a reason for any for Burr to challenge him--although this wasn't the reason of record. It's not like he shot the man in the back or paid someone else to do it--or waterboarded him, even. What happened afterward flowed out of what went before it.)

 

[sr71plt]

Good point, but didn't Burr have to stand trial for sedition or some shady stuff? Agnew was a typical republican: took some bribes (campaign contributions) from some rich guys, gave out some contracts, all the standard stuff, but back then no one had an appreciation for some good hair: His pompadour would have bitch-slapped Blago's...........

Yes, Burr stood trial (and was acquited, I believe). But those in the South, for instance, who point out that the South had every consitutional right to secede and no one would have thought otherwise if their weren't victors to rewrite history, can also find backing for what Burr was involved in with his empire-splitting intrigue. If I recall correctly, Gore Vidal's Burr was a pretty intriguing flip-side view, with Vidal putting it out as a novel rather than nonfiction being sort of Videlish tongue in cheek.

As I noted earlier, Burr had more than a little reason to get bitter with the system. Hamilton orchestrated his political murder and the system let that happen.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Spiro Agnew was a dolt, but I think Dan Quayle takes the award, followed by Bush 41. I have never understood why anyone would want Poppy Bush for anything.

 

[3113]

I think Aaron Burr suffers from historical hindsight. Folks were standing in line to duel Alexander Hamilton, who was pretty deserving of being shot

Agreed. It was a duel after all, not a hunting trip And Hamilton, though admirable in his own way, was something of a NeoCon chewing at the bit to go to war with France and forcibly take ever European held parts of the U.S. One could argue that he was something of a danger himself.

 

[Liar]

My first thought was Spiro Agnew.

That's just because his name can be anagrammed into "grow a penis".

 

[OhMissScarlett]

That's just because his name can be anagrammed into "grow a penis".

LMAO. I don't know why I never realized this.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Spiro Agnew was a dolt, but I think Dan Quayle takes the award, followed by Bush 41. I have never understood why anyone would want Poppy Bush for anything.

Other than being a dumbass in general and saying some stupid stuff, did Quayle actually do anything?

 

[sr71plt]

Other than being a dumbass in general and saying some stupid stuff, did Quayle actually do anything?

Not in the areas of corruption and overreaching for power, I don't think. Might be there, but I don't remember any. Which at least takes him out of the "evil" or destructive categories.

 

[3113]

Other than being a dumbass in general and saying some stupid stuff, did Quayle actually do anything?

Nope. He really didn't.

Which bring up the question: what makes a good VP vs. a bad VP? How much or how little power a VP has always depends on how much power the president is willing to give him. And historically, most presidents didn't give their VPs any power at all. John Adams, our first VP, didn't even get invited to sit in on cabinet meetings.

It seems like "good" VPs have simply been those who didn't do anything--either politically beyond their scope, or publicly embarrassing.

The reason Cheney might rank as #1 isn't just because he wielded more power than a VP has ever been allowed to wield, but because he used his status as VP to argue that he was above the law. One of his big arguments was that he didn't need to comply with an executive order on safeguarding classified information because his office was part of the Legislature. Thus, he got to have his cake and eat it, too, by wielding the power of the President (Executive) with none of the checks or safeguards.

This outrageous attempt to be a dictator--to wield the power of the executive, but not have to pay for it, would be enough to put him first on my list. I can't think of anything more un-American--or dangerous. A VP who is an embarrassment is something we can easily survive. A VP who is corrupt and paying off people is tougher, but we can get past that, too. A VP wielding the power of a president with nothing and no one able to check or moderate his actions...that's going to leave us and our government damaged and scarred for a very long time.

 

[JackLuis]

If I knew how to put up a poll I'd call for a vote.

I expect that Dick Cheney would win hands down as the worst VP, and as the worst ex-VP.

 

[Liar]

Depends on what you mean by "bad".

Cheney is pretty competent. Savvy, driven, clever. Cheney was very good at using the office of the VP to enforce the politics and policy he wanted. It's just that he wanted some pretty fucked up things.

 

[Powertone]

I expect that Dick Cheney would as the worst ex-VP.

Like really, dude. Who the fucks he think he is defending himself from DEMOCRATS who are trashing the EIT put in place by him and Bush?!?
The Motherfucker!

