Desks of Destiny
The US Senate website has a great feature that lets you see all of the Senators who have been seated in a particular desk. It seems the Senate has looser disciplinary standards than my elementary school, since Senators who have been seated at a particular desk have signed their names on the inside of the drawer. For example, Desk # 83 is currently occupied by Ted Kennedy and was also used by his brother, John F. Kennedy. My advice to any Senator with presidential ambitions is avoid Desk #47 since it was used by both Richard Nixon and Warren G. Harding, two of the worst presidents in American history.
Comments
My advice to any Senator with presidential ambitions is to get Desk #47, since two senators who sat there have gone on to the presidency. 2 out of 15 ain’t bad odds.
Posted by: Thomas | January 7, 2009 11:48 AM
Interestingly, seniority rules instruct members to move forward as they gain seniority. Ted Kennedy chooses to use his brother’s desk in spite of his seniority. Also intriguing is that Senators get to keep their chairs once they leave office, so the chamber is full of unmatched seating.
Posted by: Thomas Leeper | January 7, 2009 11:51 AM
It looks like a bunch of drunken monkeys did the number arrangement. There appears to be no rhyme or rhythm to how #1 is next to #3, #37, #92, #87, and #73.
Posted by: Ben C | January 7, 2009 11:54 AM
Harding was one of the best Presidents in history. He pardoned Eugene Debs and whipped a recession more severe than the Great Depression within a year.
Posted by: TGGP | January 7, 2009 12:14 PM