Fail to the Chief

We've come to the end. Here I give you the canonical list and ranking of EVERY SINGLE LOSER of all time, including many who never even ran. Listen to find out more.  In this episode I talk about the could-have-been Presidents Adams, Adams, Agnew, Anderson, Barkley, Bell, Blaine, Bono, Breckinridge, Brown, Bryan, Buchanan, Burr, Bush, Butler, Calhoun, Carter, Cass, Cheney, Clay, Cleveland, Clinton, Clinton, Clinton, Colfax, Cox, Crawford, Crockett, Curtis, Dallas, Davis, Dawes, Debs, Dewey, Disney, Dole, Douglas, Dukakis, Eastwood, Ellmaker, Fairbanks, Fillmore, Ford, Ford, Forrest, Franken, Franklin, Fremont, Garner, Gerry, Goldwater, Gore, Greeley, Hamilton, Hamlin, Hancock, Harrison, Harrison, Hearst, Hendricks, Hobart, Hoover, Houston, Hughes, Humphrey, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Johnson, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kerry, King, King, La Follette, Landon, Lindbergh, Long, MacArthur, Mangum, Marshall, Marshall, Marshall, Marshall, McCain, McCarthy, McClellan, McGovern, Mondale, Morton, Nader, Nixon, Parker, Pence, Perot, Pinckney, Quayle, Redford, Rice Atchison, Rockefeller, Rockefeller, Romney, Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Scott, Seymour, Sherman, Sherman, Smith, Smith, Springer, Stassen, Stevenson, Stevenson, Taft, Taney, Temple Black, Thurmond, Tilden, Tompkins, Trump, Van Buren, Ventura, Wallace, Wallace, Weaver, Webster, Wheeler, Wheeler, White, Willkie, Wilson, Winfrey, and Wirt.  God Bless America!  

Why have so many actors and celebrities been considered for the Presidency, despite having almost no experience? WHO CARES, THEY'RE CELEBRITIES YAY OMG Yes, it's not just Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. Today I talk about all the celebrities who were thought about for Prez (and who were legally allowed to be, sorry, Arnold Schwarzenegger):  Robert Redford Clint Eastwood Sonny Bono Al Franken Jesse Ventura Oprah Winfrey Jerry Springer Shirley Temple Black Walt Disney Duane the Rock Johnson

As we close the corner on our presidential losers, I'd be remiss not to discuss the Governor of Minnesota, friend to Dwight Eisenhower, and NINE-TIME candidate for the Republican nomination, butt of jokes Harold Stassen. Hot take: he'd have been amazing?

Today I'm taking a look at three very different men with one identical last name - the Marshalls. Each one of them was critical to our nation, and might have become president under different circumstances. I'll investigate and rate each one: John Marshall, Federalist Chief Justice of the Supreme Court George C. Marshall, General and Secretary of State during WWII Thurgood Marshall, first Black justice of the Supreme Court

This time I lightning-round-rank the 3 titans of the Kennedy family... um, not counting 2024's brainworm bearkiller version. How would Bobby, Teddy and John John have been if they had become president?

There are a lot of myths in American elections. "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." "Missouri, the bellwether state." "The taller man wins." Let's explode them all. In this bonus episode, we dive deep and crunch numbers to see what's actually true and what's not. We'll cover: Does the Vice Presidential nominee usually win their home state? Does the taller candidate usually win? Who wins more, the Outsider or the Insider? What states and regions win the most?

He was a Louisiana progressive populist wannabe dictator who wanted to redistribute all the rich folks' money forever and ever. And he might have been president, had he not been gunned down before he even had the chance to run. But what if?

Yes, his name was Smedley. No, he didn't let that stand in his way. What would have this Marines Major General and hero of the Bonus Army do if somehow catapulted into the White House on the eve of World War II? Why, he would do what all Smedleys do, of course. 

