Campaign Health
How much do we care about how healthy the president is?
Do you think it’s possible in 2024 to run for president and not do many interviews or campaigns as much? Last night, President Biden tried to show the country that he was up to the task of interviewing and campaigning because the days of not doing either are long behind us.
As I mentioned on Monday, we live in an attention-centric society. This has good and bad effects when running for office. The good is that bad news doesn’t last. The bad is that you can brand yourself negatively if too many bad things pile up.
The 2024 presidential election is focused on the two candidates' negative traits. The president is old, while the former president is a liar. And yes, I’m an ageist when it comes to driving and holding office.
One thing is for sure: as a voter, you have the power to shape the political landscape. You will never be able to shame anyone into doing something you think is right. If you have been a supporter of Donald Trump, there’s pretty much nothing anyone can do to change your mind. You know he’s a liar, and you accept it. Lying isn’t a dealbreaker in your political landscape.
If you support President Biden, you must realize that no one should be president at this age. Before you list all of the wonderful things his administration has done, I already agree with you. But the word administration here is critical. There are leagues of people helping shape policy and executing it.
But you cannot ignore the fact that Biden does not move well. I cringe when I see him. I watched about two minutes of the debate, and that was it for me; you can’t have someone who is capable of blowing up the world with his words and be incapable of finishing sentences. So you accept his deficiencies, and his age is not a dealbreaker.
Trump didn’t participate in any debate in the Republican primaries, and Biden didn’t do a live interview during the Super Bowl halftime. Both candidates are working hard to control their image and exposure.
We rank the next two elections on the ideas of limiting campaigning and hiding your health from the public. The winners were able to control their image and exposure.
Let's dive in.
21: The Presidential Election of 1916
Election Date: November 7, 1916
The Candidates:
President Woodrow Wilson was the winner of the 1912 election, which also served as a dispute between two former friends, William Taft, and Teddy Roosevelt.
Speaking of Teddy, he still had a strong desire to run again. Eventually, he fell in line and backed former Associate Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes, whom I thought was okay when I wrote about him years ago.
Major Issue of the Day:
Word War I and America’s position.
The Winner:
Secrecy.
Wilson’s wife Ellen died in the summer of 1914, and by 1915, Wilson got hitched to Edith Galt. There was plenty of speculation about what Wilson was doing while his wife was dying. In a strange twist of fate, a large part of Wilson’s legacy is speculation on what his second wife did while the president was dying.
The States in the Electoral College:
48. There was no Hawaii or Alaska. Washington, DC, didn’t have a vote either.
The Electoral College had 531 members, and the winner needed 266 votes.
This was a competitive race, with Wilson beating Hughes by 500,000 votes and 23 electoral votes. Wilson lost ten states from the previous election, while Hughes picked up seven that Taft and Roosevelt won in 1912. Strangely, Wilson was able to flip Utah, who voted for Taft. He also was the first Democrat to win consecutive terms since Andrew Jackson.
Wilson did this without campaigning. He chose not to debate, rarely made public addresses, and coasted to victory. Years later, into his second term, Wilson campaigned all over the country when the 19th Amendment needed ratification. When he returned to Washington, he suffered a stroke, so maybe he knew something.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
Wilson is just outside the top ten. If you like the income tax system, you can thank Wilson.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
I rank Wilson pretty high and ranked his first election at 50. So, I needed to balance it out.
We can see President Biden on television every day, which means we see his movement and when he speaks. The power of viewing something like this is mighty.
But what if we didn’t know anything about the president’s health? Should it matter?
Let’s dive in.
20: The Presidential Election of 1944
Election Date: November 7, 1944
The Candidates:
At this point, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been living in the White House for eleven years. People began to wonder if he would ever move out.
I imagine he said, over my dead body, which turned out to be accurate since after winning for the fourth time, Roosevelt died a year later.
The Republicans nominated New York Governor Thomas Dewey, who was young, healthier, and didn’t mind moving out of places occasionally.
Major Issue of the Day:
World War II.
The Winner:
Comfort.
Americans tend not to vote out the sitting president during a war. Despite Roosevelt's poor health, he decided only he could see the country through this challenging time. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
The public knew nothing of Roosevelt’s condition. Was it wise for Roosevelt’s aides and supporters to continue to push him to run again?
Dewey tried as best he could to avoid the topic of Roosevelt’s health, which cost him the chance to have the movers pack up his stuff and drive it down to Washington.
The States in the Electoral College:
48. Just like it was in 1916.
The Electoral College had 531 members, and the winner needed 266 votes.
FDR pounded Dewey by three million votes, 24 states, and an electoral college final of 432 to 99. I will always wonder if the public knew about FDR’s condition, would they have continued to vote for him, let alone in large margins.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
FDR is a top three president. He wasn’t perfect, but he was pretty okay.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
The choice of Vice President is critical. I have a friend who consistently tells me no one votes for the number two person on the ticket. I just disagree. Biden’s choice of Kalama Harris is either a brilliant move or a disaster.
FDR did a pretty good job choosing Truman in 1944, so it’s a top-20 election for me.
Okay, friends, Anonymous and I head off for family beach week this weekend. As soon as we arrive in Delaware and I see the Atlantic Ocean, I’m walking straight in and will not leave for a few days. I need the break. Don’t worry; I have content lined up for next week!
Also, for those of you who remember Blue’s battle with cancer last fall, he is dealing with another round of pain. He has another growth on his paw that became infected; then, after taking off the cone when giving him a walk, he scratched his eye. So he is pretty miserable—our poor boy.
Have a great week. 2024 is halfway over, and there are about 115 days until the election. It’s going to be quite a time in history. Thanks for your support.
Okay,
Chris
In 1944 stopping the fascists was more important than having a healthy president. Eighty years later it is still the same. And Joe Biden is way healthier than Roosevelt was then and he is twenty years older.