- Most “Active” President?
On This Date in History: On October 22, 1919 a baby girl named Elizabeth Ann was born to Nan Britton. That was no big deal to most people, unless you were aspiring to become President of the United States.
The Lovely Couple
Ohio Senator Warren G. Harding won his first term as Senator in 1914. He said he found the upper chamber of the Congress “a very pleasing place.” He was handsome and popular, having served in the Ohio State Senate and as Ohio Lt. Governor, though he lost a bid for Governor. He gave the nominated speech for President Taft at the 1912 Republican Convention. Let’s see…first term Senator from Midwest…handsome….popular…active in state politics and key speaker at a convention. Sound familiar?
Anyway, there was a snarl in the nominating process at the 1920 Republican convention and in one of those “smoke filled room” stories, party leaders agreed to make Harding the candidate. It is unclear if those party leaders would have even considered Harding had they known of his affection for the ladies.
Florence Harding: Infintesimally Scorned Woman?
In 1927, 3 years after Harding’s death, Nan Britton published a book called The President’s Daughter. In it, she claimed that she had fallen in love with Harding when he was 45 and she was but 14! In 1917, Nan moved from Ohio to New York and wrote Harding for help in finding a job. She said he came to her and “tucked $30 in my brand new silk stocking.” She claimed that they had a long romance but that she had burned all of the love letters that he had written her as per an agreement between them. She said that he had burned her letters too but, after his death, the real Mrs. Harding, burned all of his correspondence and up in smoke went any corroborating evidence. But, the charge remained that Elizabeth Ann was the only child of Warren G. Harding.
Wife of Harding's Friend
Warren G. Harding love letters to his mistress did eventually show up. Trouble is, they weren’t to Nan Britton but instead belonged to Carrie Phillips, the Ohio wife of one of Harding’s best friends. Not sure if that makes Warren his best man. The letters show that Carrie “was the love of Harding’s life.” Their 10 year affair began in 1909 when the two couples were touring Europe. I’m trying to figure out what Mr. Phillips and Mrs. Harding were doing when Mr. Harding and Mrs. Phillips were horsing around. Anyway, Warren didn’t just write letters to Phillips, he wrote novels. They were often as long as 40 pages and were sexually explicit.
But…there’s more! People today often try to make up excuses for their behavior. Well, Warren’s not around to do that but he has modern clinical analysts to do his bidding. There is a school of thought that President Harding was a victim of satyriasis. That is an unmangeable, excessive need for sex. They point to the fact that he kept a room next to the Oval Office reserved for quick action with any number of women that may wander his way. They also suggest it as a reason for his habit of writing such long, rambling, graphic love letters.
Teapot Dome Steamrolled Harding to Death?
I don’t know about all of that but I do think that, aside from the Teapot Dome Scandal, this type of catting around may be a good reason why many scholars over the years tried to make the case that when he died in 1923 it was murder and not food poisoning followed by a heart attack. If it was murder, it sounds as if there would be a long list of suspects, starting with Mrs. Harding and then carrying on through a long list of women as well as their husbands, boyfriends and fathers. One thing for certain, if a love triangle involves 3 people, then Warren G. Harding would have to be described as being involved in a love polygon.
Fools Challenge Waves in Mazatlan-Click for AP Gallery
Hurricane Rick…No Tropical Storm Rick…No More I reported yesterday that I wasn’t too enthused about Hurricane Rick, even when it was blowing and going as a full blown category 5 hurricane. That’s because of its proximity of cold water and its slow movement. The media tried to hype it up and make it sound as a fact that it was going to blow Baja California off the map. Well, Tropical Storm Rick ran into cold water and has moved into northern Mexico north of Mazatlan. It is already disappaiting over the foothills of the Sierra Madre. The reports say that it may drop an inch of rain inland. Sounds like no big deal, right? Well, some of the areas where the rain will fall are desert regions and so an inch of rain in a relatively short period of time can cause flooding concerns.
Friday 8 AM
Weather Bottom Line: We have a somewhat complicated situation coming up, but I suppose not too much so and also not unusual. An area of low pressure will be coming out of the South-Central plains into our region from the mid-Mississippi Valley. Also a cold front will be sinking down from the north. As a warm front tries to lift our way on Thursday ahead of the front, high clouds will build up until over-running moisture is such that rain chances go up on Thursday night and they stick around all day Friday. The GFS is throwing out 1.23″ of rain from Thurs. night into early Saturday morning while the NAM advertises 1.38″. The NWS is suggesting something a bit more might be possible and that would certainly be a good call. The weekend looks pretty good with clouds moving out by Saturday afternoon. It will be cool though with highs not getting to the 60′s until at least the early part of next week.
