Happy Birthday Al Gore!

Hey Vice-Precedence Readers!

Well, today is the birthday of one of the most beloved VP's of all time. Many Americans think that this VP should have rightly been President. Not even winning an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and even the Nobel Peace Prize would make up for his loss in the Presidential Election of 2000.

Yes its the birthday of Al Gore, and yes he has won all of those awards. For ever since his controversial defeat in the infamous election of 2000 where he won the popular vote by around half a million votes over George W. Bush, but lost the electoral vote by losing the recount in Florida that was supported by the Supreme Court by a 5–4 margin in favor of Bush—the only time in history the Court may have determined the outcome of a presidential election, Gore has been one of the worlds best know environmentalists.

All his work on exposing his beliefs on global warming culminated in the film "An Inconvenient Truth" which won the Oscar for Best Feature Length Documentary. The audio-book would win the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album.

Gores father was a member of the House for 13 years, and the Senate for 18 years representing Tennessee. Al Jr. was raised in both Tennessee and Washington D.C., at his senior prom he met his future wife Tipper. Gore attended Harvard, where he was roommates with fellow future Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones. He started out as an English major, but the Martin Luther King assassination, the war in Vietnam and other issues of the late 60's and early 70's led him to become politically active (without becoming a raging hippie) and switch to government as his major and graduated cum laude. He also first became aware of climate change from Roger Revelles lectures there.


When it came to Vietnam, Al Jr. was against the war, but knew that if he tried going to Canada (his mother had already agreed to join him there if he made that choice) or avoiding service in Vietnam by joining the National Guard (like some other Presidents and VP candidates I can think of...) he would damage his fathers already very tough campaign for re-election in the Senate,especially considering the fact that his father had voted for the Gulf of Tonkin resolution initially, but as the war had progressed and escalated, had changed his mind on the issue. The Nixon Administration and Republicans had targeted Senator Gore as a Senate seat they could take, and if his son somehow avoided service they all knew it would be used against him. Added to that fact, Gore Jr. did not feel it was right for someone with fewer advantages than himself to go in his place. So he became a true "Tennessee Volunteer" and enlisted in the regular Army. Before shipping out for Vietnam he married Tipper.

His orders to be sent to Vietnam were "held up" for some time and he suspected that this was due to a fear by the Nixon administration that if something happened to him, his father would gain sympathy votes. Considering the way Nixon and his administration worked, thats probably a good theory. He was finally shipped to Vietnam on January 2, 1971, after his father had lost his seat in the Senate during the 1970 Senate election, one "of only about a dozen of the 1,115 Harvard graduates in the Class of '69 who went to Vietnam." Gore was stationed with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Bien Hoa and was a journalist with The Castle Courier. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1971.

After Vietnam Gore studied at Vanderbilt, worked as an investigative reporter, and studied law. In 1976 at the age of 28 he was elected to Congress and was re-elected in 1978, 1980, and 1982--each time winning by a landslide. On March 19, 1979 he became the first member of Congress to appear on C-SPAN. In 1985 he was elected to the Senate. In 1990, Senator Gore presided over a three-day conference with legislators from over 42 countries which sought to create a Global Marshall Plan, "under which industrial nations would help less developed countries grow economically while still protecting the environment."

In 1988 Gore initially denied an interest in running for President. Instead he was the subject of speculation prior to his announcement a reporter stated:

"National analysts make Sen. Gore a long-shot for the Presidential nomination, but many believe he could provide a natural complement for any of the other candidates: a young, attractive, moderate Vice Presidential nominee from the South. He currently denies any interest, but he carefully does not reject the idea out of hand."

At the time, he was 39 years old, making him the youngest serious Presidential candidate since John F. Kennedy. Finally he came out and decided to run. He ran his campaign as:

"a Southern centrist, [who] opposed federal funding for abortion. He favored a moment of silence for prayer in the schools and voted against banning the interstate sale of handguns."

Gore carried seven states in the primary, finishing 3rd, but eventually dropped out. In April 3, 1989, the Gores and their six-year-old son Albert were crossing a street after a baseball game when Albert ran across the street to see his friend and was hit by a car. He was thrown 30 feet and then traveled along the pavement for another 20 feet Gore later recalled:

"I ran to his side and held him and called his name, but he was motionless, limp and still, without breath or pulse. His eyes were open with the nothingness stare of death, and we prayed, the two of us, there in the gutter, with only my voice."

