. Gary Condit

Our federal government now has time on its hands to go into the romance business.  Feeling reassured?  You’re not alone - most aren’t.  Politicians and fidelity go hand in hand about like Oprah Winfrey and the Texas cattle ranchers.  Consider those who’ve not put their marriages first, got busted and then had the whole sordid story unfold in the public eye:

Bill Clinton - Nine words: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman!”

Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer - His call girl scandal caused him to resign as governor. 

Former New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey - Before being outed as a homosexual, he admitted to being “as avid a womanizer as anybody else on the New Jersey political scene”. 

Gary Condit - He was briefly a person of interest in the abduction of Chandra Levy in 2001 because of a romance between the two that he initially denied.  This ultimately ruined his career although he was never charged.  An imminent arrest, thanks to a DNA match, of a former gang member was announced in February 2009.

John Edwards - An admitted affair with a former campaign worker ended Mr. GQ’s political career.  As his wife struggles with cancer, he was working double-time to keep his affair secret and out of the media.  What’s even more bizarre is how this magically dropped out of the media spotlight just as it was heating up.

Former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer

These are just a few of the most recent scandals that come to mind.  Granted, I doubt the creation of the government’s website for Romance and Marriage 101 will have any of these fellows as guest commentators, but it’s almost laughable that those responsible for this new brainchild are actually managing to keep a straight face as the announcement is made of the five million dollars that will be used to bring this site live.  We can’t forget, either, the hundreds of other scandals our elected head honchoes find themselves in - including bribery, theft, DUIs, writing worthless checks - the list is endless.  And yes, they’re human…but they’re held far more accountable since they’re the ones breaking the very laws they’ve written.

Granted, there are major costs associated with divorce and single parents.  And most people agree with the sanctity of marriage, both morally and legally.  It just feels like a kick in the teeth to most us who’ve watched so many scandals, courtesy of politicians and lawmakers from every state, play out on the evening news day after day…after day.

There is another storm brewing too.  The gay community says it’s their tax dollars that will be contributing to this new program, yet they’re not given the option of marriage in this country. 

Public opinion is less than optimistic, to say the least.  The site, if you’re interested, is www.TwoOfUs.org

President-elect Barack Obama

Today marks the swearing in of the 44^th American president.  Expectations are high and many are hopeful for what Barack Obama and his team will contribute to the betterment of this country.  Even his ten year old daughter, Malia, has said, “It’d better be good”.

Now’s a good time to take a walk down memory lane.  Each new inauguration has been history-making, but for different reasons.  Here are a few “firsts” some of our past presidents claim:

George Washington’s wife, Martha, didn’t attend the inaugural ball in 1789 due to prior commitments.  George Washington also holds the record for the shortest inaugural address, coming in at only 135 words.  By comparison, in 1841, William H. Harrison gave the longest address.  His total word count was ten thousand words.

In 1853, Frank Pierce showed how well his memory was by not referring once to his notes as he delivered his address.

Four years later, in 1857, the first photograph was taken of James Buchanan as he was sworn in.

The first time a mother attended and watched her son be sworn in was in 1881 as James Garfield gave his address.

In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became the first and only president to have not been sworn in on a Bible.

The first Mrs. to ride in the procession to the White House was William Taft’s wife in 1909.  This was also the first time an automobile was used in a parade.

Calvin Coolidge’s father administered the oath of office in 1925.  This was also the first to be broadcast by radio.

In 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to incorporate the 20^th Amendment by being sworn in on January 20^th.  In 1945, he accepted his third term and made history four years later by serving the only fourth term in history.  The 22^nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 that limits a president to two terms.

1949 brought us a televised event when Harry S. Truman made his acceptance speech.

John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic president to take office.  His inauguration was in 1961 and he was sworn in with a Catholic version of the Bible.

In 1969, Richard Nixon was the first, and so far the only, president to use two Bibles as he was sworn in.  Both were family heirlooms.  In 1974, Gerald Ford became the first president to take office unelected via the 25^th Amendment that states the vice president becomes president if the current president resigns.

