Being Single in Politics

[moe.ron]

What are the odds that a single male or female will be the president of the United States?

[honeychile]

I would think that a single person would be under a much stronger microscope than a married person - if possible!

[DeltAlum]

FYI...

"15th U.S. president James Buchanan is the only unmarried man ever to be elected president. Buchanan was engaged to be married once; however, his fiancée died suddenly after breaking off the engagement, and he remained a bachelor all his life."

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
FYI...

"15th U.S. president James Buchanan is the only unmarried man ever to be elected president. Buchanan was engaged to be married once; however, his fiancée died suddenly after breaking off the engagement, and he remained a bachelor all his life."

psst...

Buchanan’s long-time living companion, William Rufus King, was referred to by critics as his “better half,” ‘’his wife,” and “Aunt Fancy.” Around Washington, the pair were known as the “Siamese twins,” slang at the time for gays and lesbians. And when King was appointed envoy to France, in 1844, Buchanan lamented to a friend that “I have gone wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any of them.”

Other authors have noted that Senator King was called “Miss Nancy” by Andrew Jackson, “Mrs. James Buchanan” by James K. Polk’s law partner, and “Buchanan’s better half” and “Aunt Fancy” by others. Senator King was noted for his “fastidious habits and conspicuous intimacy with bachelor Buchanan.”

http://www.stanford.edu/~lindholm/chinf_buc.html

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
psst...

Buchanan’s long-time living companion, William Rufus King, was referred to by critics as his “better half,” ‘’his wife,” and “Aunt Fancy.” Around Washington, the pair were known as the “Siamese twins,” slang at the time for gays and lesbians. And when King was appointed envoy to France, in 1844, Buchanan lamented to a friend that “I have gone wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any of them.”

Other authors have noted that Senator King was called “Miss Nancy” by Andrew Jackson, “Mrs. James Buchanan” by James K. Polk’s law partner, and “Buchanan’s better half” and “Aunt Fancy” by others. Senator King was noted for his “fastidious habits and conspicuous intimacy with bachelor Buchanan.”

http://www.stanford.edu/~lindholm/chinf_buc.html

psssst . . .

" . . . I have now one request to make, and, for love of God and of your dear, departed daughter whom I loved infinitely more than any other human being could love, deny my not. Afford me the melancholy pleasure of seeing her body before its interment. I would not for the world be denied this request.

I might make another, but, from the misrepresentations which must have been made to you, I am almost afraid. I would like to follow her remains to the grave as a mourner. I would like to convince the world, and I hope to convince you, that she was infinitely dearer to me than life. I may sustain the shock of her death, but I feel that happiness has fled from me forever. The prayer which I make to God without ceasing is, that I yet may be able to show my veneration for the memory of my dear departed saint, by my respect and attachment for her surviving friends."

--James Buchanan, to his former fiance's father


This topic is certainly up for debate, and is nowhere near as cut-and-dried as you've presented it here, killer, although the theory as been in the air forever. If I can find the articles I had to read for AP AmHistory on this very topic, I'll try to post some - it's interesting, but very much vague and without real answer.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
Buchanan’s long-time living companion, William Rufus King, was referred to by critics as his “better half,” ‘’his wife,” and “Aunt Fancy.”

Gee, and I thought this thread was about politicians who weren't married.

Why not just leave the comment alone?

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

getting back on topic...

I think right now the best shot for a single President would be Rudolph Giuliani. I know I'd vote for him.

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
getting back on topic...

I think right now the best shot for a single President would be Rudolph Giuliani. I know I'd vote for him.

He's not single.

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

Originally posted by PhiPsiRuss
He's not single.

I must have missed him marrying his mistress.

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
FYI...

"15th U.S. president James Buchanan is the only unmarried man ever to be elected president. Buchanan was engaged to be married once; however, his fiancée died suddenly after breaking off the engagement, and he remained a bachelor all his life."

This was before electronic media, so its difficult to make comparisons.

Visual aspects of a presidents image are far more important than back then. You don't see presidential candidates with facial hair anymore, or who are bald.

As far as morality, Reagan was divorced, so that issue is dead and buried. But being single? A generic hypothetical president has to be married with children. You would need an individual to be so exceptional, that it wouldn't matter. There are no single people alive, that I can think of, that meet that criterion.

Think about this, why is the individual single? Is he gay? That's a tough one for the American public to swallow at this point in time. Is he asexual? That would kill a candidate, especially if he admitted to that. Is he someone who likes to play the field? No way is he getting elected. It would take a uniquely exceptional individual to overcome all of this, and he would probably have to be a Republican (so that he's not reinforcing negative stereotypes.)

If you had a conservative gay man, who was a Rhodes Scholar and a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, it could happen.

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
I must have missed him marrying his mistress.

You also missed him marrying his cousin, but who's counting.

[valkyrie]

I can't say I give a rat's ass about a politician's marital status.

Why would anyone think a politician must be married with children?

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
psst...

Buchanan’s long-time living companion, William Rufus King, was referred to by critics as his “better half,” ‘’his wife,” and “Aunt Fancy.” Around Washington, the pair were known as the “Siamese twins,” slang at the time for gays and lesbians. And when King was appointed envoy to France, in 1844, Buchanan lamented to a friend that “I have gone wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any of them.”

Other authors have noted that Senator King was called “Miss Nancy” by Andrew Jackson, “Mrs. James Buchanan” by James K. Polk’s law partner, and “Buchanan’s better half” and “Aunt Fancy” by others. Senator King was noted for his “fastidious habits and conspicuous intimacy with bachelor Buchanan.”

http://www.stanford.edu/~lindholm/chinf_buc.html

There is also proof mentioned on the site that Buchanan was not gay. I'm not sure that we'll ever have a concrete answer whether he was or wasn't.

Not that it matters; he was a horrible President, whether he was gay, straight or otherwise.

Back to the topic...
I'll agree with Russ that it would be difficult, for the reasons mentioned. Also, you'd have much more of an effort on the other side to uncover why he was single (i.e. bringing up dirt from past, ex-girlfriends, etc.)

It shouldn't be an issue, but I think it would be.

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

Originally posted by valkyrie
I can't say I give a rat's ass about a politician's marital status.

Why would anyone think a politician must be married with children?

"traditional values" and other bullshit

kind of the same reason why the US lacks behind even some third world nations in representation of women in their national assembly.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
"traditional values" and other bullshit

kind of the same reason why the US lacks behind even some third world nations in representation of women in their national assembly.

I know in college lot of people experiment, but how much pot do you smoke?

-Rudey