The vice presidency: An overrated springboard
While many vice presidents have become president, the vast majority of them ascended to the position rather than winning it in their own right. In fact, in the past two centuries, only two vice presidents have been elected to the top job upon completion of their bosses’ terms: George H.W. Bush and Martin Van Buren.
By contrast, over just the past 70 years, the losers include Al Gore, Dan Quayle, Walter Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, Henry Wallace and Richard Nixon (who lost in 1960 before winning eight years later).
Even among vice presidents who have ascended to the top job, about half wound up losing their next campaign when they ran for a full term.









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Why would Biden want to use it for a springboard anyway?
Everyone already peed in the pool.
And 0bama has been s…. Nevermind. You get the idea.
LegendHasIt on January 21, 2013 at 10:18 PM
Let’s hope Unca Joey doesn’t have a cranial blowout.
Dack Thrombosis on January 22, 2013 at 12:19 AM
VPs with intelligence and a work ethic have been helpful.
Nixon was useful to Cold War Ike.
GHWB was helpful to Ronaldus Magnus repairing Peanut’s defense, economic and diplomatic disasters.
Quayle was mostly the target of Old Media lies and misrepresentations.
Cheney was invaluable to building post 9/11 alliances and de-drecking the Clintoon residues of cut defenses, neglected national security, and Janet Reno’s, sellout Cohen and Mad Halfbright’s disrepute.
Sure, the Tree Al Gore and the post Slow Joe and the hapless Walter Mondale are paragons of uselessness and JFK and LBJ were crooks made for each other…. most GOP VPs of the last 60 years were useful and the last honest Democrat president Harry Truman was a patriotic VP, even if kept mostly in the dark by FDR’s “our thing” socialist inner circle.
viking01 on January 22, 2013 at 12:50 AM