Interesting quote of the day

[flyingcheesehead]

"With American sons in the field far away," he said, "with the American future under challenge right here at home, with our hopes and the worlds’ hopes for peace in the balance every day, I do not believe that I should devote an hour or a day of my time to any personal partisan causes or to any duties other than the awesome duties of this office, the Presidency of your country."

 

[tonycondon]

Fdr??

 

[Steve]

http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/Johnson/archives.hom/speeches.hom/680331.asp

Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.

 

[tonycondon]

ok...

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I just thought it was interesting when compared with the partisanship we see today, that someone would forego a campaign and focus on actually doing his job! (Trying really hard not to go into Spin Zone mode, please... This comment applies to all incumbents going for re-election!)

Of course, LBJ would probably have gotten his @$$ handed to him anyway so this could have simply been a graceful way out and a relatively easy decision to make, too. In reading some of the related links, I was also surprised to find that FDR also didn't always actively seek nomination and was simply "drafted" and accepted the nomination.

 

[ScottM]

I would not be so sure about these guys taking the high route. Both were very good politicians.