Continuing with micro episodes, here's the Hero of the Philippines (and not, as it turned out, the Korean War)... Douglas MacArthur was a true strongman, and closer to the White House than we might think!

There tends to be a certain template that presidential candidates follow - and I don't mean simply getting elected as Senators or Governors first. There are some larger commonalities at play that seem to align most of them, in many cases from an early age. From family background to profession to political choices to some truly strange coincidences, the road to victory (or second-best to victory) says quite a lot about who we are as a society. Don't forget to BUY MY BOOK: VOLUME 1: https://www.amazon.com/Fail-Chief-1788-1928-Thom-Woodley-ebook/dp/B08WLD5CMG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=L315PVLL3J2L&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-E3QKrGDabl1MEQhDFXfDiAf1i3chIWZtimU1Wa5ACYPFPes6SrBW6IMznU-Z4JGEWKU1tG0ltvkfVA3c43iceQK2hPLcfFN0857atN47MRzgiQbWWejpf1lFZACDNIJD7vTrpkYx4dUBVumX4tDu9U_d5OEUtmqEquArUUCeaSG4W0E1qfdQofNZ5lUyb0Uz3nkRdznI_Wl4GH6dUOBHOZG-ywlhrBMLzx8lCFbde8.2vMeIvP6rFODd_nmPj5i_X_2gYO5TFb04RiDDLOA39A&dib_tag=se&keywords=fail+to+the+chief&qid=1729532703&sprefix=fail+to+the+chief%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-1 VOLUME 2: https://www.amazon.com/Fail-Chief-1932-2020-Thom-Woodley-ebook/dp/B09159ZDBF/ref=sr_1_2?crid=L315PVLL3J2L&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-E3QKrGDabl1MEQhDFXfDiAf1i3chIWZtimU1Wa5ACYPFPes6SrBW6IMznU-Z4JGEWKU1tG0ltvkfVA3c43iceQK2hPLcfFN0857atN47MRzgiQbWWejpf1lFZACDNIJD7vTrpkYx4dUBVumX4tDu9U_d5OEUtmqEquArUUCeaSG4W0E1qfdQofNZ5lUyb0Uz3nkRdznI_Wl4GH6dUOBHOZG-ywlhrBMLzx8lCFbde8.2vMeIvP6rFODd_nmPj5i_X_2gYO5TFb04RiDDLOA39A&dib_tag=se&keywords=fail+to+the+chief&qid=1729532703&sprefix=fail+to+the+chief%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-2  

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today - red-scare master himself, and secert alcoholic windbag, Joseph McCarthy. 

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today - the REAL Pres. Roosevelt. Eleanor. 

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. This week, famous aviator and Nazi sympathizer Charles 'Lindy' Lindbergh. Yay. 

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today - the Model T of presidents.... CEO (and rabid anti-Semite) Henry Ford. 

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today - the man who inspired Citizen Kane, legendary megalomaniacal newspaper publisher and 'yellow journalist,' William Randolph Hearst!

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. This time it's wannabe politician, Mormon founder and assassination victim Joseph Smith!

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today, one of the original 'robber barons' and the progenitor of a famous political family: John D. Rockefeller, CEO of Standard Oil. 

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. This episode - war criminal, slave trader, Confederate General, and literal Grand Wizard of the KKK - Nathan Bedford Forrest. 

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. In this case - the 2nd-most-famous Union general and the guy who (gleefully) burnt down Atlanta, but turned down being President: William Tecumseh Sherman. 

We're continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. This time, it's awful Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Roger B. Taney - the conservative racist responsible for helping to kick off the Civil War. 

It's the Ides of October, and that got me thinking about other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even run, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. This time it's iconoclastic Sam Houston, First President of the short-lived Republic of Texas, and maybe the one man who could have kept the Union together in 1860?

It's the Ides of October, and that got me thinking about other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even run, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. On this episode, King of the Wild Frontier (and Congressman and badass) Davey Crockett!

