More presidential notes

Joseph Biden, President no 46, was born on 20/11/1942. When sworn in on 20/01/2021, he was at 78+ the oldest to be sworn in as President. The previous record was held by Ronald Reagan (b. 06/02/1911) when sworn in for the second time on 20/01/1985. He was then almost 74.

The oldest President to be sworn in for the first time was Donald Trump (14/06/1946) who was 70+ when sworn in on 20/01/2016. Earlier it was Reagan who was almost 70 when sworn in on 20/01/1981.

At one time it was felt that Bernard Sanders might be elected President. Born on 08/09/1941, he is over a year older than Biden and would have set the same records.

Biden is the second Catholic President (after JFK) and the second to be born in Pennsylvania (after James Buchanan of 1857-1861), the predecessor of Abraham Lincoln. Buchanan figures quite high in the rankings of “Worst President”, though Trump may ultimately get this title. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_presidents_of_the_United_States

The US has not had a First Gentleman yet, though Bill Clinton came close to it in 2016. Now there is a Second Gentleman, who is Jewish for good measure.

Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, CA in 1964. She has a chance of becoming President in 2025 (or earlier, if Tippecanoe’s Curse reappears). She would then be the second President after Nixon to be born in CA.

Thinking the unthinkable-the US presidential line of succession

The status of President Trump’s health remains unclear. We all know that if he is incapacitated, Vice-President Mike Pence will officiate. What if something happens to him?

Not to worry. Unlike in many other countries, there is a long line of succession specified:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession#Current_order_of_succession

As you may know, President Trump is 74+, Vice-President Pence is 61+. It gets interesting after that. More in a moment.

The term of the current President and Vice-President end on January 20, 2021 at noon. If re-elected, their next term will start afresh. If not, the next President and Vice-President will take office then and things return to normal.

If the incumbent President was to die or be incapacitated, the Vice-President will become president and would continue after January 20 if re-elected. In due course a new Vice-President would be selected after the usual confirmation process.

Now we look at the line of succession.

3rd in line is the Democrat Nancy Pelosi (age 80+) who is Speaker of the House of Representatives. Her term ends on Dec 31, 2020 and it is unlikely that she would be elected again even if the Democrats were to gain a majority in the House. And she may not wish to take this responsibility.

Then there is the 4th in line, the Republican Chuck Grassley (age 87+) who is President “pro tempore” of the Senate. His term as Senator will end at the end of 2022, so there is no impediment to him temporarily becoming President. But he will still be younger than PM Mahathir Mohamad who was elected PM when past 92.

You may like to see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Pelosi

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Grassley

Not to forget

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pence

Probably we should stop here. Present indications are that the Biden-Harris team will win with a large majority in the electoral college. And that the detailed polls show that Democrats are likely to get a majority in the House and probably in the Senate as well.

See: https://projects.economist.com/us-2020-forecast/president

It may also be useful to read Irving Wallace’s 1964 novel “The Man”, in which the President Pro Tempore of the Senate becomes President after the President, Vice-President and Speaker depart in various ways. “The Man” is Black. And it is 1964.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_(Wallace_novel)

Even in the 1970s this novel was considered to be a fantasy. No one told that to Barack Obama.

Long live gerontocracy!

Some basic facts:

Ronald Reagan was born on Feb 6, 1911.

He was sworn in as President on Jan 20, 1981 (69 years 349 days of age) and again on Jan 20, 1985 (73/349). The second occasion was a record for the oldest person to be sworn in as President, though it was for his second term.

Now, it appears that the next President (who will be sworn in on Jan 20, 2021) will be ONE OF the following:

Donald Trump (Jun 14, 1946)

Joseph Biden (Nov 20, 1942)

Bernard Sanders (Sep 8, 1941)-even before Pearl Harbour!

Trump was 70/220 when he was sworn in on Jan 20, 2017. That makes him the oldest to be sworn in as President for the FIRST time (unlike Reagan in 1985). And if he wins this time, he will be sworn in on Jan 20, 2021 at a record of 74/220, several months older than Reagan’s 73/349 in 1985.

