Which OTL Vice-President Would Have Made The Worst President?

"Thomas Marshall (1913-21): Should have been POTUS, Wilson was clearly incapacitated and what we'd later call a picture-perfect 25th case."

While the bit about Wilson is true: I once read that Marshall never took part in the cabinet meetings and had stated that he hoped never to do the president's duties.

"Charles Curtis (1929-33): Not much different from Hoover, would have tried a 5-day work week with no wage reduction to combat the GD. Loses to FDR in a landslide, as would any Republican, in 1932."

5-day work week with no wage reduction? Wow, this is almost a Socialist position, at least for the US.
 
It's a tie:

Agnew, pretty corrupt, third-world-like executive self enrichment and special interest promotion.

Cheney, Moving toward Big Brother at light speed. SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME!

I think Dan Quayle is not quite bright enough to have been too damaging in 4 years.

Joe Biden may talk too much and not think earlier enough, but he is capable and insightful. I also think he is a very contious politician, relatively speaking. Fun presidency? Yes, Bad presidency? No.
 
I once read that Marshall never took part in the cabinet meetings and had stated that he hoped never to do the president's duties.


The way I heard it, he did attend at first, but found that nobody paid the slightest attention to his views, so after a few months stopped bothering to come.

After his retirement, someone reportedly asked him whether he would consider returning to public life. He replied. "I don't want to work, but I wouldn't mind being Vice-President again".
 
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It's a three way tie. Aaron Burr, Spiro Agnew, and Dick Cheney. But since Burr would have became President when the USA was young he has the best chance at the most damage. Agnew and Cheney would just get thrown out. Burr may start a civil war to hold on to power
 
Aaron Burr

sorry but if I hear Aaron Burr one more time, I'm gonna lose it. Here is why Aaron Burr is not the worst VP of all time.

He consistently voted with his administration when a tie vote came up (Thomas Jefferson did not) he is remembered by Senators of the time as being gracious and impartial as President of the Senate, he was actually at most Senate sessions (Jefferson was not). Burr's greatest sin was having Gore Vidal write a book about him (that is fiction and not based on any fact) and to have no relatives defend his name through the ages. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams outlived Hamilton and look what happened to him? Burr had the same problem he outlived his only daughter (she died in a shipwreck along with most of his personal correspondence, hence we only have Hamilton's word for it). He was one of the first feminists. Overall a Burr Presidency would not have been disastrous and we would not have gotten King Aaron I. It would have been a bland but not spectacular 1 term. Remember he could have been elected in President in 1800 but directed Federalists, who wished to support him to support Jefferson (certainly not the actions of a power hungry man). Burr didn't kneecap his benefactor as he very well could have (as any power hungry man would) instead he chose to be a faithful VP and his popularity rose because of it. Jefferson was already planning to remove Aaron Burr from the ticket and replace him with the old and doddering George Clinton because Burr was a threat. The Duel and the ensuing political witchhunt in New Jersey only served as pretext. Burr's Treason Trial was another attempt by Jefferson and Madison to finally end Burr's career and it succeeded but his Filibuster Expedition was not unlike many other unsuccessful attempts to Filibuster in years past.

Aaron Burr was unfortunate in that he voted his conscience consistently. He was John Adams without the long history of service. So a Burr Presidency would have been startlingly consistent and consistently unpopular, Yes, he would still have bought Louisiana IMHO. If anyone is looking for a cite for any of this read Nancy Isenberg's "Aaron Burr." It cleared the air on some things about him.
 
I'd suggest this should be split into two sections: one for the 20th century and beyond (i.e., the modern presidency) and another before that era. That said:

Modern presidency

* Spiro Agnew. Corrupt but on a petty basis. He'd have been nothing more than a front for Nixon's friends upon succeeding Nixon.
* Dan Quayle. Sarah Palin in a Brooks Brothers suit.
* Henry Wallace. Showed true colors later running on an avowedly left-wing splinter ticket. Could conceivably have been sufficiently accommodating to allow the Soviets to have briefly seized the upper hand in the arms race.

Historic presidency

* John Calhoun. The consummate champion of the south in the slavery era. Might have accelerated the Civil War by accentuating the north/south differences more greatly.
* Rufus King. Exactly what the nation needed during the turbulent 1850s: an Alabaman in the White House.
* John Breckenridge. Served in the Confederate army. Enough said.
 
For Wallace to become president FDR would have to die in his third term. The potential for consequences is horrific.

Wallace replacing Truman could easily result in the Democratic Party shattering and the GOP ruling for decades by default rather than merit.

