Thomas Marshall
Thomas Marshall wasn’t extremely impressed by the idea of being vice president. During his inauguration speech, he promised that he would acknowledge the insignificant influence of the office and accept such a second-class role with positive intentions.
He was President Woodrow Wilson’s number two, and he constantly complained about the nameless and unremembered duties of such a pointless job.
Calvin Coolidge
When Calvin Coolidge decided he would be nominated as Warren Harding’s vice presidential candidate, his wife asked him if he would take it. He said that he would probably be forced to.
For most of his duties in the administration, he was quiet, which made him the perfect match for Harding. He didn’t accomplish too much, obviously, but he definitely enjoyed his role overseeing the Senate.
Henry Wallace
At one point, someone described Henry Wallace as “the person who answers phone calls the rest of us don’t hear.” And indeed, he had a calling: to make this world a safer place for corn breeders.
Wallace was shoehorned into office by F.D.R. He was also a strong believer in goodness in the world, but he didn’t manage to win his colleagues’ sympathies, mostly because he had some of the most peculiar spiritual preferences.
Richard M. Nixon
Well, Nixon wasn’t a great president, either, but that’s another story to tell. During the 1952 campaign, Nixon decided he would jeopardize the presidential candidacy of Dwight Eisenhower (a habit he didn’t seem to get rid of later on).
He was accused of keeping an illegal slush fund covered by a wealthy businessman. Naturally, he denied the allegations.
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