Liberal in the Land of Conservative

Being the contrarian that I am, I often avoid the obvious choices provided to me by the masses. When the question is posed, who is your favorite president, my thoughts do not immediately turn to George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and certainly not to Ronald Reagan. So, for this President's Day I offer you the lessons we can learn from a couple of our more obscure leaders.

Harrison, the hero of The Battle of Tippecanoe, is the perfect example of why you should always be brief and bundle up. Mothers have always harped on us the need to wear warm clothing or we will catch our death of cold. Perhaps they could begin using Mr. Harrison as an example. After winning the election of 1840, Harrison chose to be a tough guy and give his inaugural address (the longest in history at 2+ hours long) on a cold and rainy day. One month later, he was DEAD! So, if you ever become President, be sure to bundle up and keep it brief.

While the exact details of Taylor's demise are not entirely clear, there are lessons to learn. First among those is to learn from the mistakes of your predecessors. Taylor, attending a 4th of July celebration, chose not to dress for the weather and ended up with a fatal case of heat stroke. Second, is the lesson of gluttony. Other theories for the demise of Taylor are that he consumed a large amount of iced milk and cherries which contributed to his stomach ailment. Taylor died five days after attending this celebration. So, if you ever become President, dress for the weather and don't be a glutton.