MHCBUYP Premium

About Vice President Adlai Stevenson, the grandfather of the Democratic candidate for President in 1952 and 1956.  We include some stories from his memoir and the political events of his time.  This was run on the Vice Presidents of the United States podcast.  On the premium and Patreon channels we will be reading more stories from his colorful memoirs.

We touched on FDR and Hoover’s touchy transition in the episode about LBJ and Nixon.  In this premium episode, I go into the telegrams Hoover sent FDR and what he wanted from FDR – and what FDR refused to do.

The relationship between Roscoe Conkling, Senator and New York State political boss of the post-Civil War era, and Chester Arthur, future President is explored in this episode.   We look at the key moment of Arthur’s defiance at the 1880 Convention, when he is offered the vice presidential nomination of his party.  Even a barren nomination, the former port collector says, is better than nothing.  Conkling urges him to decline.

We discuss a variety of topics based on questions I’ve been asked.   who might be President a third time if there was no prohibition on it?  And what’s up with Harry Truman’s middle name?

More things to consider about the results of the 2020 Election, besides the big result, that didn’t make it into the main cast.

Disputed Election, from 2007.  Some interesting nuggets.

Two GOP Candidates reckon with potential military rivals.  One susses, the other waits their potential rival out.  And other stories of the 1884 and 1896 election that couldn’t fit in the episode of DONT RUN FOR PRESIDENT

A little bit about Lincoln, and his advocacy and defense of Zachary Taylor, a president who preceded him by three Presidents, all of them ineffective.  Zachary Taylor would get barely over a year in office, but his stance on brewing civil war would nonetheless prove that Lincoln was right to endorse him as a Whig lawyer in Illinois.  A little bit about Lincoln’s law practice as well.  Lincoln was a ‘volume’ lawyer and mostly a collections lawyer.  Who dabbled in politics at the same time.

When it was discovered that Nixon through aide/supporter Chenault had interfered with Vietnam peace talks, LBJ left it to the Democratic candidate Humphrey to use or not use the revalations in politics.  Humphrey declined.   When asked why Humphrey didn’t use the news to win the Presidency, one aide said it was because Humphrey was too ‘Minnesota Nice.’    But there’s an element missing from the story, one that even we hadn’t touched on in previous MHCBUYP episodes.

As normal, I never fit everything I plan to in one episode.  This was especially true with the ‘Don’t Run for President’ episode.  In this cast, the extras left in various notebooks and computer text files.  Susan B Anthony struggles to cast a vote for Grant against Greeley in the 1872 election, Democrats almost do not run Bryan a third time, campaign finance is made an issue, sort of in 1908, and George H.W. Bush uses flags as a political weapon.