And Biden will be still older on that day if he is elected: 78/61.

Sanders will be even older: 79/134.

Long live gerontocracy! as Mahathir Mohamad, Robert Mugabe and others such as Morarji Desai would have said.

So youngsters such as Pete Buttegieg and Tulsi Gabbard would need to be about 40 years older if they are to be taken seriously.

Meanwhile Jimmy Carter (Oct 1, 1924 and President in 1977-81) looks on in his 95th year.

Also see: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2018/05/23/more-about-long-lived-leaders/

The longest-lived US President and other obscure facts

On October 1, 2021 James Earl Carter Jr (born October 1, 1924) became the first US President to celebrate his 97th birthday. On March 22, 2019 he became the longest-living US President when he crossed the mark set by George Herbert Walker Bush.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#Longevity

More about George Bush Sr here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_George_H._W._Bush

He passed one more landmark on October 17, 2019 when his marriage to Rosalynn became the longest-lasting of Presidential unions. (See update at end). They were married on July 7, 1946. They will cross the record of 73+ years of George Bush Sr (again!) which ended with Barbara’s death on April 17, 2018.

However, Rosalynn Carter (born August 18, 1927) is now 95 and has some time to go before she can overtake Bessie Truman (97, 1885-1982) as the longest-lived First Lady. In the past few years, she overtook others such as “Lady Bird” Johnson (94), Betty Ford (93) and Nancy Reagan (94).

There is, however one Vice-President who has lived longer than any President: John N Garner (98, 1868-1967, VP to Franklin Roosevelt in 1933-41).

Joseph Biden (20 Nov, 1942) is the oldest person to become President surpassing Ronald Reagan’s 73+ at the start of his second term in 1985. Donald Trump (born Jun 14, 1946) was so far the oldest to become President for the first time at 70+, just edging out Reagan’s accession in 1981.

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II (born April 21, 1926) continues to break longevity records as the longest-lived British monarch (93+) with the longest reign (67+ years). Her consort Prince Philip died about two months before what would have been his 100th birthday.

As pointed out earlier here, Queen Elizabeth’s reign has seen 14 US presidents (Truman to Biden) and 15 British PMs (including Harold Wilson twice). It is likely that she will see the successors of the present incumbents.

Also: “Significant events have included her coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees in 1977, 2002, and 2012, respectively. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to reach a Sapphire Jubilee. Next is the Platinum Jubilee in 2022. She is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch as well as the world’s longest-serving female head of state, oldest living monarch, longest-reigning current monarch, and the oldest and longest-serving current head of state. ”

English cricket fans will remember major Ashes victories at home in the Coronation year (1953) as well as the Silver Jubilee (1977).

Long-lived US Presidents

George HW Bush lived from 12 Jun 1924 to 30 Nov 2018, thus living for 94 years and 171 days. This makes him the longest lived US President, surpassing the record of Gerald Ford (93/165).

However, another predecessor Jimmy Carter was born on 1 Oct 1924 and is still living. He is 94/61 today. If he lives for about 4 months more, he will surpass Bush’s record.

While on this topic, Donald Trump (at 70/220) is the oldest to take office as President for the first time. However, Ronald Reagan was 73+ when he took office for his second term and 77+ plus when he stepped down.

If Trump is re-elected in 2020 and completes his second term, he will hold these records.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_age#Oldest_living_U.S._presidents

More about long-lived leaders

India does have some entries here, which have even been cited in the Guinness Book of Records.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-appointed-prime-minister

So Morarji Desai (81) is the oldest to be elected Prime Minister for the first time. The case of Philippe Petain (84) is different as he was appointed “Chief of State” and not elected. This appointment came when France was about to be taken over by the invading German forces.

LK Advani (born November 1927) is now 90+ and may have hopes of surpassing Morarjibhai’s record.

There are, of course, others like Mahathir Mohamad who have been elected prime minister (but not for the first time) at a greater age. Other examples include William Gladstone of Britain (82+ when he became PM for the fourth time) and Ronald Reagan (73+ when he was elected President for the second time).

