My brushes with the Presidency

by Bill McGaughey

Overview

My brushes with the Presidency - An adventure in historical imagination

How many walls of separation are there between you and a U.S. President? With a little historical imagination, you may find more than a few personal connections. Bill, for instance, was named for a U.S. President but in few more years he will be buried in a grave a stone’s throw from where that President’s main critic and political adversary is buried. The alleged mistress of yet another U.S. President is also buried near them in that small town cemetery.

Bill’s connections to Presidents go back to George Washington. Two of his ancestors are alleged to have been Washington’s bodyguards or personal friends. The connection to Lincoln is more tenuous. Someone named McGaughey was Lincoln’s rival for a presidential appointment made by Zachary Taylor.The two might have been Whig colleagues.

Bill McGaughey has shaken hands with three U.S. presidents during their campaigns and had personally signed letters from two others. A man who may be elected President in 2012 knows his name. All this is quite gratifying - but it and $1.00 will get you a cup of coffee at Superamerica.

Even so, those interested in the lineage of U.S. Presidents may be interested in Bill’s account of his connection with the Presidents, including some of the lesser known details of their lives. It’s fun to be able to touch history. Everyone can. Let your historical imagination soar if, of course, you have nothing better to do.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940012775160
Publisher:	Thistlerose Publications
Publication date:	07/13/2011
Series:	Tall tales, Presidential encounters, and other stuff , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	26 KB

About the Author

Bill's full real name is William Howard Taft McGaughey, Jr. He was named for his father who was born in 1912. this was the year in which President William Howard Taft unsuccessfully sought reelection.

Bill also has ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War - David McGaughey and Jabez Rockwell. They were said to have been personal acquaintances of George Washington, our first President. Bill has stood on the edge of national politics for many years. Like Forrest Gump, he has been a bystander to many important events.

Bill was moved to write this piece, "Brushes with the Presidency", as a result of his interest in national politics and his personal experiences involving Presidents or Presidential candidates. He has shaken hands with several successful Presidential candidates and corresponded with others. He has coauthored a book with a man who became famous running for President. He planned to attend an event that a sitting President planned to attend; but this man died on the previous afternoon and the event was cancelled. He may have had an impact on U.S. trade policy as a result of personally handing a book to a Presidential candidate who later won the election. If a certain Republican candidate is elected President in 2012, Bill will be someone known personally to that President since they both attended the same high school in roughly the same period of time. Bill lived in the same college (dormitory) at Yale where a recent President lived in his college years.

Bill also ran for President himself. He finished fifth among seven candidates in Louisiana's 2004 Democratic Presidential primary, receiving 3,100 votes or 2 percent of the total. Five candidates ran for President that year in the two major parties, Bill being one. He was the Forrest Gump of the bunch. He may also be one of the few candidates who has advocated trade protection even though our free trade policies have killed many U.S. jobs.

Bill was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. His father worked at American Motors Corporation under CEO George Romney. Bill graduated from Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and later from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. In January 1965, he moved to the Twin Cities in Minnesota where he has spent most of his life. He pursued a career in accounting and then bought rental property. He has published seven books and created ten web sites. Now he's into electronic-books publishing.