This will be our last discussion. I have shortened it somewhat from what I said on the assignment page and I am dropping the last discussion for the last chapter because doing the mastery questions on that chapter is enough for one day -- and I know that you are tired. So here is the Chapter 10 discussion question: In your opinion, who was the best Vice President in history. Explain and justify your answer. It is far too early to make a case for Biden!
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About the only knowledge i have as far as Vice Presidents go is from the text. Based on what the text haad to say, I think Al Gore was the best Vice President in history. It mentions that really not until recently that we have had effective V.P.'s and of those Gore seemed to be most effective. He was independent in that he was seen as a force in the administration by White House staffers and the cabinet. I would suspect that he was a cheer leader of sorts up until he began his own quest for Presidency. Also, Clinton utilized Gore's skills in certain areas which in turn brought credit to both Gore and Clinton. If in later years the Clinton Presidency is seen as successful, which I believe it will be, Gore will be viewed as probably one of the best V.P.'s in US history as he played a large role in the administration.--Adam Wise
ReplyDeleteVice presidents are probably best described as a rodeo clown, as John Stewart so elegantly put, and a cheerleader for the president. Other than being head of the Senate, the V.P.'s job is to simply promote policy and decisions of the President and deflect negative media attention. I would say the best promoter in history was Gore, he had enough political influence to promote policies and sway opinions. The best deflector award would have to go to Cheney. If Bush didn't have Cheney there to forget information or create new Executive privileges to keep information from being leaked, who knows how much lower his approval ratings would have dropped. Dick went to great lengths in protecting and promoting his, i mean Bush's policies. And when Bush continued to receive negative media and public attention, Cheney was always there to back G W up, even if it meant having someone take a bullet for him...
ReplyDeleteAdamson
I think Al Gore would have to be my choice. The text describes him as someone who was skilled in both domestic and foreign policy areas. Also, Gore was seen as one of Clinton's most valued advisors,however, wasn't afraid to stand up and voice his opinions to the president. I think that if the characteristics the text sets forth truly make a great vice-president then Al Gore is as close as any of them have come.
ReplyDelete-Heath Wheat
It is a little difficult to distinguish who the best vice president was simply because I think the vice president and president need to compliment one another. What the president does not know, the vice president should have knowledge of and vice versa. Al Gore had a ton of experience and knowledge and nearly became president himself but was edged out by George Bush a few years ago. The case has been made for him on several occasions already, so I will go with Dick Cheney as my choice. Not only did he compliment George W. Bush well, he seemed to his backbone. Many agree that Cheney played a big part in many of George W. Bush's decisions during his tenure in the White House. I think that without Cheney, Bush wouldn't have done as well as he did in the areas he marked high in. Cheney played a big role behind the scenes, and was underappreciated among the public in my opinion.
ReplyDelete-Michael Baltzegar
I believe that John Adams is the best vice president in history. He was our first vice president and an influential founding father. He had a hand in the calling for and forming the Declaration of Independance. He had part in the forming of the government that we recognize and use still today. Also, he listened to his wife Abagail and valued her intellegnce and her opinions and took her advice which was unheard of in that era.
ReplyDeleteKemberly Merritt
ReplyDeleteAPLS 493
Jimmy Carter was the best Vice President, because he eventually became President. According to the book many Vice Presidents were not President. I think that is a great accomplishment for Jimmy Carter. Carter was exceedingly loyal and preferred harmony above all virtues. Carter wanted to make thing work better. Carter and Mondale kept a positive relationship. I think the best First Lady would Hillary Clinton although she is not like by many. As a First Lady she endured a lot of embarrassment of her husband’s affair. She was more involved in her husband Presidency. As previous First Lady Hillary Clinton is still striving for the United States of America.
I feel Al Gore was a more competent vice president out of the rest. While it seemed like he stood in the shadow of the President while he was in office, he actually was very active. Gore heavily supported technology and science. He helped the economy out with the Atari Democrat movement, a technology boom back in the late 1990's-early 2000's. He was always involved in organizations that promoted the economy, which was his and Clinton's initial plan altogether when going into office. Without Gore's already-known political experience, Clinton's presidency wouldn't have succeeded as well as it did.
ReplyDeleteKaLa Roberts
Kemberly, Jimmy Carter was never Vice President! But I would agree that Walter Mondale, Carter's VP, was an excellent choice. He was the first to really be at the same level in the White House with an office there and daily meetings with the President in history. And Carter certainly did need help from a Washington insider (Mondale had been in the Senate), because Carter had no Washington experience. Reagan used GHW Bush the same way, to both their credits.
ReplyDeleteCheney is an interesting choice and a good one in the sense that he was probably the most powerful and assertive VP in history. I think the text misses the extent to which Cheney influenced and pushed the president. But we need a few more biographies to be written before we can start to reach a more definite conclusion on him. He was the first Vp to issue his own "amicus curiae" brief on a Supreme Court case. And it differed with the position of the White House. This was on the DC Handgun case, and Cheney said he could do this because he was doing it as a member of the legislative branch, not the executive branch.
Adams was almost certainly a more effective Vp than he was a president! His helping to create the Federalist Party while VP is certainly noteworthy.
I am not sure Gore was as effective as some of you think. Again, some more historical perspective is needed. He lost in trying to influence Clinton to do more on the environment and failed to get credit for being associated with the Clinton prosperity when he ran. He also overstated his influence on things, like supporting the creation of the Internet, and this cost him some credibility. I see him as a kind of parallel to Jimmy Carter, who is the best EX-president we have ever had. Gore is the best EX-VP we have ever had, in my view. How many former VP's win a Nobel Prize. He has been more effective in promoting action on climate change since leaving government.
So I guess I would give it to Mondale, for helping to invent the modern vice presidency, a model that most have followed since then.
Bob B