nostalgic
potus_geeks 2018 in the rearview mirror.January: The theme for January was Presidents' Highs and Lows as we looked at the high and low points of 30 different presidents, and concluded with a Summary of five common traits that popular presidents have in common.
February: We marked Black History Month with a look at 28 events in which famous African-Americans played a pivotal role in Presidential history, culminating in the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American President. We also reviewed Michael Wolff's new book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, and also selected The Five Most Romantic Couples for Valentine's Day.
March: In March we looked at Presidents and their Cabinet as we examined the cabinet-making of 31 presidents. We also marked St. Patrick's Day with a look at Presidents with Irish Heritage, and reviewed some great books including
drryil's fun analysis of presidential election history called The Best Looking One Always Wins and The American Presidents Series new volume William Howard Taft by Jeffrey Rosen. The Major League Baseball season began on March 29th, so we looked at the relationship between Presidents and the National Pasttime. And on March 26th potus_geeks celebrated our 8th Birthday!April: We turned the clock back 50 years and looked at the year 1968 in Presidential history, a year when Americans were at war in Vietnam, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated and the race for the White House was on. We mourned the passing of first lady Barbara Bush. We also reviewed Without Prejudice: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times by Joel Richard Paul. On April 4th we marked the 50th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, perhaps the greatest civil rights leader in world history.
May: Our theme was Presidents in Movies and TV, as we looked at the various portrayals on George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and also some of the more obscure presidents. We also reviewed Jake Tapper's great new book The Hellfire Club and even speculated on casting for a movie version of the Hellfire Club. On Memorial Day we remembered the heroic rescue of 18 year old Navy pilot George H. W. Bush.
June: June's theme was Investigating the President as we looked at 29 instances of when Presidents were investigated by Congress or special prosecutors and in some cases the target of impeachment proceedings and in our conclusion of this series we summarized what we've learned from all of these investigations. On June 6th we marked the 50th Anniversary of the Death of Robert Kennedy.
July: Our theme for July was "Islands of Civility", moments in time in the uncivil world of Presidential politics when presidents and presidential candidates put aside the rough and tumble dirty pool tactics that come with the political game and did the decent thing. On July 1st we marked Canada Day with a look at various Presidents and their relationship with leaders of their neighbor to the north.
August: This was a month of vacation as we put on summer reruns and republished some of the more memorable entries from previous years. We also reviewed the fictional collaboration between Bill Clinton and James Patterson entitled The President is Missing, as well as Patricia O'Toole's wonderful analysis of the Wilson Presidency entitled The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made, and TR's Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, the Great War and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy by David Pietrusza (later selected as our best book of the year). On August 27th we marked the passing of Senator John McCain, who passed away on August 25th and who left a tremendous legacy of service to his country as a Naval officer, a courageous Prisoner of War, a distinguished United States Senator and a Presidential Candidate who exuded civility and dignity.
September: In September we looked at times during the presidencies of 30 chief executives when they faced the biggest controversies and challenges of their administrations. On Labor Day we looked at how Grover Cleveland created the holiday. We also reviewed books from two literary giants: Bob Woodward's Fear: Trump in the White House and Doris Kearns Goodwin's Leadership in Turbulent Times. We also marked the seventeenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
October: The Supreme Court begins its sittings on the first Monday in October so, in the wake of the confirmation hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, we looked at the history of the intersection between the executive and judicial branches of government in a series on Presidents and the Supreme Court. We also reviewed Michael Lewis's new book The Fifth Risk, and October 20th marked our annual observance of Big Block of Cheese Day.
November: So you think being President is easy? We looked at the history of 30 problems currently resting on the current President's desk and how there are no easy sound-byte answers or ideologically based solutions. We also marked Thanksgiving with a look at the contributions of Presidents Washington and Lincoln to the holiday. On November 30th we were saddened to learn of the passing of President George H. W. Bush, a truly great man with a wonderful legacy of public service, civility and leadership.
December" This month we took a look back at how 23 Presidents celebrated the Christmas season and once again reprinted our annual apology to Clement Clarke Moore with our version of his epic poem, entitled Twas the Night Before Christmas (Potus Geeks edition). We also looked back at the Best Books of 2018 for Potus Geeks.
That's the year that was for
potus_geeks, a year in which we lost some true giants, and in which the world and the presidency both became more complex. These are indeed interesting times, and 2019 promises more of the same!