Square Zero

Most Dangerous Vice President Ever?

Posted by Eric (October 2, 2008 at 9:44 pm)

Joe BidenJoe Biden just declared, in his Vice Presidential debate with Sarah Palin, that Dick Cheney “has been the most dangerous vice president we’ve had probably in American history.”

Slow Joe has apparently forgotten about Aaron Burr, Vice President under Thomas Jefferson in his first term, 1801-1805.

Burr is most famous for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804, during which Hamilton reportedly shot wide; Burr shot to kill.

Had he done nothing worse to harm his country than that, he’d still be in the running for Biden’s “most dangerous VP ever” award. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton saved the young republic from economic catastrophe through a federal “bailout” of the states’ Revolutionary War debts. He had more to offer the nation he helped found.

Aaron BurrBut Aaron Burr is also notable for conspiring with General James Wilkinson—who was in the pay of the Spanish—to seize land in the west and create his own empire. Wilkinson was also guilty of encouraging settlers in Tennessee and Kentucky to secede and join the Spanish American Empire.

Burr was a scoundrel of scoundrels—there’s no comparison between him and Dick Cheney, however much you may hate Cheney.

But sadly, few Americans know their history these days, and guys like Biden can get away with ridiculous statements like the one tonight about holders of the office he is seeking.

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3 Responses to “Most Dangerous Vice President Ever?”

  1. John Jansen says:

    Well, yeah, but who cares if Slow Joe makes such outrageous claims? After all, he spends “a lot of time” at Home Depot, so he’s a real Man of the People, doncha know?

    Comment posted October 3rd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
  2. Pete says:

    Little editing here: you used the word Succeed, instead of Secede.

    Clearly Burr was more dangerous than Cheney. When Cheney shoots a guy, that guy gets better. Or at least Burr was a better shot.

    Comment posted October 7th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
  3. Eric says:

    Thanks, Pete. I fixed that.

    I also removed the extra apostrophe where you wrote “get’s better”. Ha.

    Comment posted October 9th, 2008 at 9:29 am