Word: truman
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...anybody who craves job security. Typically, chiefs of staff burn out or are eased out in less than two-and-a-half years. The last one to survive an entire presidency was John R. Steelman, a onetime hobo who held the post for six years under Harry Truman, at a time when the staff was much smaller and the job title was "assistant to the President of the United States...
...Some Presidents have a hard time being instantly shrink-wrapped on Inauguration Day. One minute he is the Leader of the Free World; the next, he's history. "What a great change can come to a man in a matter of moments," the departing Harry Truman told a friend after Dwight Eisenhower's swearing in. Adjusting to a sudden power outage can be a remarkable challenge. Eisenhower had to be taught how to dial the phone. Calvin Coolidge was frustrated that people didn't always realize he was no longer God. "People seem to think the presidential machinery should keep...
...Presidents include writing books, launching foundations, going fishing - and making money. George Washington returned to Mount Vernon to find it in a terrible state. He had to sell off land to make repairs, since eight years away had "despoiled my buildings but also deranged my private affairs." Truman, who had only modest savings and $112.56 a month from his Army pension, had to take out a bank loan in his last couple of weeks in office and could barely afford the stamps to answer all the letters that came in. It wasn't until 1958 that Congress got around...
...only to review the recent tally of Bill Clinton's postpresidential earnings to see how things have changed. But making money has seldom been any former President's chief goal; making, or remaking, history is - and it's only partially within a President's power to achieve. Truman now ranks among our top Presidents, but the peaceful end of the Cold War sure helped. Jimmy Carter has climbed from 34% to 64% approval since leaving office, but more out of respect for his humanitarian work than reconsideration of his presidency. "I don't expect many short-term historians to write...
...Harry Truman, who became the holder of the first Medicare card for his support of the legislation, also succeeded in getting a bill passed in 1958 that provided former presidents with a pension, staff, and office space. Prior to that, ex-presidents received no such retirement benefits (Truman was fairly broke when he left office). And finally, Richard Nixon mediated a baseball umpire's strike in 1985. We don't know what to make of that either...