Torch, Spring/Summer 2008

not require this of their candidates, we will not be able to keep politicians adequately accountable or be well-informed enough to vote intelligently. Evangelical Christians have an added imperative to be involved in the political system. Evangelicals can play an important role in maintaining the blessings we have in America. With much blessing comes much responsibility. The resources and people of this nation can help to support and expand the body of Christ in this world. They can also be a significant force for good in an international community racked with conflict and evil. It will take hard work, however, because some who came before us and who claimed the name of Christ did not use the best methods. Matthew 10:16 reminds us of the need to be charitable as well as shrewd. In the end, Christians can improve our political system and our society by being informed, being involved, and keeping politicians accountable. Dr. Tom Mach serves as professor of history at Cedarville University. A Cedarville graduate, he earned his M.A. from Cleveland State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Akron. Mach joined the Cedarville faculty in 2000. His primary area of interest is 19 th ‑century America, specifically the political history of the American Civil War and the Gilded Age. He has recently published a biography of a 19 th ‑century Ohio politician and presidential aspirant entitled “Gentleman George” Hunt Pendleton . Spring–Summer 2008 17 GeorgeW. Bush has had one of the highest approval ratings and one of the lowest approval ratings of any of the presidents during his terms in office (90 percent and 29 percent, respectively). Attempts have been made to assassinate 10 presidents; four were successful. • Assassinated: Lincoln, Garfield , McKinley, and Kennedy • Attempts: Jackson , T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Ford, and Reagan The order of presidential succession established by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 makes the speaker of the House (currently Nancy Pelosi) third in line after the president and vice president. Five pairs of presidents have been related: • George H.W. Bush is the father of GeorgeW. Bush. • John Adams was the father of John Q. Adams . • William Henry Harrison was the grandfather of Benjamin Harrison. • James Madison and Zachary Taylor were second cousins. • Franklin D. Roosevelt was a fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt. A presidential candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes to become president. The next president will be paid $400,000 per year in salary. More presidents were Episcopalians than any other denomination. The second most common affiliation is Presbyterian. The oldest president at the time of election was Ronald Reagan , age 69, while the youngest at election was John F. Kennedy , age 43. (At age 42, Teddy Roosevelt was actually younger when he became president, but he ascended to theWhite House upon the assassination of William McKinley.) Note: John McCain is 71 and Barack Obama is 46. Four presidential candidates have won the popular vote but lost the election in the Electoral College: • Andrew Jackson, 1824 • Samuel J. Tilden, 1876 • Grover Cleveland, 1888 • Al Gore, 2000 The president with the highest popular vote in American history was Ronald Reagan in 1984 with 54.4 million votes. He also had the highest electoral vote with 525 votes (carried 49 states). One president served two non-consecutive terms: Grover Cleveland (1884 and 1892). The lowest voter turnout percentage in American presidential election history was in 1992 with only 49.1 percent voting. That means that approximately 24.5 percent of the electorate put Bill Clinton into his first term as president. George W. Bush defeated Al Gore for the presidency in 2000. The race came down to a single state and several hundred votes. Presidential Fun Facts PHOTOS/IMAGES FROM: WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION; RONALD REAGAN LIBRARY; WILLIAM J. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY; LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; JOHN F. KENNEDY LIBRARY; NARA; WHITE HOUSE PHOTO T