The New Nation - Internet Edition

Best and worst US presidential running mates

Elana Schor

In US popular mythology, presidential running mates tend to be viewed as the ultimate accessory.

At best, aspiring vice presidents flatter the candidate's strengths and lend extra panache. However, the wrong choice can leave voters wondering: "What was he thinking?"

Not every running mate bemoaned the post as "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived", as John Adams put it, or worse than "a pitcher of warm piss" in the famous words of Franklin D Roosevelt's vice-president, John Nance Garner.

In fact, some vice presidents have gone down in US history as more politically skilful than the commanders in chief they served under.

Richard Nixon led cabinet meetings on behalf of president Dwight Eisenhower, while Lyndon Johnson boasted legislative savvy that the younger John F Kennedy could not match.

Then there is Dick Cheney, whose unprecedented control over decision-making in George Bush's White House gives liberals worldwide the jitters.

But where does Cheney rank in the canon? Here, we present the best and worst running mates in US history.

The top five

Photograph: Bob Daugherty/AP

1) Lyndon Johnson

Presidential partner: John F Kennedy

What he brought: Johnson, the gregarious Texan leader of senate Democrats, helped young Kennedy win the south and fought to overcome suspicions that he wanted to overshadow the president. Was a forceful advocate of civil rights and science research.

Flaw: Increased number of US troops in Vietnam from 16,000 to 550,000.

Photograph: Ann Heisenfelt/AP

2) Walter Mondale

Presidential partner: Jimmy Carter

What he brought: Mondale carved out untold new possibilities for his office, becoming a trusted counsellor to the president. He travelled abroad often, kept an office in the White House and held weekly lunches with Carter to influence policy.

Flaw: Was no match for Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential race.

Photograph: AP

3) Theodore Roosevelt

Presidential partner: William McKinley

What he brought: McKinley adviser Mark Hanna, the Karl Rove of the 1900s, disliked Roosevelt's anti-corruption leanings and called him "that damn cowboy". But an empowered vice-president proved useful when McKinley was assassinated nine months into his term.

Flaw: Troubling imperialist streak.

Photograph: Getty

4) Al Gore

Presidential partner: Bill Clinton

What he brought: Gore broke the running mate mould by mirroring Clinton rather than balancing him. Their chemistry - at least early on - and youthful good looks energised the country, and Gore used the vice-presidency to promote innovative environmental and technology policies.

Flaws: Ran too hard away from Clinton in the 2000 presidential race.

Photograph: Getty

5) Dick Cheney

Presidential partner: George W Bush

What he brought: Cheney is a model enforcer, keeping the neoconservative troops in line and attacking the White House's political enemies with gusto. His downright scary demeanour also humanises Bush, who likes to call him Darth Vader.

Flaws: Almost universally despised by liberals; accidentally shot a friend in the face during a hunting trip.

The worst five

1) Aaron Burr

Presidential partner: Thomas Jefferson

His fatal problems: Burr was so angry with Alexander Hamilton for orchestrating Jefferson's narrow victory - thus dooming him to the vice presidency - that he was dropped from the ticket in 1804. Burr promptly challenged Hamilton to a duel and killed him.

Redeeming quality: Helped popularise the phrase "pistols at dawn".

2) Spiro Agnew

Presidential partner: Richard Nixon

His fatal problems: Agnew was hailed as a regional balancer, giving Nixon an advantage in the south, but their relationship turned sour. The president all but abandoned Agnew and helped force him from office after he was charged with tax evasion and money laundering.

Redeeming quality: Became a target of good satire on TV shows The Simpsons, Angel, and The Wonder Years.

3) Dan Quayle

Presidential partner: George HW Bush

His fatal problems: Quayle's penchant for gaffes became a national punchline, particularly his insistence at a grammar school spelling bee that "potatoe" was a word and his decision to blame rising urban violence on popular TV character Murphy Brown, a single mother.

