In honor of Presidents Day, I'd like to share some words others have said about our presidents.
Dean Acheson, secretary of State under President Harry Truman, said in June 1952 on the presidential candidacy of Dwight D. Eisenhower: "I doubt very much if a man whose main literary interests were in works by Mr. Zane Grey, admirable as they may be, is particularly well-equipped to be chief executive of this country, particularly where Indian affairs are concerned."
Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, in a letter to her husband in 1777 wrote: "In the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.
"Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation."
Henry Adams, historian, from The Education of Henry Adams in 1906 opined: "That, 2,000 years after Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, a man like [Ulysses S.] Grant should be called--and should actually and truly be--the highest product of the most advanced society, made evolution ludicrous.
"One must be as commonplace as Grant's own commonplaces to maintain such an absurdity. The progress of evolution from President Washington to President Grant was alone evidence enough to upset Darwin."
Banker Nicholas Biddle said in 1831 about President Andrew Jackson soon after Jackson's attack on the Bank of the United States, which Biddle headed: "This worthy president thinks that because he has scalped Indians and imprisoned judges, he is to have his way with the bank. He is mistaken."
Ambrose Bierce, writer and wit, in The Devil's Dictionary said: "Presidency, n. The greased pig in the field game of American politics."
Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, wrote in The Image, 1962: "Our most admired national heroes--Franklin, Washington, and Lincoln--are generally supposed to possess the 'common touch.' We revere them, not because they possess charisma, divine favor, a grace or talent granted them by God, but because they embody popular virtues.
"We admire them, not because they reveal God, but because they reveal and elevate ourselves."
John Branch, senator from North Carolina and secretary of the Navy under President Jackson, said in a letter to him in 1828: "If elected, which I trust in God you will be, you will owe your election to the people, Yes Sir, to the unbiased unbought suffrages of the independent, grateful yeomanry of this country.
"You will come into the executive chair untrammeled, free to pursue the dictates of your own judgment."
An accolade by journalist Heywood Broun calls Franklin Delano Roosevelt "the best newspaperman who has ever been president of the United States."
Roscoe Conkling, senator from New York and a corporation lawyer, is supposed to have said this in 1883: "I have but one annoyance with the administration of President [Chester] Arthur, and that is that, in contrast with it, the administration of [Rutherford B.] Hayes becomes respectable, if not heroic."
As President Donald Trump approached his 100th day in office, Time magazine History staff asked experts: What will historians of the future say about President Trump's first 100 days?
"Despite acknowledging that the question is impossible to answer with any certainty," the magazine wrote, "they drew on the lessons of the past to hazard a guess as to which of Trump's actions thus far will make it into the history books--and how they will be interpreted with the added perspective of hindsight."
David McCullough, Presidential Medal of Freedom-winning presidential biographer, in one of the submitted answers wrote: "The worst ever. Where do you start? He reverses himself on his positions. He says things that are blatantly untrue. It's outrageous and intolerable, as has never happened to this extent, even close to this extent, ever before. It's not just outlandish and beyond reality, it's dangerous. We've got to get back to the reality that nothing of consequence is ever accomplished alone. It's a joint effort. This is the greatest of all lessons of history."
Times haven't changed much regarding presidential politics, have they?
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Pat Laster is a writer of prose and poetry living in Benton. Her fourth book, A Compendium of Journal Jottings: A Sourcebook for Writers, is now available on Amazon in softback and e-book.
Editorial on 02/17/2020