It's the Ides of October, and that got me thinking about other would-be Julius Caesars of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even run, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Our first is The Man Who Would Not Throw Away his Shot... what's your name man? It's Alexander Hamilton, of course. 

It's the Ides of October, and that got me thinking about other would-be Julius Caesars of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even run, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Our first is Founding Father, man on the $100 bill, and political "lightning rod": Benjamin Franklin. 

We're not just talking about losers anymore! This episode, join amateur historian Thom Woodley on a tour through the vice presidents of history - those mediocre, second-rate men who were a heartbeat away from the presidency. Those who never served as Commander in Chief (or who were nominated as candidate of one of the major parties) gets discussed today - and rated! (Please forgive the audio quality on this one - I was without my pop filter and you can hear every single 'p' nice and close!) I discuss in this episode: George Clinton, Elbridge Gerry, Daniel Tompkins, John Calhoun, Richard Mentor Johnson, George Dallas, William Rufus Devane King, Hannibal Hamlin, Schuyler Colfax, Henry Welson, William Wheeler, Thomas Hendricks, Levi Morton, Adlai Stevenson I, Garrett Hobart, Charles Fairbanks, James Sherman, Thomas Marshall, Charles Dawes, Charles Curtis, John Nance Garner, Alben Barkley, Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney and Mike Pence! (And special mention goes to some interesting THIRD-place runner ups, like David Rice Atchison, John Hay, Samuel Southard and more)... (Tertiary special mention goes to some interesting loser veep candidates - like Sarah Palin, Thomas Eagleton and Curtis Lemay, among some dubious others...)

Well, we've come to the end. Fail to the Chief started ten years ago in 2014, and now 50 losers later, we are finally at the big boy (girl), the elephant (donkey) in the room = Hillary Clinton.  It took me forever to get here, but thanks for sticking with me. But please still continue to like, follow, subscribe (and of course, listen) because we'll still throw out some goodies! Buy my book(s):  https://www.amazon.com/Fail-Chief-1788-1928-Thom-Woodley-ebook/dp/B08WLD5CMG/ref=sr_1_2?crid=19APH7S49I56Q&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.65f4SSp-4xGm2NQM5KYXYGn4Hodq4Aqqo8w-oKCVCcAPFPes6SrBW6IMznU-Z4JGEWKU1tG0ltvkfVA3c43iceQK2hPLcfFN0857atN47MRR31KulpCVPm7s94h9WyStpllJ2HZ0ZDGgsnFFIb1fLINY0JLWwR8ZuBkTTz7mWGfXjgwjwoBMYSlYkyUC5oXAn6KtGLTzsgJzt8xw7x863TAGEcn-omn2_Me0xg26kPs.Y0JIuaRNDiQAga6-4nn5XvQIU7sb6WfoNfr8FoTc_aY&dib_tag=se&keywords=fail+to+the+chief&qid=1727115557&sprefix=%2Caps%2C118&sr=8-2 And email me if you like the show at failtothechiefpodcast @ gmail !

Join amateur historian Thom Woodley as he delves into the losers of presidential history - and today, the man who inspired the podcast in the first place, 2012 loser (to Barack Obama) Governor and Senator Mitt Romney. Why did he lose? Could he have won? What would America be like if so?

This episode, amateur historian Thom Woodley digs into the life and politics of John Sidney McCain, Jr. - Arizona Senator and two-time Republican candidate for president, who lost the 2008 race to Barack Obama. 

Every episode, comic historian Thom Woodley dives deep into a loser of the US presidential elections. This time, it's John Kerry, Senator, Secretary of State, war veteran and protestor, surf rocker, and the only Democrat since 1988 to lose the popular vote (and even THAT's questionable!) What if President Kerry had inherited the Iraq War and Operation Enduring Freeom? What if he'd been man on watch during the 2008 Recession? 

