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SHORT, FAT AND THIN: PRESIDENTS ARE HUMAN, TOO! (PART I)

© William

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. As many of you know, I am a Presidential Historian, and, over the years, I have had the honor of talking on a variety of aspects of our presidents’ lives. I have spoken about their wives, their mistresses, their children and pets, and the aspects of their lives that have not been discussed in our history text books.

When I was first asked to speak to you today, it did not take me long to choose a topic for this afternoon’s program. Let me digress by saying that over the last nine months, I have been on an incredible journey. I have lost over 165 pounds. With this in mind, I decided to focus today’s program on the thinnest and heaviest of our chief executives. Neither of these individuals would have ever made the final casting call to play the president in NBC’s immensely popular West Wing television series, but these two men proved to have “just the right stuff,” to master the intricacies of government, and establish their place in history. One of these men drafted the U.S. Constitution, while the other never aspired to reach the highest level of our executive branch of government, he preferred, instead, to sit on the nation’s highest court. I am speaking, of course, of James Madison and William Howard Taft.

One hundred years separate these two men’s administrations. Madison taking office in 1809, while Taft entered the White House in 1909. Both men had served in their predecessors’ cabinet. Madison had served as Jefferson’s Secretary of State, while Taft served as Teddy Roosevelt’s Secretary of War. Both of these men had vivacious, if not politically astute, wives. Dolley Madison was the first president’s wife to attend her husband’s inaugural ball. Nellie Taft broke precedent by riding with her husband in their horse drawn carriage during the inaugural parade. These two men also have another unique distinction. Both had their vice-presidents die in office. James Madison, who served two terms as our nation’s fourth president, has the dubious distinction of having both his Vice-Presidents die in office. Lastly, neither have been ranked among our greatest presidents.

John F. Kennedy once said, "James Madison is our most underrated president."

James Madison, however, was a great statesman. Even in his own day he was known as the “Sage of his time,” “the great little Madison,” and as the “Father of the Constitution.” With his customary modesty, Madison, in his later years, disclaimed the last title. He said, "You give me credit to which I have no claim in calling me ‘the writer of the Constitution of the U.S.’ This was not, like the fabled Goddess of Wisdom, the offspring of a single brain. It ought to be regarded as the work of many heads and many hands."

President James Madison (1809-1817)

President William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

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