Even worse would be when in the term Wallace takes over. Early enough and he might treat the British even worse than FDR did, perhaps leading to one of the insane invasion plans in 1942-43 so loved by American leaders so long as the British risked most of the casualties, leading to either an open breach between the US and UK or a bloodbath which risks a British separate peace with Nazi Germany.
 
Breckenridge, Garner, Agnew, Cheney and Biden.
Worst VPs to take over: Johnson (Let the South up easy...at the cost of the ex-slaves there...), Truman (Helped dig us into the Cold War), Johnson (Vietnam)
 
Breckenridge, Garner, Agnew, Cheney and Biden.
Worst VPs to take over: Johnson (Let the South up easy...at the cost of the ex-slaves there...), Truman (Helped dig us into the Cold War), Johnson (Vietnam)
There ya' Go, Mention The Data-Points we Already Have, But NO Such List would be Complete, without The Original His Accidency, President John Tyler ...

Picked as a Party-Insider to Balance a Ticket to Accompany a Decorated Combat Veteran, it's Just Too Bad President William Henry Harrison Enjoyed Running Errands in Inclement Weather, Huh?

While Questions of Traitorship, Ring Around this Board Far and Wide ...

Isn't The SIMPLE Fact, that we can Even Intellectually Have Such Discussion your First Clue that Something is Very Wrong?
 
While Tyler may have been a traitor after declaring for the CSA and being elected to its Congress, he did establish an extremely important precedent: the VP who succeeds upon the incumbent's death is President in his own right, not merely "acting" or a placeholder.
 

Typo

Banned
For Wallace to become president FDR would have to die in his third term. The potential for consequences is horrific.

Wallace replacing Truman could easily result in the Democratic Party shattering and the GOP ruling for decades by default rather than merit.

Even worse would be when in the term Wallace takes over. Early enough and he might treat the British even worse than FDR did, perhaps leading to one of the insane invasion plans in 1942-43 so loved by American leaders so long as the British risked most of the casualties, leading to either an open breach between the US and UK or a bloodbath which risks a British separate peace with Nazi Germany.
Have you read for all time?
 
While Tyler may have been a traitor after declaring for the CSA and being elected to its Congress, he did establish an extremely important precedent: the VP who succeeds upon the incumbent's death is President in his own right, not merely "acting" or a placeholder.
All VERY True ...

But, How Often have we Stopped to Ask The Question ...

Was he Right or Wrong, For doing so?

:eek:
 
Of course he was right, otherwise any loony can disrupt the smooth operation of the USG. One of the US' great virtues IMO is a clearly defined line of succession: that gets FUBARed without Tyler succeeding as he did IOTL.
 
Al Gore (1993-2001): A Clinton clone, would be a good President.

I'm not sure about this. In terms of executing the duties of the office of POTUS, you could be right. In terms of being an effective communicator when giving speeches and addressing the American people (and having charisma in general), I'm not so sure. While that should be a secondary (or even tertiary) concern when judging a potential president, the truth is that it matters very much. The president is our head of state, the international face of America. Al Gore didn't/doesn't have the sort of charisma to live up to the high standard of personability which that role entails.
 
Many presidents were not very personable on the international scene: Ike, LBJ, Nixon, to name a few. LBJ and Nixon had no charisma, but they were both quite successful presidents.
 
Many presidents were not very personable on the international scene: Ike, LBJ, Nixon, to name a few. LBJ and Nixon had no charisma, but they were both quite successful presidents.

As far as I know, LBJ and Nixon had more charisma than Al Gore. Especially Nixon. Perhaps Nixon could have "won" the famous television debate if he had been better rested and had a good makeup person.

Anyway, Al Gore has the handicap of coming into prominence after the advent of the 24-hour news cycle. In the eyes of the average American (as well as the eyes of the news editor looking for a good soundbite), style means even more than substance than it ever did before.
 
Well, that's what happened partially for GWB's two campaigns: "who'd you want to have a beer with? Gore the Bore or Yellow Spandex Man?"
 
I am not so enlightened on the pre-1900 fellows

Wallace.... you think we gave up too much at Yalta and Potsdam under FDR and Truman? A Stalin apologist... it would have been like a more ineffective/dangerous version of Jimmy Carter

Cheney... probably one of the few people in American politics who could match Nixon for sheer cartoon villaness

Dan Quail...One could only pray he would let the grown ups make decisions and otherwise just stay in his room and play with his ninja turtles


Gore... I don't know if its ASB but he might be more arrogant and self indulgent than he is out of office... his lack of charisma and appeal could see him getting slaughtered in '96 if the repubs pick someone who has a pulse... government shutdown might last longer also
 
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