Redeeming quality: Made an excellent Doonesbury character.

4) John Tyler

Presidential partner: William Henry Harrison

His fatal problems: When Harrison suddenly died days after taking office, leaving the White House to Tyler, his potential seemed great. But the lanky vice-president proved a poor diplomat, earning him the nickname "His Accidency" and expulsion from his own party.

Redeeming quality: Successfully annexed Texas.

5) Hannibal Hamlin

Presidential partner: Abraham Lincoln

His fatal problems: Hamlin's choice to lead the Union army during the US civil war ended up losing badly and he was perennially eclipsed by the iconic president. Things got so bad that Lincoln jettisoned Hamlin in 1864 in favour of Andrew Johnson - who was later impeached.

Redeeming quality: Marvellously alliterative name.

(This article was first published on guardian.co. uk on Saturday August 23. It was last updated on the same day.)

Confessions of a British Spy - X

The book advised the following steps for destroying Muslims' strongholds:

1- Induce such chauvinistic devotions as racism and nationalism among Muslims so as to retract their attention towards their pre-Islamic heroisms. Rejuvenate the Pharaoh period in Egypt, the Magi period in Iran, the Babylonian period in Iraq, the Attila and Ghengiz era [tyrannisms] in the Ottomans. [They contained a long list on this subject].

2- The following vices must be done secretly or publicly: Alcoholic spirits, gambling, fornication, pork, [and fights among sports clubs.] In doing this, Christians, Jews, Magians, and other non-Muslims living in Muslim countries should be utilized to a maximum, and those who work for this purpose should be awarded high salaries by the treasury department of the Ministry of the Commonwealth.

3- Sow suspicion among them concerning Jihad; convince them that Jihad was a temporary commandment and that it has been outdated.

4- Dispel the notion that "disbelievers are foul" from the hearts of Shi'ites. Quote the Koranic verse, "As the food of those given a (heavenly) Book is halal for you, so is your food halal for them," (62) and tell them that the Prophet had a Jewish wife named Safiyya and a Christian wife named Mariya and that the Prophet's wives were not foul at all (63).

5- Imbue Muslims with the belief that "what the Prophet meant by Islam' was 'a perfect religion' and therefore this religion could be Judaism or Christianity as well as Islam." Substantiate this with the following reasoning: The Qur'an gives the name 'Muslim' to members of all religions. For instance, it quotes the Prophet Joseph (Yusuf 'alaihis-salam') as having invoked, "Kill me as a Muslim," (64) and the Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail as having prayed, "O our Rab (Allah)! Make us Muslims for Yourself and make a Muslim people for Yourself from among our offspring," (65) and the Prophet Yaqub as having said to his sons, "Die only and only as Muslims." (66)

6- Repeat frequently that it is not haram to build churches, that the Prophet and his Khalifas did not demolish them, that on the contrary they respected them, that the Qur'an states, "If Allah had not dispelled some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques wherein Allah's name is mentioned very much would have been annihilated (by now)," (67) that Islam respects temples, that it does not demolish them, and that it prevents those who would otherwise demolish them.

7- Confuse Muslims about the hadiths, "Deport the Jews from the Arabic Peninsula," and, "Two religions cannot coexist on the Arabic peninsula." Say that "If these two hadiths were true, the Prophet would not have had a Jew wife and a Christian one. Nor would he have made an agreement with the Najran Christians." (68)

8- Try to hamper Muslims in their worships and make them falter about the usefulness of worships by saying that "Allah does not need men's worships." (69) Prevent them from their worship of Hajj as well as from any sort of worship that will bring them together. Likewise, try to obstruct construction of mosques, mausoleums and madrasas and the restoration of Kaba.

