So You Want to Be President?
By Judith St. George
1.There are good things about being President and there are bad things about being President. 2. One of the good 1. ______things is that the President lives win a big white house called the White House. 2. ______3. Another good thing about being President is that the
President has a swimming pool, bowling alley, and movie theater. 3. ______4. The President never has to take out the garbage. 4. ______5. The President doesn’t have to eat yucky vegetables. 5. ______6. As a boy, George Bush had to eat broccoli. 7. When George 6. ______Bush grew up, he became President. 7. ______
1 8. That was the end of the broccoli! 11. ______
9. One of the bad things about being President is that the 12. ______
President always has to be dressed up. 13. ______
10. William McKinley wore a frock coat, vest, pin-striped 14. ______trousers, stiff white shirt, black satin tie, gloves, a top hat, and 15. ______a red carnation in his buttonhole every day! 16. ______
11. The President has to be polite to everyone. 17. ______
12. The President can’t go anywhere alone. 13. The President has lots of homework.
14. People get mad at the President. 15. Someone once threw a cabbage at William Howard Taft. 16. That didn’t bother Taft. 17. He quipped, “I see that one of my adversaries has lost his head.”
8. ______
9. ______
10. ______
2 18. Lots of people want to be President. 19. If you want 23. ______to be President, it might help if your name is James. 20. Six 24. ______
Presidents were named James. 21. (President Carter liked to 25. ______26. ______be called Jimmy). 22. Four Johns, four Williams (President
Clinton liked to bed called Bill), two Georges, two Andrews, 27. ______and two Franklins—all became President. 28. ______23. You probably weren’t born in a log cabin. 29. ______24. That’s too bad. 25. People are crazy about log-cabin
Presidents. 26. They elected eight. 27. William Harrison was born in a big Virginia mansion, though he won the election with a “log cabin and hard cider” slogan.
28. If you want to be President, your size doesn’t matter.
29. Presidents have come in all shapes and sizes. 30. Abraham
18. ______
19. ______
20. ______
21. ______
22. ______
3 Lincoln was the tallest—six feet four inches. (His stovepipe 33. ______34. ______hat made him look even taller.)
31. James Madison was the smallest—five feet four 35. ______inches and only one hundred pounds. 32. William Howard
Taft was the biggest—more than three hundred pounds.
33. He was so big that he had a special tub built for his White 36. ______House bathroom. 34. (Four men could fit in the tub!) 37. ______35. Maybe Taft’s problem was that Presidents can order any food they want. 36. Andrew Johnson once served his guests turtle soup, oysters, fish, beef, turkey, mutton chops, chicken, mushrooms, string beans, partridges, duck, pudding, jellies, and lots of wine.
37. All at one dinner!
30. ______
31. ______
32. ______
4 38. Though the Constitution says you’ll have until 42. ______you’re thirty-five, young, old, and in between have become 43. ______
President. 39. Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt at forty-two was 44. ______the youngest. 40. He had pillow fights with his children and played football on the White House lawn. 41. “You must 45. ______always remember that the President is about six,” a friend said.
42. Ronald Regan was the oldest. 43. When he first ran for 46. ______
President, he was sixty-nine. 44. He joked that it was the thirtieth anniversary of his thirty-ninth birthday.
45. Some Presidents joked and some didn’t—President’s
personalities have all been different.
46. William McKinley was so nice that he tried to stop a mob from attacking the man who had just shot him. 47. Benjamin
38. ______
39. ______
40. ______
41. ______
5 Harrison was so cold that one senator said talking to Harrison 51. ______52. ______was like talking to a hitching post. 48. Calvin Coolidge was so 53. ______shy and quiet that a dinner guest once made a bet that she could 54. ______get him to say more than two words. 49. “You lose,” he told 55. ______her. 50. Andrew Jackson certainly wasn’t shy. 51. When he 56. ______ran for President, his opponents printed a list of his duels, fights, shootings, and brawls. 52. Fourteen in all! 57. ______53. Don’t worry about your looks. 54. Abraham Lincoln was a homely man, but he was one of our best Presidents.
55. (He reunited the country by winning the Civil War.)
56. Someone once called Lincoln two-faced. 57. “If I am two-faced, would I wear the face that I have now?” Lincoln asked.
47. ______
48. ______
49. ______50. ______
6 58. Warren Harding was a handsome man, but he was 63. ______one of our worst Presidents. 59. (He gave government jobs to 64. ______his crooked friends.) 60. “I am not fit for this office and never 65. ______should have been here,” he admitted. 66. ______
61. Do you have pesky brothers and sisters?
62. Every one of our Presidents did. 63. Benjamin Harrison 67. ______takes the prize—he had eleven! 64. (It’s lucky he grew up on a 68. ______six-hundred-acre farm.) 65. James Polk and James Buchanan both had mine. 66. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
James Madison, and John Kennedy each had eight. 67. (Two
Presidents were orphans, Andrew Jackson and Herbert
Hoover.)
