by Mike Purdy | Apr 30, 2020 | Constitution, Elections, George Washington, Inaugurations
It was April 30, 1789 – exactly 231 years ago – that George Washington took the oath of office for the first time as the first president of the newly minted United States of America. It was the launch of our great American experiment in democracy. What was...
by Mike Purdy | Dec 12, 2019 | Campaigns, Elections, Events, Impeachments, Resources
Lecture on 2020 Presidential Campaign: On October 24, 2019, along with my good friend, political scientist and professor Dr. Michael Artime, we presented the inaugural lecture of our new series “2020: Battle for the Soul of America” about the upcoming...
by Mike Purdy | Aug 11, 2019 | Donald Trump, Elections, James Monroe
When the vice-presidential candidates squared off against each other in the 1988 debate, Lloyd Bentsen delivered one of the sharpest political blows ever landed on an opponent. Republican Dan Quayle was proudly touting his years of experience and equating them with...
by Mike Purdy | Jul 21, 2019 | Elections, Franklin Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Inaugurations, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Uncategorized
One of the hallmarks of our democracy is the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another, reaching back to March 4, 1797 when George Washington turned over the reigns of power to John Adams. And while the inauguration of a new president has always been...
by Mike Purdy | Jul 16, 2019 | Barack Obama, Campaigns, Donald Trump, Elections, Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson
The first Democratic debates raise the question of what voters should be looking for in evaluating candidates. Rather than merely supporting a candidate because of their promises (often unrealistic) and how closely their policy positions pass the litmus test of party...
by Mike Purdy | Jan 7, 2018 | Assassinations, Books, Campaigns, Chester Arthur, Elections, Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, John Adams, John F. Kennedy, Presidential Sites, Richard Nixon, Thomas Jefferson
There was definitely not enough time in 2017 to read. So many books, so little time! One of my New Year’s resolutions is to read more books. The following is a list of the books about the presidents that I read in 2017 (the titles below are linked to Amazon or...