9- Mystify the Shi'ites about the rule that one-fifth of the Ghanima property taken from the enemy in combat is to be given to the 'Ulama and explain that this one-fifth belongs to the Ghanima property taken from (Dar-ul-harb) and that it has nothing to do with commercial earnings. Then add that "Humus (the one-fifth mentioned above) is to be given to the Prophet or to the Khalifa, not to the 'Ulama. For the 'Ulama are given houses, palaces, animals, and orchards. Therefore, it is not permissible to give them the (Humus)."

10- Insert heresies into Muslims' creedal tenets and then criticize Islam for being a religion of terror. Assert that Muslim countries are retrogressive and that they have undergone shocks, thus impairing their adherence to Islam. [On the other hand, Muslims established the greatest and the most civilized empire of the world. They declined as their adherence to Islam deteriorated].

11- Very important! Alienate children from their fathers, thus depriving them of their elders' education. We shall educate them. Consequently, the moment children have parted from their fathers' education, there will no longer be any possibility for them to maintain contact with their belief, faith, or religious scholars.

12- Provoke the womenfolk to get rid of their traditional covers. Fabricate such falsifications as "Covering is not a genuine Islamic commandment. It is a tradition established in the time of the Abbasids. Formerly, other people would see the Prophet's wives and women would join all sorts of social activities." After stripping the woman of her traditional cover, tempt the youth towards her and cause indecencies between them! This is a very effective method for annihilating Islam. First use non-Muslim women for this purpose. In the course of time the Muslim woman will automatically degenerate and will begin to follow their example. (70)

13- Exploit every opportunity to put an end to performing namaz in jamaat by casting aspersions on the imams in mosques, by revealing their mistakes, and by sowing discord and adversity between them and the jamaats (groups of Muslims) who perform their daily prayers of namaz behind them.

14- Say that all mausoleums must be demolished to the ground because they did not exist in the Prophet's time. In addition, deter Muslims from visiting the graves of Prophets, Khalifas and pious Muslims by arising doubts about visiting graves. For instance say, "The Prophet was buried by his mother and Abu Bakr and 'Umar were buried in the cemetery called Baki'.'Uthman's grave is unknown. Husain's head was buried at (a place called) Hannana. It is not known where his body was buried. The graves in Kazimiyya belong to two caliphs. They do not belong to Kazim and Jawad, two descendants of the Prophet. As to the one in Tus (city); that grave belongs to Harun, not to Rida, a member of the Ahl al-bayt (the Prophet's Family). The graves in Samerra belong to the Abbasids. They do not belong to Hadi, Askari, and Mahdi, members of the Ahl al-bayt. As it is fard to demolish all the mausoleums and domes in Muslim countries, so is it a must to bulldoze the cemetery called Baki'."

15- Make people feel sceptical about the fact that Sayyids are the Prophet's descendants. Mix Sayyids with other people by making non-Sayyids wear black and green turbans. Thus people will be perplexed in this matter and will consequently begin to distrust Sayyids. Strip religious authorities and Sayyids of their turbans so that the Prophetic pedigree will be lost and religious authorities will not be respected any more. (71)

16- Say that it is fard to demolish the places where Shiites mourn, that this practice is a heresy and aberration. People should be prevented from visiting those places, the number of preachers should be decreased and taxes should be levied on preachers and owners of the places for mourning.

17- Under the pretext of love of freedom, convince all Muslims that "Everyone is free to do whatever he likes. It is not fard to perform Amr-i-bi-l-maruf and Nahy-i-anil- munkar or to teach the Islamic principles." [On the contrary, it is fard to learn and teach Islam. It is a Muslim's first duty]. In addition, imbue them with this conviction: "Christians are to remain in their own faith (Christianity) and Jews are to abide by theirs (Judaism). No one will enter another person's heart. Amr-i-maruf and Nahy-i-anil-munkar are the Khalifa's duties."

18- In order to impede Muslims from increasing in number, births must be limited and polygamy must be prohibited. Marriage must be subjected to restrictions. For instance, it must be said that an Arab cannot marry an Iranian, an Iranian cannot marry an Arab, a Turk cannot marry an Arab.

