Presidential Quotes (4 of 12): Woodrow Wilson

Today, we quote President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), who as of this writing does not have a Washington Nationals mascot. Wilson served in office for two full terms (1913-1921) and he died three years after he left office in 1924.

Wilson had four alma maters, in Davidson College, the University of Virginia, Princeton and Johns Hopkins. He also has at least four high schools named after him, including Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, West Virginia.

Wilson's birthplace in Staunton, Va., and his residency in Washington, DC, are historic sites open to the public. He is also buried at the National Cathedral in the nation's capital.

Wilson was the eighth Democratic president since Andrew Jackson, and he would be the only Democrat to hold the presidency until Franklin D. Roosevelt came to the helm in 1933.

Here is Wilson's quote, which makes one think of the problems that President Barack Obama has faced with regards to Obamacare:

"If you want to make enemies try to change something."

http://www.woodrowilson.org

http://www.woodrowwilsonhouse.org

http://www.millercenter.org/presidentwilson

Presidential Quote (6 of 8): Andrew Jackson

Greetings to our blog readers in Ireland, Italy and Israel.

Today, we continue with our presidential quotes by quoting Andrew Jackson, the seventh* American president and the second Democrat to become prez, after Thomas Jefferson.

There is actually a dispute as to whether Jackson was born in North Carolina or South Carolina as he has born on an estate near the border, but most historians say he was born in South Carolina. Today, there is a high school in Kershaw, SC, which bears his name.

Jackson represented Tennessee at the time of his election to the presidency, and his historic home The Hermitage in Nashville, Tenn., is open for tourists. Jackson, Mississippi, and the town of Mont Jackson, Va., two hours south of Washington, DC, are among the cities and towns named after 'Old Hickory.

Here is his quote:

"Take the time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in."

http://www.thehermitage.com

*- We initially stated that Jackson was the sixth president of the USA; that distinction actually belongs to John Quincy Adams. I assume that the folks at The Hermitage and Mental Floss magazine will hold us accountable!

http://www.mentalfloss.com

Quote of the Day- Robin Williams

For those of you keeping track of the series, yesterday, I overlooked the fact that Charlton Heston also played Andrew Jackson as President Andrew Jackson in the film "The President's Lady" (1958).

Now that we have that out of the day, let's turn our attention to Robin Williams. He is the latest actor who have played real-life presidents who we are quoting. Williams played Theodore Roosevelt during the Rough Riders years before Roosevelt became president. But, he played Roosevelt in a very non-traditional way as the part was an exhibition piece at a natural history museum which came to life; we are, of course referring to the film "Night at the Museum" (2006) and its sequel which came out three years later.

Both films starred Ben Stiller.

Williams, 61, won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a psychologist in "Good will Hunting" (1997); the actor got his big break playing the alien Mork on the sitcom "Mork and Mindy" (1974-78), which is very likely the only tv show that took place in Boulder, Colo.

Other actors who have played Theodore Roosevelt including the late Brian Keith (1921-1997) who played him in the film "The Wind and the Lion" (1975). Keith played another president, this time William McKinley in the 1997 tv movie "Rough Riders," which also featured Tom Berrenger as Teddy Roosevelt.

Here is the quote from Mork:

"My God. We've had cloning in the South for years. It's called cousins."

http://www.robinwilliams.com

Quote of the Day- Charlton Heston

Today, we quote the late actor Charlton Heston (1923-2008), as we continue quoting actors who played real-life presidents. Heston had the distinction of playing three presidents: One as Andrew Jackson, the seventh American president, in the feature film "The Buccaneer" * (1959, dir: Anthony Quinn) and he played Thomas Jefferson in the tv movie "The Patriots" and later in life he played Abraham Lincoln in the tv mini-series "The Great Battles of the Civil War."

Today, on our other blog, we have a quote from Nick Nolte who played Jefferson in the 1995 film "Jefferson in Paris." 

The following quote is a bit ironic in that Heston was not only one of the few Republicans in Hollywood, he also became a right-wing icon when he headed the controversial, but powerful gun lobbying group The National Rifle Organization (NRA). Here is indeed referring to a president who was a Democrat:

"Jackson was one of my favorite presidents. One mean son of a bitch."

*-Heston actually plays a young Gen. Andrew Jackson in the film

SIDEBAR: In sports, we mentioned the Durham Bulls, a popular minor league baseball team in Durham, NC, a few nights ago. Well, as it turns out, they did finish their series against the Rochester Red Wings in spite of their home game being rained out on Saturday. On Monday night, the Bulls beat the Red Wings 4-0 as shortstop Tim Beckham and outfielder Jose Feliciano hit a pair of doubles in a game which saw a much-heralded Australian prospect Liam Hendricks (7-1) taking the mound for the visitors.

http://www.charltonhestonworld.homestead.com

http://www.twitter.com/durhambulls

Know Your Presidents Quiz

Today's question pertains to Andrew Jackson, our seventh president, who is the subject of a new book by journalist Jon Meacham.

Jackson, a Democrat, represented Tenn., but his birth state was somewhere else.

Was that state:

A) Virginia

B) North Carolina

C) South Carolina

D) Florida

I initially missed this one myself!

SIDEBAR: The answer to last week's quiz about the vice president of Harry S. Truman was A) Alben Barkley.