Tom Hanks: Best Endorsement Ever

I find Tom Hanks' deadpan endorsement style to be completely amusing.

"Hello. I'm Tom Hanks, and I want Barack Obama to be the next president of our country. As an official celebrity, I know my endorsement has just made your mind up for you."

One interesting point of contention to Hanks' video is his comment about the significance of the 1797 handoff of power from Washington to Adams. He marked it as the first handoff of power to a non-relative that wasn't a result of violence, revolution, etc. That's not completely true on several counts (Fourth-century B.C. Athens and Fifth-century A.D. papal succession are two counter-examples that I can think of off the top of my head), although I agree with Hanks of the significance of that historical milestone.

However, a far more important historical milestone, and likely the one he should have cited, is the 1801 handoff from Adams to Jefferson. See, George Washington was getting old and did not run again in 1796 (beginning the two-term tradition that was added to the Constitution after FDR); he died in 1798. Adams had been Washington's vice-president and was also of the Federalist Party. The 1801 power change from Adams to Jefferson was more significant because it represented a power shift from the Federalist Party to the Republican Party--the first shift of power from one group to another without any sort of revolution or riots.

I still remember Ms. Price in my tenth-grade history class pointing out, "When Jefferson won the election and then took office, there were no riots in the streets."