Albert was tended to by two nurses who happened to be present during the accident. The Gores spent the next month in the hospital with Albert. Gore also commented:
"Our lives were consumed with the struggle to restore his body and spirit." This event was "a trauma so shattering that [Gore] views it as a moment of personal rebirth" and a "key moment in his life" which "changed everything."

In August 1991, Gore announced that his son's accident had "left a deep impression on our family" and that it was a factor in his decision not to run for president during the 1992 presidential election. Gore stated:

"I would like to be President [...] But I am also a father, and I feel deeply about my responsibility to my children [...] I didn't feel right about tearing myself away from my family to the extent that is necessary in a Presidential campaign."

During this time, Gore wrote Earth in the Balance, which became the first book written by a sitting U.S. Senator to make the New York Times bestseller list since John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. He also actually wrote his book, something that a lot of people say JFK didn't.

However, Gore did accept Bill Clintons offer to be his VP candidate, due to his clashes with the 1st Bush Administrations lack of action on global warming. Clinton stated that he chose Gore due to his foreign policy experience, work with the environment, and commitment to his family. It was a sort of unconventional VP pick, since Gore was also a young Southerner who didn't add any age or geographical balance to the ticket. They were the youngest Presidential ticket in history.

Washington Bureau Chief for The Baltimore Sun, Paul West, later suggested that:

"Al Gore revolutionized the way vice presidents are made. When he joined Bill Clinton's ticket, it violated the old rules. Regional diversity? Not with two Southerners from neighboring states. Ideological balance? A couple of left-of-center moderates. [...] And yet, Gore has come to be regarded by strategists in both parties as the best vice presidential pick in at least 20 years."

Gore crushed Quayle and Admiral James Stockdale in the VP Debate and he and Clinton went on to win the election. Gore became a very powerful and influential VP, working on issues such as the environment (of course), government corruption, and technology.

At the beginning of the first term in 1992, Clinton and Gore developed a "two-page agreement outlining their relationship." Clinton committed himself to regular lunch meetings, recognized Gore as a principal adviser on nominations, and appointed some of Gore's chief advisers to key White House staff positions. Clinton involved Gore in decision-making to an unprecedented degree for a vice president. Through their weekly lunches and daily conversations, Gore became the president's "indisputable chief adviser."

There were bumps in the road though. Gore was criticized for attending an event at a Buddhist temple that turned out to be a fund-raiser. In March 1997, Gore had to explain phone calls which he made to solicit funds for the Democratic Party for the 1996 election.[91] In a news conference, Gore stated that:

"all calls that I made were charged to the Democratic National Committee. I was advised there was nothing wrong with that. My counsel tells me there is no controlling legal authority that says that is any violation of any law."

But the biggest divide between Clinton and Gore was the Monica Lewinsky scandal. We all know the sordid details about that. Gore defended Clinton at the beginning, whom he believed to be innocent, stating:

"He is the President of the country! He is my friend. I want to ask you now, every single one of you, to join me in supporting him."

The truth was though, that Clinton had cheated on his wife in the Oval Office with Lewinsky. Its still something that just really blows (no pun intended) my mind.

After Clinton was impeached Gore continued to defend him stating:
"I've defined my job in exactly the same way for six years now [...] to do everything I can to help him be the best president possible."

But privately he was extremely disappointed in Clinton and worried about how it would effect his own run for the Presidency in 2000. Around this time Gore gave an interview with Wolf Blitzer where he said:

"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system."

Gores opponents used this quote against him, claiming he said he "invented the Internet". This urban legend exploded and was fodder for comedians and Republicans across the country. It didn't matter that computer professionals and congressional colleagues argued in his defense. Internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn stated that:

"We don't think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he 'invented' the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet."

Even his old Congressional colleague and leader of the "Republican Revolution" Newt Gingrich defended him saying:

"In all fairness, it's something Gore had worked on a long time. Gore is not the Father of the Internet, but in all fairness, Gore is the person who, in the Congress, most systematically worked to make sure that we got to an Internet, and the truth is -- and I worked with him starting in 1978 when I got [to Congress], we were both part of a "futures group" -- the fact is, in the Clinton administration, the world we had talked about in the '80s began to actually happen."

So if we can all please stop with the "He invented the internet" jokes, I for one would really appreciate it. Enoughs enough with that old joke. Its not funny and its not accurate. Even Newt Gingrich says so Republicans. Get some new material everyone.


