The One-Term Pledge That Wasn't

The scoop of the day belongs to our own Marc Ambinder.

Comments

Scoop, Day, Ambinder

Monkeys, Typewriters, Shakespeare.

regression to the mean meant it had to happen someday.

Posted by James | June 2, 2008 5:16 PM

How can you write a post about 1-term pledges and John McCain without even a passing reference to President Polk?

McCain may launch air strikes on Iran and trigger a regional conflagration, but Polk swiped 40% of Mexico. Still, Polk and Teddy Roosevelt may finally have some competition for the hearts of unabashed, bloodthirsty imperialists if McCain manages to pull it off in November.

Posted by matthewcc | June 2, 2008 5:40 PM

The passing reference to James K. Polk
WAS there, but only briefly, and it was historically inaccurate. Andrew picked it up. Then, it all just disappeared. Someone should teach that trick to Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Posted by RecentlyRetard | June 2, 2008 7:46 PM

Given this recent comment, that howler is all the better:

"On the other hand, it's certainly a reminder that, in talking about, or bragging about, how your family relates to certain historical events, precision matters, and some historical happenings and more sensitive than others."

Of course in the same post, Marc had written that Obama's great uncle had help liberate Buchenwald in April 1954. If it's not your family, precision doesn't matter much, apparently.

He only acknowledged it after some (admittedly snide) comments made on his polling widget. By myself.

See if he admits this one.

Posted by James | June 2, 2008 8:36 PM

Rosanne:
Mr. Richard Feder, of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, writes in: "Ever since I recently retired, as my unique contribution to humanity, I like to Google the blogs for references to my favorite president, James K. Polk, whom I like to call "eleven". Imagine my surprise today, when I found that the famous writer, Marc Ambinder, included in his blog a glowing reference to him as follows: 'Only James K. Polk, a Democrat from Ohio, pledged to serve one term as president; his term in office, from 1844 to 1848, was marked by an unusually aggressive expansion of executive power and the annexation of Texas after the...' After the... after the...after the what? I checked the blog. There it was! But before I could read it all, there it wasn't! Then I checked Andrew Sullivan's blog. There it was (repeated without comment)! Then, there it wasn't! It was gone, all gone! Am I losing my mind?"
No, Richard, you are not losing your mind. If you will remember your history, the annexation of Texas came just after ... the war with Mexico. Obviously those references were removed by some McCain operative opposed to accurate historical reporting.
John Tyler (Ten): But, but....
Eleven: 1844 to 1848?
Sailor #1: Nit picker!
Sailor #2: Andrew, Andrew, et tu Andrew?
Rosanne: Never mind.

Posted by RosanneRosannadanna | June 2, 2008 10:27 PM

Rosanne, you are making us all sick.

Posted by Dilan Esper | June 3, 2008 2:13 PM