Them Crazy Veeps: 17-16

The Veeps are ranked and ready to go. Starting at the middle, as the green numbers get lower, the guys get better, but as the red numbers go down, we get into some crazy-ass mother-fuckers. (4 of 12)

#17 - William Almon Wheeler (Representative, Republican-NY) 1877-1881 (1 full term) Pres: Hayes

For the times, Wheeler was the perfect VP. His close relationship with President Hayes gave him the opportunity to advise his commander-in-chief on a few occassions, but he never rose to the level of full advisor. He cast a few tie-breaking votes in the Senate, but for the most part, he just kept his head down.

#16 - Hannibal Hamlin (Senator, Republican-ME) 1861-1865 (1 full term, dropped) Pres: Lincoln

Even though Mary Todd Lincoln fucking hated him, Hamlin was a perfectly fine VP. He struck up a well-balanced working relationship with his president and helped get his country through war. The choice to drop him in 1964 was purely political.

#17 - Thomas Jefferson (Sec. of State, Democratic-Republican-VA) 1797-1801 (1 full term) Pres: Adams (the first one)

In hindsight, Jefferson's like the best guy ever, right? If he had never been elected president, he'd be remembered as the eccentric who didn't quite understand what the VP job entailed. As respected as he was, Jefferson, while not in Washington, was mostly a shut-in. He wrote treatises on Virginian life that included a scientific explanation for the smell of African-Americans, except he did not use the term "African-American". On top of that, he spent four years trying to subvert his own president and former BFF. His term was so awful, they passed a whole Amendment to make sure there would never be a vice presidency like his again.

#16 - Richard Milhous Nixon (Senator, Republican-CA) 1953-1961 (2 full terms) Pres: Eisenhower

It's hard to judge Nixon without taking Watergate into consideration. In his eight years under Eisenhower, he added a lot of power and prestige to the office and formed the mold of the 20th Century VP. As the President's enforcer, he allowed Eisenhower to push through some serious legislation without taking a serious hit. On the other hand, rumors of his massive corruption during these years are hard to ignore in hindsight. Given the damage his presidency did to the country, we know the kind of president he would have been and can absolutely hold that against him.

Coming Up - Which VP refused to take a drink but took many, many bribes?


Later - We went how many years without a VP?