Gore announced his candidacy for President, and won the Democratic primaries against Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey. Gore made some VP history by choosing Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut as his vice presidential running mate-the first Jewish American on a Presidential ticket. The election was extremely tight, polls showed different numbers every day.

Finally it all came down to Florida on election day and night, and we all know what happened then. Weeks later the results of the decision led to Gore winning the popular vote by approximately 500,000 votes nationwide, but receiving 266 electoral votes to Bush's 271 (one District of Columbia elector abstained). On December 13, 2000, Gore conceded the election. Gore strongly disagreed with the Court's decision, but in his concession speech stated that:

"for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession."

In 2006 with the release of "An Inconvenient Truth", and his appearances across the country and in the media like Saturday Night Live and the creation of his network CURRENT TV, plus the fury over the Bush Administrations policies, Gore was probably the most popular ex-VP in history.

The director of the film, Davis Guggenheim, stated that after the release of the film:

"Everywhere I go with him, they treat him like a rock star."

At the Oscar ceremony, he pulled a fantastic prank, making it seem like he was about to announce his candidacy for President, but just as he was about to do so, was "played off" by the orchestra. Even though Gore was polling as high as second and third even without campaigning in Democratic and popular polls, he firmly refused to run again. Gore has continued to work on behalf of the environment and other issues he is passionate about. All while still helping to run his TV network.

Gore is definitely a historic VP in many ways. He followed the lead of Walter Mondale and was a VP with power and influence, but also like Mondale, he lost his bid for the White House and it seems that he will never be President. One can only wonder what a Gore Presidency during the years of the "War on Terror" would have been like. How would he have responded to 9/11? Would we have invaded Iraq? Would Saddam Hussein still be alive? Will revisionist historical novels come out about this, in the same vein of the "What if the Confederacy had won the Civil War?" fantasy history novels? We'll never really know.

However, we can say this: if any of you readers have an "In", we'd love to interview Vice-President Gore for our film! Just his presence in it for a few minutes would probably guarantee us funding and a release. We really want to interview him. I personally think it'd be a fascinating interview, and Gore seems to have a good sense of humor about himself: witness his appearance on SNL-especially the filmed segment on the set of "The West Wing" which is one of the funniest bits I have seen in a long time. So why not write to him at Current and tell him to grant us an interview? Here's his website:

www.algore.com

Join us in saying: HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICE-PRESIDENT GORE!

Thanks for reading.

Matt Saxe.

Joe Drops Some Real

In case you haven't heard, on Monday, Joe Biden, right after introducing President Obama and lauding the passage of health care reform bill, turned to the President and said the following, perhaps historic, phrase:

"This is a big fucking deal."

Okay, this might not be the kind of folksiness we're used to, but Joe put a point on it, and Obama was none the worse for it. Let's try and take a step back from what happened and get around all of the small-minded mentions of this, calling the VP things like vulgar and stupid, and look at what it means to us as a nation.

Nothing.

We all swear. If you don't swear, fine, but you need to accept that most of us do. That said, most of us don't - and can't - do it on the job. That said, Biden is always on the job, and he was whispering to Obama like he would a good pal. That's right, the Vice President and President seem to be pals. What does that mean?

A lot.

Presidents, historically, either come from the Vice Presidency - at which point they pity the VP from experience or because they know what an arbitrary choice he was - or downright hate the VP, as he's normally not their choice. Go back to Rutherford B. Hayes who said, after William Wheeler was chosen as VP:

"Who is Wheeler?"

That statement gives me less faith in the system. Biden dropping the big one, though, doesn't, and is just a further indication that the VP is part of the system, rather than just a talking head. Sure, Obama looked a little put off by the remark, but that didn't sway him. I have a feeling he's used to this kind of talk, and that Biden is probably something of a cheerleader behind the scenes, as well. Call that what you will, but Biden's too-loud utterance of an "obscenity" is nothing more than a little too much volume.

I just hope this didn't run on any major networks like that. Then the FCC would have to fine him a year's pay.

Also, in case you weren't paying attention to... well, the news, in the last couple of weeks, Joe took a trip to Israel... Okay, that's an understatement. Joe made actual history this month.

Biden, who has a long-standing friendship with Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, came to Israel to announce support for Israel against Iran's nuclear ambitions on the condition that Israel start negotiating the placements of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Then, not long after Biden's arrival, came the news that Israeli officials were planning to build in East Jerusalem, one of the most hotly fought-over pieces of land in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Biden made history simply by making an example of this attempt to "embarrass" Biden, as Newsweek put it.