19- Make sure to stop Islamic propagations and conversions to Islam. Broadcast the conception that Islam is a religion peculiar to the Arabs only. As an evidence for this, put forward the Qur'anic verse which reads, "This is a Dhikr for thee and thine people."

20- Pious institutions must be restricted and confined to the State monopoly, to the extent that individuals must be unable to establish madrasas or other similar pious institutions.

21- Arouse doubts as to the authenticity of the Qur'an in Muslims' minds; publish Koranic translations containing excisions, additions, and interpolations, and then say, "The Qur'an has been defiled. Its copies are incongruous. A verse one of them contains does not exist in another." Excise the verses insulting Jews, Christians and all other non-Muslims and those commanding Jihad, Amr-i-bi-l- maruf and Nahy-i-anil munkar. (72) Translate the Qur'an into other languages such as Turkish, Persian, Indian, thus to prevent Arabic from being learned and read outside Arabic countries, and again, prevent the (Ad-han), (Namaz), and (Dua) from being done in Arabic outside Arabic countries.

Likewise, Muslims will be made to feel doubts about hadiths. The translations, criticisms and interpolations planned for the Qur'an should be applied to hadiths as well.

When I read through the book, which was entitled How Can We Demolish Islam, I found it really excellent. It was a peerless guide for the studies I was going to carry on. When I returned the book to the secretary and told him that it afforded me great pleasure to read it, he said, "You can be sure that you are not alone in this field. We have lots of men doing the same job as you have been carrying on. Our Ministry has assigned over five thousand men to this mission. The Ministry is considering increasing this number to one hundred thousand. When we reach this number we shall have brought all Muslims under our sway and obtained all Muslim countries."

Sometime later the secretary said: "good news to you! Our Ministry needs one century at the most to realize this program. We may not live to see those happy days, but our children will. What a beautiful saying this is: I have eaten what others sowed. So I am sowing for others.' When the British manage this they will have pleased the whole Christian world and will have rescued them from a twelve-century-old nuisance."

The secretary went on as follows: "The crusading expeditions which continued for centuries were of no use. Nor can the Mongols [armies of Ghengiz] be said to have done anything to extirpate Islam. For their work was sudden, unsystematic, and ungrounded. They carried on military expeditions so as to reveal their enmity. Consequently, they became tired in a short time. But now our valuable administrators are trying to demolish Islam by means of a very subtle plan and a long-range patience. We must use military force, too. Yet this should be the final phase, that is, after we have completely consumed Islam, after we have hammered it from all directions and rendered it into a miserable state from which it will never recover again and fight against us."

The secretary's final words were these: "Our superiors in Istanbul must have been very wise and intelligent. They executed our plan precisely. What did they do? They mixed with the Muhammadans and opened madrasas for their children. They built churches. They were perfectly successful in popularizing alcoholic spirits, gambling, indecencies, and breaking them into groups by means of instigation [and football clubs.] They aroused doubts in the minds of young Muslims. They inserted controversies and oppositions into their governments. They spread mischief everywhere. They depraved administrators, directors, and statesmen by filling their houses with Christian women. With activities of this sort they broke their forces, shocked their adherence to their faith, corrupted them morally, and disrupted their unity and communication. Now the time has come to commence a sudden war and extirpate Islam (73)."

(Source: Waqf Ikhlas, Istanbul)

Bias against drylands and food security

Correcting the policy bias against dryland agriculture can help solve the current global food crisis and enhance the livelihoods of poor farmers. This was revealed in a policy paper on dryland agriculture issued by Dr William Dar, Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

Dr Dar stated that less than 10% of public spending in developing countries goes to agriculture, even though this sector commonly accounts for about half of their Gross Domestic Product. Moreover, less than 1% of public spending goes to agricultural research, which is vital to the innovation that is the engine for new livelihood opportunities. Of that only a small proportion is invested in dryland agriculture.