Ronald Regan enjoyed nine inaugural balls in 1981.  In 1985, the inaugural ball fell on Super Bowl Sunday.

In 1997, as Bill Clinton took office, it was the first time it was broadcast on the internet.

Twenty four hours from now, this inauguration will be a part of history and we’ll anticipate the deliverance of promises made to the American public.  How president-elect Obama goes down in history is yet to be seen, but if his daughter has anything to do with it, “it’d better be good”.

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In my efforts to have an adult discussion with my 18 year old son, who will casting his very first vote on Tuesday, I asked him who he planned to vote for. Hey - I can do that. It might be a no-no in social situations, but the rules don’t apply to family members. So, that said, I asked him who he would be casting a vote for. He replied, “Sarah Palin.” I tried to correct him with, “Oh, the McCain/Palin team.” His non-plussed answer was, “Yeah. Whatever.” Now, anyone who knows me knows how seriously I take politics. Love them! I get frustrated and have a tendency to talk to the television anytime a faux pas is committed, as though they can actually hear me. Still, I’m pretty adamant in the declarations of the voting process being a responsibility each of us carries. So, his two word reply had me thinking how a golden opportunity had just presented itself. I told him that it’s not a decision to make the second he’s asked, but that he really needs to be convinced of the reasons he votes for any candidate, and more importantly, his answer needs to convince me (as if he heard that last part). I ended my little pep talk with, “Why did you say Sarah Palin instead of John McCain? She’s his VP pick. She’s not running for president.” His next two word reply was, “She’s hot.” You can imagine my look of disbelief. Then, with one of his classic “Jacob looks”, I realize he was just trying to get me riled up. So, after establishing that he’s indeed of the Republican mindset and it has nothing to do with how hot the VP candidate is, I managed to get him to go into a little more detail. Problem solved and crisis averted.

As we embark on a historical election that’s only a day away, I thought it’d be a fine time to take a walk through the past.

• Contrary to what many think, former president Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives. The Senate acquitted him, but he goes down in history as only 1 of two presidents to have been impeached. Remember, Richard Nixon resigned before impeachment procedures began and Andrew Johnson is the only other president, besides Bill Clinton, to have actually been through the impeachment procedures.
• 18 presidents never served in Congress, including Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and G.W. Bush
• The scandals are many, including the infamous Whiskey Ring scandal during Ulysses Grant’s term that involved high ranking politicians who successfully stole tax dollars on the sale of whiskey and managed to keep it hidden until the then-U.S. treasury secretary Benjamin Bristow uncovered and exposed it. Another scandal during Grant’s term was the impeachment of William Belknap for accepting thousands of dollars in bribe monies in exchange for an appointment in Indian Territory.
• Lest we forget the Teapot Dome scandal during Warren Harding’s term. In the early 20s, Harding transferred the responsibilities for naval oil reserve properties to the Department of Interior. These rights were then altered and exploited for the financial gain of Albert Fall, the Secretary of the Interior at that time. He went on to grant the exclusive rights to the Teapot Dome reserve in Wyoming for huge sums of money and loans that were interest free. He was later convicted of these illegal activities, marking the first ever conviction of a cabinet member.
• And then there’s the more recent Watergate scandal of the early 70s. This ended a presidency when Richard Nixon chose to resign versus facing an almost certain impeachment. Five men were caught breaking into a Democratic headquarters site at the Watergate complex. These men were all employees of Nixon and it was discovered through a journalist’s investigation that the orders to break into this office came from the highest office in the country. The Senate investigated and heads rolled. It was also discovered that Nixon recorded phone calls and conversations within his office and then refused to release the tapes to the committee investigating the scandal. Nixon was eventually indicted for illegal wiretapping, bribery, obstruction of justice and other crimes.

So, as we all await the results after Tuesday’s election and ponder all of the petty accusations from the past months, a little perspective provided from history might be just what we need while awaiting the announcement of who will become the next United States President.