Wrong Path Guys
Being on a path can go two ways. We rank two vice presidents who chose the wrong one.
“Path” is one of my favorite words. It’s a strong and commanding phrase.
Most four-letter words are. Here are a few – top of the head examples:
Stop
Goal
Roar
Or how about this one:
Dake
Path is also visual. You can close your eyes right now and imagine what a path looks like. It can be a smooth, long highway that drifts into the distant mountain range, or it can be uneven, where you need to climb over rocks to reach that mountain top.
When I was courting Anonymous many years ago, I was smart enough to know right away that I needed to marry her. Enough of this dating nonsense, I needed to get on the path to matrimony. I didn’t care if it was a smooth ride or a rocky one; I was going to get it done.
Anonymous, on the other hand, took her time with me and our relationship. Even though I knew she felt the same toward me as I did for her, after two years of dating, I asked her whether getting married was in the future, and her usual response was :
“We are on that path.”
It was a reassuring answer. A path takes you places, such as the house your wife picks out that you will live in. What is marriage other than two people sharing life’s path together? Fortunately, after four years, four months, and four days of dating, we finally got engaged and have been on the path to happiness ever since.
But not all paths lead to happy destinations. Sometimes, you can find yourself going down the wrong path, like all the guys Anonymous dated before me. These dudes were “Wrong Path Guys” (WPG). I don’t know any of them at all, thank goodness, but I imagine they all lacked the gifted traits I possess, like a great set of hair and a healthy dose of humility.
It’s a good thing I helped Anonymous get off the WPG loop she was in before May 2017.
Wish we could say the same thing concerning our country back around the Civil War.
In our next edition of ranking the vice presidents of the United States, we are going to take a quick look at two WPG that tried to steer the United States off the path to prosperity and into something that wasn’t free and equal.
44: John Breckinridge
14th Vice President
Term – March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861
Presidential Administration: James Buchanan (Okay History 2021 Presidential Ranking: 43)
The Good:
I’m finding it hilariously frustrating to figure out what to put in these “good” sections for a position that does nothing, while on top of that, when the job is occupied by someone who was also terrible in so many ways. But, trying to be a more positive thinker, I will say the good Breckinridge did was to show young people that it is possible to fail forward. John is the youngest vice president in our history, assuming the second position under Buchanan at age 35. And there is a part of me that thinks that is a good thing. At 35, I was still six years away from meeting Anonymous, and she was stuck with her WPG.
The Bad:
There isn’t anything he did as vice president that stood out, and he was wildly popular back in his home state of Kentucky. Not giving away the ending, but after leaving the vice presidency, Breckinridge was elected to the United States Senate by the good people of Kentucky. He responded with that kindness, encouraging the state to break from the Union. When he failed to do that, he traveled down to Virginia and offered his services to the Confederacy, which were accepted. This is when Breckinridge earned another distinction – the highest federal office holder to turn traitor. He is a first-rate WPG.
Did he become president?
He did not. He did run in 1860, along with 40 other people. That divided ballot allowed Abraham Lincoln to win. I think this might have been a good thing?
Why did I rank him here?
He probably should be a few spots higher, but I forgot about him when I first was putting the list together, mostly because I forgot about the Buchanan presidency. In my defense, 44 is still pretty bad.
43: Andrew Johnson
16th Vice President
Term – March 4, 1865 – April 15, 1865
Presidential Administration: Abraham Lincoln’s second term (Okay History 2021 Presidential Ranking: Numero Uno)
The Good:
I will always respect the fact that Andrew Johnson held firm to the Union and the Constitution of the United States in the face of increased disdain to both from his home state of Tennessee. To put this into perspective, Johnson is from East Tennessee, where Unionists outnumbered those who preferred the way of life the Confederacy was offering in 1860. In fact, the first vote of secession failed. Then they took a revote, and it passed. My father’s side of the family was also from East Tennessee, but it appears they went straight to the bad side right from the beginning. But Johnson held firm on the right path.
The Bad:
I’m not someone who knocks on people who like to drink. As someone who enjoys a good cocktail or simply a few beers, I try not to sit in judgment of others who may be fighting to keep their lives together despite the power that alcohol has over them. But Andrew Johnson was a drinker. When you are known as a “drinker,” it’s very hard to shake that off, unless you come out adamantly in words and deeds that you do not imbibe. Johnson didn’t do that. And in fact, just the opposite, as he had such a problem with drinking that he was hungover for his inauguration on March 4, 1865.
Did he become president?
Unfortunately, Andrew Johnson became the 17th president of the United States. Johnson was a Democrat and ran with Lincoln on the National Union Party ticket in 1864, and defeated the ineffective Union General and Democratic candidate, George McClellan. Of course, Johnson and Lincoln did not see eye to eye on issues. Johnson’s job on the ticket was to appeal to any voter who could tolerate Lincoln when it appeared the country was going to tear itself in two.
Why did I rank him here?
Johnson is buried with a copy of the Constitution beneath his head. To me, that’s a projection to others in his present time and those in the future who would look back at him, that everything he did, he did for the Constitution. Now, does this include knocking back a handle of bourbon? Maybe. But Johnson wrecked Reconstruction, which put him near the bottom of the OKH presidential rankings. He started out as a right path guy, helping Lincoln win reelection, but it’s his presidency where we see him veer off and turn into that WPG, perhaps led there by alcohol.
Alright. How did I do this week? Any thoughts on where these guys are ranked? Is there any vice president you think should be ranked next? I have everything set now, but I’m always open to suggestions and well-thought-out arguments.
Who am I kidding? I’ll take poorly thought-out arguments.
Final question – can you think of any Wrong Path Guys in our history? I need to make WPG a thing.
Okay. I’ll be back on Monday with another Monday Maundy Newsletter. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, thanks for supporting Okay History, and stay on the right path.
Okay,
Chris