Dryland agriculture is struggling against a headwind of policies that are biased in favor of the "favored lands" (those with plenty of water). They also favor the influential urban populations that are concentrated in coastal mega-cities, and the familiar cereal grains that they consume: rice, wheat and maize, Dr Dar said.

The bias is expressed in grain price supports for the heavily traded commodities, export subsidies by many nations, preferential research and development investments, and others.

By artificially reducing the prices of the major grains, these policies inadvertently hobble poor dryland farmers in their struggle to compete in the local and regional marketplace by growing the drought-hardy grains: sorghum, millet, and food legumes.

According to Dr Dar, a lesson of 2008 is that dependence on just a few globally traded crops can expose developing countries to risks that originate far from their shores. Skyrocketing maize and rice prices caused food shortages and high prices in poor, import-dependent countries. Over-dependence on a few crops also creates agro-ecological risks, such as vulnerability to climate change (which may increase drought frequency) and crop disease epidemics (such as the new Ug99 strain of stem rust currently threatening wheat).

"We suspect that the world may come to regret its under-investment in dryland grain crops as climate change kicks in, increasing the need for more robust, drought-hardy crops and crop traits for plant breeding", Dr Dar added.

Planting high-value crops

ICRISAT's studies have shown that crop diversification has been helping dryland farmers.

Demand for fruit, vegetable, livestock and fish products by urban dwellers are increasing as their incomes rise. By selling into these markets, dryland farmers are beginning to tap a portion of this growing wealth for themselves.

High-value crop culture also earns more "income per drop" of water used, an important consideration in water scarce areas. It is also more labor-intensive, increasing employment opportunities for the poor.

There have also been successful development models that can be replicated in other areas to help dryland farmers. Some examples are:

o Industry-driven models. Rewarding connections have been built between central highland farmers in Kenya and urban markets in Nairobi and worldwide. Traditional cultivation of maize as well as industrial crops (tea, coffee) since the 1970s has been supplemented with horticultural fresh-produce crops and dairy products. Investments in roads and other infrastructure were key to success. Farmer incomes are now substantially higher than in neighboring countries within the same agro-ecosystems. Industrial contracts from food processing and marketing enterprises, and contract farming are becoming increasingly successful in many developing countries.

o Marketing boards and cooperatives. In recent decades, governments have launched marketing boards and farmer cooperatives to advance farmer interests. A few were resounding successes, such as the 'White Revolution' in India sparked by dairy farmers in Gujarat State and expanded nationally by India's National Dairy Development Board (NDDB); and the growth of the Kenya Cooperative Creamery (KCC). Both initiatives have been remarkable in overcoming the challenges of collecting mass quantities of highly perishable products over enormous rural areas, adding value and increasing sales through disciplined logistics and cooperation, impressive marketing, and major technical innovations. However, even these successes have evolved over time to ensure more involvement by smallholders.

o Producer marketing groups (PMGs). These groups are owned and run by the farmers or jointly with private-sector partners, often with assistance from NGOs, research partners, government agencies and others. ICRISAT has engaged closely with PMGs to study their potential and constraints. "We've worked with partners to stimulate ten PMGs in Kenya since 2003/04, and in Asia we are closely engaged in consortia to develop sweet sorghum bioethanol and for the integrated management of watersheds," observed Dr Dar.

Research on PMGs has found that they hold high promise, for example increasing farmer incomes by 23% in Kenya.

To fully reach their potential, supportive steps are urgently needed in areas such as legal status, crop insurance, credit access, infrastructure, management skills, and market intelligence gathering capabilities.

Working with farmers to drive change

ICRISAT will continue to draw attention to the policy challenges facing these dryland poor, Dr Dar concluded. "We consider it a privilege and an honor to work side-by-side with them to overcome these challenges. " The combination of innovative farmers and a supportive policy framework can help correct the bias against dryland farmers.

(The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)