While the Doc's Away...

The Doc is the Patron Historian of Lost Presidential Causes. I have a picture of him standing in front of Millard Fillmore's grave. And he is standing proudly, you betcha, and if crossed on the subject can give a long disquisition on the heroic dignity of the Fillmore presidency. Franklin Pierce? The Doc is, quite literally, writing the book on Franklin Pierce...or, rather, editing it. And when I last saw him in his sprawling compound located in the Monadnock Mountain region of southern New Hampshire, he was talking about the virtues of James Buchanan and his glorious four years in office.

So this visit to Harding's Memorial is par for the course. Heck, the admiration for Harding came before all else. There can't be many living rooms in America that have a portrait of Harding hanging on the wall. True. Not making that up.

And if you read Paul Johnson's Modern Times, maybe you too will be making the trip to Ohio. Stranger things have happened. Historical obsessions are an odd business. Just ask me about John Page some time.