68. A President in your family tree is a plus.
58. ______
59. ______
60. ______
61. ______
62. ______
7 69. John Quincy Adams was John Adams’ son. 73. ______
70. Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt were fifth cousins. 71. Benjamin Harrison was William Harrison’s 74. ______grandson. 72. James Madison and Zachary Taylor were 75. ______second cousins. 76. ______
73. Some Presidents threw money around and some were 77. ______penny pinchers. 74. James Monroe ordered French silverware, 78. ______china, candlesticks, clocks, mirrors, vases, rugs, draperies, and furniture for the White House, Ninety-three crates in all!
75. William Harrison was thrifty. 76. He walked to market every morning with a basket over his arm.
77. Do you have a pet? 78. All kind of pets have lived in the White House, mostly dogs. 79. Herbert Hoover had three
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70. ______
71. ______
72. ______
8 dogs: Piney, Snowflake, and Tut. 83. ______
80. (Tut must have been a Democrat. 81. He and his
Republican master never got along.) 82. Franklin Roosevelt’s dog, Fala, was almost as famous as his owner. 84. ______
83. George Bush’s dog wrote MILLIE’S BOOK:
ADVENTURES OF A WHITE HOUSE DOG (as reported to 85. ______
Mrs. Bush!). 84. Ulysses Grant had horses, Benjamin
Harrison’s goat pulled his grand-children around in a cart, the
Coolidges had a pet raccoon, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton preferred cats.
85. Theodore Roosevelt’s children didn’t just have pets, they ran a zoo. 86. They had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, snakes, mice, rats, badgers, raccoons, parrots, and a Shetland pony
79. ______
80. ______
81. ______
82. ______
9 called Algonquin. 87. To cheer up his sick brother, young 91. ______
Quentin once took Algonquin upstairs in the White House 92. ______elevator!
88. You don’t have to be musical to be President.
89. Ulysses Grant certainly wasn’t. 90. He knew only two tunes. 91. “One is ‘Yankee Doodle’,” he said, “and the other one isn’t.” 93. ______
92. But many Presidents were musical.
93. Thomas Jefferson, John Tyler, and Woodrow Wilson played the violin; John Quincy Adams, the flute; Chester
Arthur, the banjo; Harry Truman and Richard Nixon, the piano;
Bill Clinton, the saxophone, and Warren Harding almost any brass instrument, including the sousaphone.
86. ______
87. ______
88. ______
89. ______
90. ______
10 94. Some Presidents knew how to dance and some 99. ______didn’t. 95. Our first President did a mean minuet. 96. At his 100. _____ inaugural ball George Washington danced with every lady but his wife. 97. (Mrs. W. had stayed home!) 101. _____
98. James Madison’s opinion of his inaugural ball? 102. _____
99. “I would much rather be in bed. 103. _____
100. Abraham Lincoln wasn’t much of a dancer. 104. _____
101. “Miss Todd, I should like to dance with you the worst 105. _____ way,” he told his future wife. 102. Miss Todd later said to a friend, “He certainly did.” 103. Woodrow Wilson liked to do the jig step while singing silly ditties.
104. Not all Presidents danced, but most had a sport.
105. John Quincy Adams was a first-rate swimmer.
94. ______95. ______
96. ______97. ______
98. ______
11 106. Once when he was skinny-dipping in the Potomac River, 109. _____ a woman reporter snatched his clothes and sat on then until he gave her an interview. 110. _____
107. Ulysses Grant raced his rig through the streets of 111. _____
Washington (and was arrested for speeding!). 108. Rutherford
Hayes played croquet on the White House lawn. 109. Ronald 112. _____
Reagan split wood.
110. William McKinley’s idea of exercise was to sit under a tree with a good book.
111. Golf has been big with Presidents.
112. Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy were especially good. 113. But when Gerald Ford, George Bush, and Bill
Clinton teamed up for a golf game, three of their shots
106. _____
107. _____
108. _____
12 clobbered spectators! 116. _____
114.Though most Presidents went to college, nine didn’t:
George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren,
Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew 117. _____
Johnson, Grover Cleveland, and Harry Truman. (115. Andrew
Johnson couldn’t read until he was fourteen! 116. He didn’t learn to write until after he was married!) 118. _____
117. Thomas Jefferson was top-notch in the brains department—he was an expert on agriculture, law, politics, music, geography, surveying, philosophy, and botany. 118. In his spare time he designed his own house (a mansion), founded the University of Virginia, and whipped up the Declaration of
Independence.
113. _____
114. _____
115. _____
13 119. If you want to be President, you might consider 121. _____ joining the army. 120. George Washington, Andrew Jackson, 122. _____
William Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses Grant, Rutherford
Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, 123. _____ and Dwight Eisenhower were all generals. 124. _____
121. If you can’t be a general, be a hero like Theodore
Roosevelt or John Kennedy. (122. Roosevelt’s Rough Riders charged up Kettle Hill to help win the Spanish-American War.
123. Kennedy led his crew to safety in World War II when the
Japanese sank his PT boat.)
