Sex, Buffalo, and the White House

In honor of Presidents’ Day, I was delighted to see that Buffalo's gift to the White House was honored on a very prestigious list.

Okay, it was a list of the top Presidential Sex Scandals.

But at least on one list, Grover Cleveland is in some pretty prestigious company.

FDR.

JFK.

Thomas Jefferson.

Let’s face it, a sex scandal list is the only top-10 list Grover Cleveland would be on.

He wasn’t exactly considered one of our better presidents.  Not a bad one either….just kind of average.

But he was certainly interesting.

And not just because of the sex thing.

Although….that was really interesting.

After all, he was elected president despite the fact that he had fathered an illegitimate child.  One of the greatest campaign slogans ever was used against him.  “Ma, Ma, where’s my Pa?”  Then after he won, his supporters added a second line.  “Gone to the White House.  Ha! Ha! Ha!”

He also had a little cradle-robbing thing.  When his best friend died, he promised he would take care of the man’s daughter.  He did.  He married her.  He was 49, she was 21.

They say Bill Clinton was a great student of history.  Clearly he studied Grover Cleveland.

Who, by the way, had quite the meteoric rise.  In three years he went from mayor of Buffalo to governor of New York to president of the United States.

Unlike our elected officials today, he got things done.

Even if he had to do them himself.

Before he was mayor of Buffalo, he was Erie County Sheriff.  Back then, the sheriff was responsible for carrying out executions or paying a deputy $10 to do it.  So Cleveland did it himself.  Twice.  Both were hangings.

Can you imagine a presidential candidate today doing that?  Even Rick Perry never flipped the switch himself….and we all know that man loves to kill prisoners.

On the political front, Cleveland was known as a reformer. 

He cleaned up corruption in Buffalo.  (at least for a while)  That got him elected governor.  Where he cleaned up Albany.  (at least for a while)

And that got him elected president in 1884.  Where he cleaned up Washington.  (at least for a while)

But he wasn’t re-elected in 1888.  Even though he won the election.  How did that happen?  Cleveland won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College.  (So he was the 19^th century version of both Bill Clinton and Al Gore)

But he wasn’t finished.  He came back.  He was elected again in 1892.  The only president to serve non-consecutive terms.  (I have this Arnold Schwarzenegger image of him leaving the White House and saying “I’ll be back”.  He didn’t.)  But the First Lady did tell a staff member to keep the furniture the way it was, because they’d be back in four years.

But Cleveland didn’t do so well in his second term, so not only was he not re-elected in 1896, he wasn’t even nominated as the Democratic candidate.

That year, the Republican was elected.  William McKinley.  And we all know how well his trip to Buffalo turned out.

But think about that for a minute.  The former mayor of Buffalo was replaced in the White House by the man who would be assassinated in Buffalo.  And honored with a monument in front of Buffalo City Hall.

And think about this.  If McKinley hadn’t been assassinated, would Teddy Roosevelt have become president?

So one of our greatest presidents became president because of Buffalo.  Replacing the man who replaced the president from Buffalo. 

Who wasn’t a great president. 

But he’s a great story.

A sad ending at Happy Valley

Today when I heard that Joe Paterno had died, it made me sad.  Much sadder than I thought I would be.

Not because I knew him.  I never even met the man.  I didn’t go to Penn State.  I was never even a big Nittany Lion fan.

But I always admired Joe Paterno.  At least, until a few months ago.  And that’s why I’m so sad.

Even sadder than I was back in November, when I wrote that Penn State was right to fire Paterno for what he did (and more important, didn’t do) about the child sex allegations against his longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky.  I was sad then, when I wrote that Paterno’s legacy would be so tarnished by this terrible story.  I was sad then, when I wrote that when he died, the words “sex scandal” would join “winningest coach” in the first line of his obituary.

Who would have thought it would happen so soon.

But that’s exactly what happened today.  Which is why I’m so sad.

When the story first broke, I was angry at Paterno.  How many children could he have saved from physical assault and emotional scarring?  How many lives could he have changed?  Including his own.

Today, as the stories about Paterno flooded the airwaves and the internet, and tributes poured in from his former players and coaches, along with former competitors and just plain fans, I thought about the victims and their families, and what they must be thinking today.

What will Paterno’s legacy turn out to be?  He was truly a great coach.  He was admired.  He was respected.  He was beloved.   There is genuine heartfelt grief over his death.

Will his role in the scandal end up overshadowing all the good he did for all those years?  Or will it just be one very bad chapter in a very good life? 

And how will his death affect the criminal case?  Would Paterno have faced criminal charges if he had lived?  What role would he have played in Sandusky’s trial?  Assuming there is one.

What about the civil case?  We know Penn State will end up paying millions and millions of dollars.  Would Paterno have been sued as well?

This story is tragic.  It would be awful if Paterno’s death somehow hurt the victims one last time.  And on the day when so many people are mourning the loss of a great coach and a good man, I feel very sad that his death isn’t the only reason I feel so sad.

The Penn State Scandal: So long, Joe

To the Penn State board of trustees: You did the right thing.  It took a few days, and maybe you did it out of reaction to Joe Paterno’s attempt to paint you into a corner….but you took the appropriate action.

To the Penn State students who staged that embarrassing pep rally at Paterno’s house Tuesday night and then protested last night: You’re young, you have the right to be stupid.  Someday you’ll realize that you let your passion for a campus legend overcome your ability to figure out the right priorities.

And to Joe Paterno: Yeah, in hindsight you wish you had done more.  In hindsight, I think the parents of the boys who were sexually abused or assaulted wish you had done a lot more.  They wish you had done the right thing.  And by the way, as you think about your legacy, think about the fact that the words “sex scandal” will join “winningest coach” in THE FIRST SENTENCE OF YOUR OBITUARY.

I still can’t believe the Penn State scandal got this big this fast.

And who knows where it will go from here.

Who knows what will happen when the team plays its last home game of the season Saturday against Nebraska.  Of course they’re going to play the game.  This scandal is horrific and growing worse every day, but 100,000 fans will cheer Penn State’s football team Saturday….and they have that right.  The game should be played. 

But at least Paterno won’t be on the sideline.  Can you imagine all those people cheering him despite learning what we’ve learned this week?  Can you imagine the victims and their families hearing those cheers?

Thank goodness the board of trustees prevented that.

Yesterday, when I heard that Paterno had announced he would retire at the end of the season and basically told the board “I do what I want….you don’t tell me what to do”, it made me angry.

He was trying to go out on his terms.  He fired that pre-emptive strike so he could coach his last game at Beaver Stadium, then finish out his final season and coach his final bowl game and go out with the glory he deserved.

And a lot of people think he should have gotten that opportunity.  A lot of people are really angry at the board for firing him.  How could they treat him this way after everything he’s done for all those years?  Did you hear the reaction when they announced it at last night’s news conference?  No one cared when they announced they had fired the college president….but when they made the announcement about Paterno, it was as if they had announced he had died.  Look at the students who protested last night.

I say good for the board.  It was the right decision.

Penn State is in for some very tough times.  There could be more criminal charges….we know there will be huge lawsuits….and the college has to do some major rebuilding of its reputation.

It’s going to take time, but I think firing Paterno is a huge step on the road to recovery.

I love college football.  And for years I’ve been a huge Joe Paterno fan.   I’ve also respected him a lot more than most coaches.  I respected the way he ran his program.  But not any more.  That’s one of the saddest parts of this.  This is now as big a part of his legacy as all those wins.  And that’s a very big loss.