by Mike Purdy | Jun 4, 2017 | Abraham Lincoln, Assassinations, Books, Chester Arthur, Deaths, George Washington, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Martin Van Buren, Post Presidencies, Presidential Sites, Thomas Jefferson, Warren Harding
It’s been 100 years since John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born. It’s been more than a half century since he was assassinated after serving as president for less than three years. High Marks: And yet Kennedy is consistently ranked among our greatest...
by Mike Purdy | Feb 6, 2017 | Books, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Mothers
If we want to understand what made John F. Kennedy an admired and glamorous president – his innate sense of ease with people, his ready smile, his wit, his razor sharp intellect, his comfort with the media, and even his proclivities for frequent sexual encounters – we...
by Mike Purdy | Jan 16, 2017 | Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Constitution, Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, Herbert Hoover, Inaugurations, John Adams, John F. Kennedy, John Quincy Adams, Lyndon B. Johnson, Rutherford Hayes, Thomas Jefferson, William Henry Harrison, William Howard Taft
As the United States prepares for the transfer of power between presidents, it’s a good time to pause and remember some interesting facts about previous inaugurations. Prior to 1937, the president was inaugurated on March 4 following the November election. That...
by Mike Purdy | Oct 4, 2016 | Campaigns, Chester Arthur, Elections, Electoral College, James Garfield, John Adams, John F. Kennedy, Millard Fillmore, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, Vice-Presidents, William Henry Harrison, William McKinley
On September 27, 2016, I had a free-ranging 30 minute interview on Chicago-based WCGO radio (1590) on the presidents and vice-presidents, with comments about the tone of the current 2016 presidential campaign, including what president I thought would beat either...
by Mike Purdy | Mar 20, 2016 | Abraham Lincoln, Campaigns, Elections, Electoral College, John F. Kennedy, Quotes, Speeches, Thomas Jefferson
What do the candidates for president in 2016 believe, both in terms of faith and policy positions? How important has religion been to our presidents, and what do the current candidates believe about religion? Are there any historical precedents surrounding any of...
by Mike Purdy | Feb 21, 2016 | Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Birthdays, Franklin Roosevelt, George W. Bush, George Washington, Inaugurations, James Buchanan, John F. Kennedy, Martin Van Buren, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, Ulysses Grant, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor
As the Founding Fathers labored over the negotiation and drafting of the Constitution in the sweltering heat and humidity of Philadelphia in 1787, they came to the important question of eligibility requirements for the president. In an era when the average...