“Yesterday the decision by the Israeli government to advance planning for new housing units in east Jerusalem undermined that very trust, the trust that we need right now in order to begin as well as have profitable negotiations. That is why I immediately condemned the action.”

And he said this all while standing next to Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority. He used the word "condemn," and against Israel. This is not only a show of American power by a VP, as it was intended to be, but it was also a warning shot, diplomacy-wise. Whoever's choice it was to use the words that Biden spoke, the fact that he spoke them was truly powerful for a VP, just as much as it was for an American Administration in danger of looking weak. While they were there to, essentially, threaten Iran, they took Israel to task for breaking a deal.

America has a long history of supporting Israel, regardless of their position in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Israeli offense often equals or exceeds that of Palestine, and perhaps a shake-up like this can cause a necessary re-assessment of priorities when it comes to intervention in foreign policy and conflict. As many perhapses as that might be, what is clear is that Biden is becoming a VP with power.

- Jason C. Klamm

Happy Birthday Schuyler Colfax!

"A friendly rascal...a little intriguer -- plausible, aspiring beyond his capacity, and not trustworthy."
Abraham Lincoln giving his opinion of then Speaker of the House and future VP Schuyler Colfax.

Hey Vice-Precedence Blog Readers!

Yesterday was the birthday of a VP who left office under a cloud of scandal and disgrace.

On March 23, 1823 Schuyler Colfax was born in New York, NY.

Colfax came from a family with a strong tradition of service to the country, even before it was a country. His grandfather was the commander of George Washingtons Life Guards--Washingtons personal bodyguards charged with protecting him and important papers of the Continental Army.

Colfax made a steady rise from 19 year old newspaper editor, to member of the Whig Party, to member of Congress, switched to the new Republican Party, to election as Speaker of the House where he announced the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment-officially abolishing slavery, to Vice-President under Ulysses S. Grant. He was very popular among his fellow politicians and was always ready with a laugh and a joke-leading to his nickname: "Smiler".

Besides jokes, Colfax had a penchant for intrigue, scandal, and greed. He was tapped to be VP under Grant because he was popular with his fellow Republicans and experienced in politics-unlike the former failed shopkeeper turned national hero Grant.

He was forced out of the Vice-Presidency when he exposed as having taken part in the Credit Mobilier Scandal and was nearly impeached. He was replaced by Henry Wilson in the second Grant Administration, who was completely free of any scandal.

Colfax made his living after the Vice-Presidency as a lecturer, speaking across the country. On January 13, 1885, at the age of 63 he walked almost a mile in negative 30˚F weather from the Front Street depot to the Omaha depot in Mankato, Minnesota. He had to change trains in Mankato to reach Rock Rapids, Iowa, for a speaking engagement. Five minutes after arriving at the depot, Colfax dropped dead of a heart attack brought on by the extreme cold and exhaustion.

The city of Mankato (a couple hours from where I live in Minneapolis now) set up a marker where the former VP died in its Washington Park on the site of the former depot. Its probably the most historic thing to ever happen in the small town. There are also 7 cities in 7 different states across the country named for the former VP. Why? I mean, he was forced to resign in disgrace but 7 towns named their cities after him? We're all in favor of recognizing our VP's here at Vice-Precedence, but even we'll admit that Schuyler Colfax is a weird one to choose.

Most strangely of all, Colfax died trying to catch a train, so naturally the town of Colfax, CA. had a bronze statue of Colfax placed next to their AMTRAK station. You can see it here on the blog.

I'm sure he would be pleased.

In any case-HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCHUYLER COLFAX!

Happy Birthday John C. Calhoun

"He is the much the ablest man in the Senate. He could have demolished Newton, Calvin, or even John Locke as a logician."
Daniel Webster on John C. Calhoun

"Posterity will condemn me more because I was persuaded not to hang John C. Calhoun as a traitor than for any other act in my life."
President Andrew Jackson lamenting about not having his own VP executed. I guess he wasn't thinking about all the horrible things he did to Native Americans..or else he didn't care.

Today is the birthday of a man listed as one of the "Five Greatest Senators in U.S. History" as named by a Senate committee in 1957 presided over by John F. Kennedy. John C. Calhoun was described by a contemporary as:
"The cast-iron man. Who looks as if he had never been born, and never could be extinguished."

