LET'S PLAY PRESIDENTIAL WORD ASSOCIATION
BY DAN MILLER
(originally posted November 18, 2004)
Bill Clinton's Presidential Center opens today in Arkansas to much ado, and that has me thinking about Clinton, and other American presidents as well.
Whenever I hear any past president mentioned, there's usually some fact, quote, deed, rumor, or legend, that immediately pops into mind.
It might not be anything significant, or even true. And it probably has nothing to do with their effectiveness as president.
Consider George Washington. The first thing that comes to my mind (and to everybody else I asked) is chopping down the cherry tree. There's also the legend that he couldn't tell a lie..... and that he tossed a coin across the Potomac.
I doubt those things are true.
Mention Harry S Truman, and I think of the little sign on his desk reading "the buck stops here".... or perhaps the trivial fact that there's no 'period' after the S in his name.
Dwight Eisenhower immediately brings to mind, for me, Augusta and golf. He came there so often when I was growing up that we Augustans hardly even noticed.
Conversely, I often think about Eisenhower when I'm stuck in traffic on the Interstate Highway system, which was started during his administration.
Jimmy Carter always brings to mind "Billy Beer" and peanuts.
Of course, I think about the sterling example he sets for how "former presidents" ought to be... active, involved and inspiring.
Mention Lyndon Johnson, and, oddly, I think about how he picked up his dog by the ears. Fortunately, I then recall the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which came about on his watch.
The name Ronald Reagan makes me recall his breathy "...Well..." when he'd start a sentence.
And the chills he gave us all with those powerful words, "Mr. Gorbechev, tear down this wall".
When I hear the name Gerald Ford, sorry, but I think of a man falling down (thanks in large part to comedian Chevy Chase).
And just when I thought Bill Clinton would always conjure up thoughts of his troublesome indiscretions, and the deception that followed, along comes the "Clinton syndrome".
In the days after Clinton's close call with clogged arteries, hospitals all around the country reported an epidemic of worried, middle-aged men scurrying in to get their own hearts and arteries checked.
It even changed the way some doctors do business. They now send patients directly to angiograms without doing the usual treadmill stress tests first.
That's because Clinton reportedly had normal stress tests despite his severe blockages.
Even private heart scan centers, which use a type of x-ray, have been seeing a big boost in business. And those expensive tests are generally paid for by the patients themselves.
This type of public reaction has happened before.
When comic actor John Candy suddenly died in 1994 at age 43, the same rush to get checked happened.
And it did in 2002 when 33-year old major league pitcher Darryl Kile died.
But few things get as much publicity and press coverage as when they happen to a former president.
So maybe, someday, the mention of Bill Clinton will spark thoughts of those motivated by the "Clinton syndrome" to pop into mind, replacing that other stuff..
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