The oldest to become PM of Britain for the first time was Viscount Palmerston (70+) in 1855. India’s war of independence occurred during his first tenure of 1855-58. The change to direct rule in India came during the short tenure of his successor (The Earl of Derby) in 1858-59. Palmerston returned for his second term which was in 1859-1865.

The oldest to become President of the US for the first time is Donald Trump (70+). Incidentally, he, Bill Clinton and George Bush (Jr) were all born in 1946.

These links may be useful:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom_by_age

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_age

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_India_by_longevity

Contrary to popular belief, Gulzarilal Nanda had a longer lifespan than Morarji Desai. Both crossed 99. (But Morarji Desai celebrated his birthday only in leap years, which is another matter).

Alec Douglas-Home was among the longest-lived Prime Ministers of Britain, though also among the most obscure of those who served in the 20th century.

He was the only British PM to have played first-class cricket. He did not do too well, but at least had better figures than Nawaz Sharif.

A yuge collection of PJs

It is alleged that President Trump has invented words like “bigly” and “yuge”. This is not really true. More about “bigly” here:

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/when-trump-meets-bolmondoley/

Now “yuge” is not his invention either. It is more of an accent variation which many were not familiar with:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/71417/why-do-some-people-say-yuge-instead-huge

And finally a yuge collection of supposedly famous quotes from US presidents. This goes all the way back to George Washington, including the more obscure Presidents such as James K. Polk and Rutherford B. Hayes.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/presquotes1.html

There are long lists devoted to some individuals such as Vice-President Dan Quayle:

http://www.jokes2go.com/lists/list77.html

And Dubya:

http://www.jokes4us.com/celebrityjokes/georgebushjokes/onelinersjokes.html

When Trump meets Bolmondoley

Joke writers have a tough time with President Trump. He creates so many opportunities for jokes that they have little to do. Or he says something which is too difficult to decipher, and it may or may not be funny. One such occasion was the use of the word “bigly” which is supposed to be a new word he invented.

However, experts have concluded that it was a wrong transcription of the more common “Big league”, particularly as his brand of New York English was not understood by most. More on this here:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37483869

and here: http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/01/25/bag-the-bigly-moos-pkg-erin.cnn/video/playlists/wacky-world-of-jeanne-moos/

There are, of course, place names and person’s names similar to “bigly’, like this one-time English cricketer:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/12454.html

But British English has its share of pitfalls with words often being spelt in a way which do not reflect the pronunciation. Like Cholmondoley. Think you can pronounce it?

Find out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NTLkJqpC-A

The humorous possibilities in Cholmondoley being pronounced as Chumly was not lost on music-hall comedians of a century ago, who were noted for their low level of humour. Some examples can be seen here:

http://audiotalk.proboards.com/thread/3587

One example of such corny humour was bringing someone on stage with a placard saying “Bolmondeley”. Go figure.

The US Presidential elections and Indian place names

As the saturation coverage of the US elections will continue for a while, we may as well try to match their leader’s names to place names in India.

While the incumbent President Barack Obama came to India more than once, he does not seem to have visited this place:

His predecessor Jimmy Carter did indeed have a village near Gurgaon named after him. Supposedly his mother had been there with the Peace Corps at one time:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterpuri

A halt station called Carterpuri (between Bijwasan and Gurgaon) was listed in the timetable for a few years, though it seems to have closed down long ago and no trace of it can be seen now. A new station called Palam Vihar Halt was built some years later in the same general area, though no trains appear to stop there now.

When Bill Clinton was President, the combination of him and the First Lady was referred to as Billary. Therefore, a logical place for them to visit is:

although it has now been renamed to:

If (somehow) Donald Trump wins, he could visit the small town of McDonald’s Choultry in Tamil Nadu, though the station (between Salem and Erode) was long ago renamed to:

This name change in the 1970s was perhaps the first step against the McDonaldization of India.

We close with this one currently making the rounds on social media, presumably taken in around 1970:

Also read this one: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/present-and-past-us-presidents/