In "Profiles in Courage" JFK described him as a man with a mind that was:
"cold, narrow, concentrated, and powerful...Strangely enough, although he had the appearance, especially in his later days, of a fanatic, he was a man of infinite charm and personality. He was reputed to be the best conversationalist in South Carolina, and he won to him through their emotions men who failed to comprehend his closely reasoned arguments."

Being VP was just another little thing on the list of accomplishments of this extraordinary figure in American history.

He was a graduate of Yale, as a state representative wrote legislation making South Carolina the first state to adopt universal suffrage (for white men anyway), elected a member of the House of Representatives from his beloved South Carolina when he was just 29, served as both Secretary of State and Secretary of War, and was the most prominent Senator of the south for almost 20 years. And of course, he was VP. In fact, he happened to be a VP surrounded by interesting and ridiculous events, and a historic VP in many ways.

He was Vice-President under John Quincy Adams, and again elected VP in the next election under the new President, Andrew Jackson. Only VP George Clinton shares that distinction.

While VP under Jackson, his wife (and first-cousin once removed) Floride was the ringleader in the ridiculous "Petticoat Affair" where she organized the wives of Cabinet members to shun and ostracize "Pothouse" Peggy Eaton a former bar-maid who married Secretary of War John Eaton. They alleged that John and Peggy Eaton had engaged in an adulterous affair while Mrs. Eaton was still legally married to her first husband John B. Timberlake. The scandal resulted in the resignation of all but two of Jackson's Cabinet members. Talk about Girl Power. Calhoun told Jackson it was pointless to try to argue with his wife about an issue like this (she was very sensitive, conservative and genteel) but President Jackson was desperate to settle this affair and stop the laughs of many around the country over the whole affair. So he decided to pay Floride a formal visit. When President Jackson went to visit Floride and tried convince her to ease up on this and accept Mrs. Eaton, Floride listened to him politely and then turned to her butler and said:

"Show this gentleman to the door."

Ouch.

Finally, in 1830 when South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union over issues of high tariffs during the "Nullification Crisis" the issues between Jackson and Calhoun came to a head. During the crisis at the 1830 Jefferson Day dinner at Jesse Brown's Indian Queen Hotel, Calhoun proposed in front of many prominent Southerners that the President give a toast to which President Jackson raised his glass and while staring daggers at his VP said:

"Our federal Union, it must be preserved."

Calhoun kept his glass raised and cooly replied:
"The Union, next to our liberty, the most dear."

When Jackson found out that while Secretary of War Calhoun had wanted President Monroe to censure him for his invasion of Florida, the President was furious. All of these issues led Calhoun to be the first person to ever resign the Vice-Presidency.

He followed up his service as VP as a Senator from South Carolina, taking part in all the huge debates of the day over expansion and slavery. It is during this time that he cemented his legend as an incredible Senator. Calhouns legacy of support for states rights, slavery and agrarian republicanism lived long after his death in 1850, inspiring many men to later resign their House and Senate seats and help their states secede from the Union and join the Confederacy.

A legendary and amazing figure in American history, join us here at Vice-Precedence as we say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN C. CALHOUN!

Thanks for reading!

Matt Saxe

The Curse of Burr? & Liz Cheney VS. "The Daily Show"

Hey Vice-Precedence Readers!

Well, last week on Monday night, PBS aired the new American Experience special, "DOLLEY MADISON" about the woman who basically created the role of the First Lady. She was the first Presidents wife to have a charity she worked for, and was the premiere hostess in our brand new Nations Capital. Her amazing parties not only introduced ice-cream to the American public (Thank you so much for that Dolley!) but truly helped to ease partisan violence in an era where men would fight duels or engage in brawls on the Congressional floor over issues. It made todays partisan bickering look like a fight between pre-schoolers. At her parties members from opposing political parties could (and were sometimes practically forced) to be civil to one another and discuss things rationally over fine food and wine with Dolley making sure everything stayed friendly.

Born before the Revolution, she met Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and other heroes of the Revolution and lived into the era of the railroads and photography. Of course, what she is most famous for is saving the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Gilbert Stuarts now legendary painting of George Washington from the British Army when they captured Washington D.C. during the War of 1812 and destroyed the White House.