He should be like that cool ex-VP Al Gore who was openly hostile to the Bush Administration's War on Terror and War on Science! That's the way cool ex- VP's conduct themselves-

 

[JackLuis]

Depends on what you mean by "bad".

Cheney is pretty competent. Savvy, driven, clever. Cheney was very good at using the office of the VP to enforce the politics and policy he wanted. It's just that he wanted some pretty fucked up things.

Are we going to debate the definition of bad now?

Dick used the office like no one ever has, and Yes he did some bad, evil things and caused immense burdens on his countrymen.

By allowing his cowardice to take over his mind he caused a catastrophe. I define that as BAD!

 

[3113]

Like really, dude. Who the fucks he think he is defending himself from DEMOCRATS who are trashing the EIT put in place by him and Bush?!?
The Motherfucker!

He should be like that cool ex-VP Al Gore who was openly hostile to the Bush Administration's War on Terror and War on Science! That's the way cool ex- VP's conduct themselves-

Your lame attempt at "gottcha" is silly and ridiculous, not to mention stupid and irrelevant. Whether or not Al Gore wasn't "cool" when he criticized Bush's administration (which, by the way, he waited two years to do as compared to Cheney who waited less than a 100 days to start grousing about Obama; if you're going to compare, then compare or don't bother) has nothing to do with whether Gore was a good/bad VP as compared to Cheney.

The question being asked here is has nothing to do with what these guys did after their time in office. All that's being discussed is what makes for a good/bad VP and that means what the man did while in office.

 

[JackLuis]

Like really, dude. Who the fucks he think he is defending himself from DEMOCRATS who are trashing the EIT put in place by him and Bush?!?
The Motherfucker!

He should be like that cool ex-VP Al Gore who was openly hostile to the Bush Administration's War on Terror and War on Science! That's the way cool ex- VP's conduct themselves-

I agree Al is cool. He was right to criticize that cretin Bush and Chaney. If we had a balanced Supreme Court in 2000 we wouldn't have these Problems.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Nope. He really didn't.

Which bring up the question: what makes a good VP vs. a bad VP? How much or how little power a VP has always depends on how much power the president is willing to give him. And historically, most presidents didn't give their VPs any power at all. John Adams, our first VP, didn't even get invited to sit in on cabinet meetings.

It seems like "good" VPs have simply been those who didn't do anything--either politically beyond their scope, or publicly embarrassing.

The reason Cheney might rank as #1 isn't just because he wielded more power than a VP has ever been allowed to wield, but because he used his status as VP to argue that he was above the law. One of his big arguments was that he didn't need to comply with an executive order on safeguarding classified information because his office was part of the Legislature. Thus, he got to have his cake and eat it, too, by wielding the power of the President (Executive) with none of the checks or safeguards.

This outrageous attempt to be a dictator--to wield the power of the executive, but not have to pay for it, would be enough to put him first on my list. I can't think of anything more un-American--or dangerous. A VP who is an embarrassment is something we can easily survive. A VP who is corrupt and paying off people is tougher, but we can get past that, too. A VP wielding the power of a president with nothing and no one able to check or moderate his actions...that's going to leave us and our government damaged and scarred for a very long time.

During this past year's VP debates, Sarah Palin said something along the lines of how she admired VP Cheney's pushing the envelope on the power of the VP office. It sent a chill down my spine.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

During this past year's VP debates, Sarah Palin said something along the lines of how she admired VP Cheney's pushing the envelope on the power of the VP office. It sent a chill down my spine.

And my vote into Obama's box. That woman hasn't the intellect to even be effectively evil.

 

[Boota]

As far as the amount of damage done to the country from his actions, Cheney has it hands down. Does anyone really think Scooter Libby took it upon himself to out an undercover CIA operative for political gains? During a time of war no less. I believe in the past an act of treason such as that was a hanging offense. A lot of people have said that W. had something to do with it, but I doubt it. Cheney did that on his own so that his little puppet wouldn't have to.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

And my vote into Obama's box. That woman hasn't the intellect to even be effectively evil.

I hope you're right and she's more of a Cruella DeVille than a Elena Ceaucescu.