124. Don’t be a Franklin Pierce. 125. In his very first battle, Franklin Pierce’s horse bucked, he was thrown against his saddle and fainted, his horse fell, broke its leg, and Pierce
119. _____
120. _____
14 hurt his knee. (126. He got elected anyway!) 130. _____ 131. _____ 127. Another route to the White House is to be
Vice President, though most don’t think much of the job.
128. Truman’s Vice President, Alben Barkley, told about a 132. _____ man who had two sons. 129. One son went to sea, the other 133. _____ was elected Vice President. 130. Neither was ever heard from again. (131. Who’s ever heard of Alben Barkley?) 134. _____ 132. Other Vice Presidents have been heard from. John
Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Van Buren, Richard Nixon, and George Bush were all elected President. (133. Gerald
Ford became President when Richard Nixon resigned.)
134. John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry
Truman moved up when a President got sick and died.
125. _____ 126. _____
127. _____
128. _____
129. _____
15 135. Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, 137. _____ and Lyndon Johnson became top man when guns were drawn, 138. _____ flew, and a President was assassinated! 139. _____
136. Almost any job can lead to the White House.
137. Presidents have been lawyers, teachers, farmers, sailors, engineers, surveyors, mayors, governors, congressmen, 141. _____ senators, and ambassadors. (138. Harry Truman owned a 142. _____ men’s shop. 139. Andrew Johnson was a tailor. 140. Ronald
Reagan was a movie actor!)
141. One thing is certain, if you want to be President— and stay President—be honest. Harry Truman paid for his own postage stamps. 142. Grover Cleveland was famous for his motto: “Tell the truth.”
135. _____
136. _____
16 143. Other Presidents weren’t so honest. 148. _____
144. Democrat Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under 149. _____ oath. 145. Republican Richard Nixon’s staff broke into
Democratic headquarters to steal campaign secrets. 146. He 150. _____ covered up the crime and then lied about it.
(147. That was the end of the Richard Nixon as President!) 151. _____ 152. _____ 148. There they are, a mixed bag of forty-one Presidents! 153. _____ 149. What did they think of being head man? 150. George
Washington, who became our very first President in 1789, worried about his new line of work. 151. “I greatly fear that my countrymen will expect too much from me,” he wrote to a friend. (152. He was a howling success.) 153. Some loved the job. 154. “No President has ever enjoyed himself as much as
143. _____
144. _____
145. _____
146. _____
147. _____
17 I,” Theodore Roosevelt said. 155. Others hated it. 156. “The 159. _____ four most miserable years of my life,” John Quincy Adams 160. _____ complained.
157. Every President was different from every other and 161. _____ yet no woman has been President. 158. No person of color has 162. _____ been President. 159. No person who wasn’t a Protestant or a
Roman Catholic has been President. 160. But if you care 163. _____ enough, anything is possible. 161. Thirty-four Presidents came and went before a Roman Catholic—John Kennedy—was elected. 162. Almost two hundred years passed before a woman—Geraldine Ferraro—ran for Vice President.
163. It’s said that people who run for President have swelled heads. 164. It’s said that people who run for President
154. _____ 155. _____
156. _____
157. _____
158. _____
18 are greedy. 165. They want power. 166. They want fame.
167. But being President can be wanting to serve your 168. _____ country—like George Washington, who left the Virginia 169. _____ plantation he loved three times to lead the country he loved even more.
168. It can be looking toward the future like Thomas 170. _____
Jefferson, who bought the Louisiana Territory and then sent
Lewis and Clark west to find a route to the Pacific. (169. They did!)
170. It can be wanting to turn lives around like
Franklin Roosevelt, who provided soup and bread for the hungry, jobs for the jobless, and funds for the elderly to live on.
171. It can be wanting to make the world a better place
164. _____ 165. _____ 166. _____
167. _____
19 like John Kennedy, who sent Peace Corps volunteers around 172. _____ the globe to teach and help others. 173. _____
172. Every single President has taken this oath: “I do 174. _____ solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the 175. _____ office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 176. _____
United States.”
173. Only thirty-five words! 174. But it’s a big order when you’re President of this country.
175. Abraham Lincoln was tops at filling that order.
176. “I know very well that many others might in this matter as in others, to better than I can,” he said. 177. “But…I am here.
I must do the best I can, and bear the responsibility of taking
171. _____
20 the course which I feel I ought to take.” 177. _____
178. That’s the bottom line. 179. Tall, short, fat, thin, 178. _____ talkative, quiet, vain, humble, lawyer, teacher, or soldier—this is what most of our Presidents have tried to do, each in his own way. 180. Some succeeded. 179. _____ 180. _____ 181. Some failed. 182. If you want to be President—a good 181. _____ President—pattern yourself after the best. 183. Our best have 182. _____ asked more of themselves than they thought they could give. 183. _____ 184. They have had the courage, spirit, and will to do what they knew was right. 185. Most of all, their first priority has 184. _____ always been the people and the country they served. 185. _____
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