However, another famous story about Dolley Madison is how she was introduced to James Madison. At the time, Dolley was considered one of the most eligible women in Philadelphia--she was a young, attractive widow who turned heads everywhere she went. One day, Congressman James Madison--"The Father of the Constitution"--saw her as he was out walking and found her amazingly attractive. He asked a friend of his, who happened to be staying at the boarding house Dolley worked at and knew her well, to introduce him to her. That friend was Aaron Burr. Yes, the Aaron Burr who if you read this blog you should know by now. Burr was more than happy to introduce Congressman Madison to Dolley and the rest as they say is history. Even after Burr killed Hamilton in their famous duel and was basically shunned and discarded by President Jefferson (Madisons other best friend and key political ally) Dolley always was grateful to Burr for helping to get her together with Madison. However, in the special on American Experience, while Burr was mentioned--he was not shown onscreen at all. Also, in the multiple Emmy and SAG Award winning HBO series "JOHN ADAMS" starring Paul Giammatti and Laura Linney, Burr is mentioned twice but like in "DOLLEY MADISON" he is not shown at all.

Despite the exclusion of Burr I will say that the special starring Tony Award nominee Eve Best and Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays (who had played Madison before for a PBS series) was excellent. I really enjoyed it and if you're someone like us here at Vice-Precedence, I think you will enjoy it as well. Its great to get a different view of history -- in this case-- an extraordinary womans point of view. I highly recommend both it and JOHN ADAMS as well.

At the same time that Monday night on NBC "Law and Order" was on guest starring Debra Winger as a high school principal who was a little too close to her students at what is called "one of the worst schools in the city". Throughout the episode characters talk about how horrible this school is, how violent, how bad the students are, how dangerous it is, how it should and probably will be torn down and its students dispersed to other schools. The students there are suspects in the murder of a student at another school who they not only beat up, but light on fire while he's still alive. Nice kids huh? The name of this school? Why Aaron Burr High of course! Whats up with that?! I just thought it was interesting that Burr was mentioned on two completely different shows airing at the same time. How often does something like that happen?

It all made me think of a sort of theory that Jason came up with that he called "The Curse of Burr". "The Curse of Burr" is that since Burr was the first VP never to become President and was forced out of the office by his President, and his tie with Jefferson in the election of 1800 led to the creation of the 12th Amendment, that he changed the office of the Vice-President by being the odd man out and damned many of his followers in the Vice-Presidency to lives of obscurity.

In adding to this theory, its interesting to note that after Burr, practically all the VP's who became President only ascended to the office because of a national tragedy -- i.e. the death of the President. A few VP's got elected President on their own -- like Martin Van Buren and George H.W. Bush, but most didn't become President at all or lost in their elections for President, like Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Al Gore.

It seemed with Burr's exclusion on "DOLLEY MADISON" and the fact that the high school named after him on "LAW & ORDER" is a gangsters paradise ghetto dump that "The Curse of Burr" lives on in a different way. When one thinks of Aaron Burr, all most people think is "killer" and so using his name is a good way to make a place sort of dangerous sounding -- like they did on "L&O", meanwhile, if his name has to be brought up like in "DOLLEY MADISON" or "JOHN ADAMS", its better to just say it really quickly and move on. Aside from specials on Hamilton or Burr himself he's practically ignored. The "Curse" in action? Perhaps.

Also, apparently on tonights "Daily Show" on Comedy Central, there will be some discussion about Liz Cheney. Comedy Central is advertising the show as having earned the "Dick Cheney Scowl of Approval". Could be some interesting viewing.

Thanks for reading everyone.

Cheney-Five and Still Alive!

Hey Vice-Precedence Blog Readers.

Well, it was definitely a heart attack that former VP Richard "Dick" Cheney had last week. Making it number five for those of you who are counting. This fifth one was a mild one and he was released from George Washington University Hospital last week.

Both President Obama and VP Biden called Cheney while he was in the hospital to wish him a speedy recovery. On "FOX News Sunday" his daughter Liz Cheney said that her fathers five heart attacks over the last 32 years show that a person with coronary disease can live a fulfilling and even stressful life despite it. She said it's important to be on the look out for any signs of the disease.

The former VP is expected to get back to his regular schedule soon.

Whenever news breaks on the VP front, be sure to come here first and post comments or questions you'd like us to address here or on the Facebook page. We'll see comments on the Facebook page faster than ones here. Be sure to spread the word about Vice-Precedence to your friends and family. Thanks for your support!

Matt Saxe