The first important decision that a presidential candidate makes is his or her choice of a running mate. Today’s page looks at a few notable vice presidents who went on to take the top spot, and this election’s candidates.
Historically, the vice presidency has been a back-burner position. Even so, the post is important because the person who holds it must be ready to take charge should the president not be able to do so.
John Adams, who had served two terms as George Washington’s VP said, “My country has, in its wisdom, contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.”
Teddy Roosevelt got the job in 1901 after William McKinley was assassinated. He went on to become one of our greatest presidents, and, at 42, the youngest.
As vice president, Harry S. Truman barely saw President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But in 1945, after FDR’s sudden death, Truman found himself making tough decisions during World War II, including the use of the atomic bomb, which would end the war. He said of his ascension to presidency, “I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me.”
Lyndon Baines Johnson took over after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. There were riots in the streets, and the country was at war in Vietnam. In 1964, during one of the nation’s most turbulent periods, LBJ signed into law the important Civil Rights Act, which Kennedy had started.
Dwight Eisenhower’s VP, Richard Nixon, elevated the job to a new level of importance, visiting more than 54 countries and meeting world leaders such as Russia’s premiere, Nikita Khrushchev. The foreign-policy experience served him well when he became president in 1968. But Nixon was replaced by his own vice president, Gerald Ford, after resigning in disgrace in 1974 during the Watergate scandal.
This year, after a tough race against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democratic nominee Barack Obama chose Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate.
Subsequently, Republican nominee John McCain chose Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, marking the first time a woman has been chosen for the top ticket by the GOP.
Here’s a brief look at the two vice presidential candidates:
Sen. Joseph Biden, 66, has been Delaware’s senator since 1972. He has a strong reputation on matters of foreign policy, and is an influential voice on the subjects of terrorism and crime. Biden supports farming, his state’s biggest industry. He has also fought to preserve miles of the state’s coastline and is an advocate of health care for all of the state’s children. Biden supports a bipartisan foreign policy, which means that both the Democratic and Republican parties should agree.
Biden lives in New Castle, Del., with his wife Jill. The couple has three children, Beau, Hunter and Ashley.
Even before her VP nomination, Sarah Palin made history as the first female governor of Alaska, taking office in 2006. Her office has focused on developing the state’s resources, education and development. She has guided through passage two significant pieces of legislation: an overhaul of Alaska’s ethics laws and a competitive plan to construct a gas pipeline. Prior to her governorship, she served as the mayor of Wasilla, decreasing property-tax levels and drawing new businesses into the town.
Palin, 44, is married to Todd Palin, and the couple has five children: Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.
ELA 1c, 3c, 3d, 5a
Social Studies 1 and 3
ACTIVITIES
Use the Internet or other reference source to learn more about the office of the vice president and the candidates for the upcoming election.
If you were choosing a vice president, whom would you choose and why? What qualities would you look for?
Do you like the vice-presidential candidates for this election? If not, whom do you think should have been chosen? Discuss this with your classmates.
Use a map or globe to locate the states of Delaware and Alaska.