This is the (lightly comedic) history podcast where we talk about the losers of presidential races. In this one, we're discussing ALL your favorite losers of the 6th period of American history (1968-2004), including:  Hubert HUMPHREY! George WALLACE! Robert F. KENNEDY! Eugene MCCARTHY! Nelson ROCKEFELLER! Charlene MITCHELL! George MCGOVERN! Shirley CHISHOLM! John SCHMITZ! Patsy MINK! Ed MUSKIE! Gerald FORD! Jerry BROWN! Jimmy CARTER! Teddy KENNEDY! John ANDERSON! Walter MONDALE! Gary HART! Jesse JACKSON! Michael DUKAKIS! George H.W. BUSH! Ross PEROT! Pat BUCHANAN! Bob DOLE! Al GORE! and Ralph NADER!!

Welcome to FAIL TO THE CHIEF, the podcast where we rate and rank the losers of presidential history. I'm kicking this podcast off again, and starting with the beginning of the 21st century. [If you want to hear about the losers of the 20th century, and the 19th and the 18th, go ahead and listen to the archives OR, you can buy my book: Volume 1 (1800 through 1928): Volume 2 (1932 through 2020)  I'm starting today with an episode on a loser I've already talked about: Al Gore! The loser slash winner of the contentious 2000 election. I originally posted Al Gore as one of my very first episodes, and in the intervening almost decade, well, it's safe to say a lot has happened...

Hey hey! We're BACK after a 2-year hiatus, to talk about the upcoming 2024 election, and wrap out the remaining losers. And what better occasion than the UNPRECEDENTED DROPPING OUT of our sitting Commander in Chief of the Fall presidential race.  Well, actually? It's not that unprecedented. We have elections like 1968, 1952, and others like 1924 and 1892 to look at for some context. In this episode, we talk through what we can learn from this unique moment in time - and what (if anything) we can expect from this year's cockamamie election...

Comic historian Thom Woodley looks at Walter Mondale, the landslide Ronald Reagan reelection of 1984, and growing up in the 1980s in general. 

Sad to hear of Bob Dole's passing this week. In honor of the man, here is the Bob Dole chapter from my book Fail to the Chief Vol. 2 (available on Amazon!)

Fail to the Chief THE BOOK? Yes indeed.  Also? Ross Perot. In lo-fi style. Because you've been waiting.  Order the book today: https://www.amazon.com/Fail-Chief-1788-1928-Thom-Woodley/dp/1736697706/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=fail+to+the+chief&qid=1631577684&sr=8-1

Thom Woodley takes you on a tour of presidential losers of the past. In this episode, the George Bush vs. Michael Dukakis election of 1988. 

Thom Woodley digs into the losers of presidential history - in this case, the independent candidacy of former Republican Congressman John B. Anderson (IL-16), who lost to Ronald Reagan but might have been the architect of a much better future. 

Thom Woodley takes you through the history of the disastrous 1972 presidential campaign of liberal icon and Nixon opponent, George McGovern. 

Thom Woodley discusses the losers of presidential history - this year, the big Democratic loser of the chaotic year of 1968, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who lost to Richard Nixon in the midst of the Vietnam War. 

Rerelease of a 2015 Episode. Just in time for MLK Day, it's our episode on George Wallace, the 3rd party candidate in the 1968 election. Why wasn't he elected president? And how would he have been in office?

In this episode, we explore ALL of the losers of the 5th Period in American Politics (1932-1968), Alf Landon, Wendell Willkie, Thomas Dewey, Adlai Stevenson, Strom Thurmond, Henry Wallace and Barry Goldwater, and find out where they rank among the losers of all American history.  We also talk about some notable other losers of the era: Henry Breckinridge, Cactus Jack Garner, Estes Kefauver, Averell Harriman, Bob Taft, Douglas MacArthur, Nelson Rockefeller and the classic perennial candidate of them all, Harold Stassen.   

Amateur historian host Thom Woodley re-releases his 2016 episode on Barry Goldwater, the very conservative-libertarian Republican losing candidate of the 1964 Lyndon Johnson presidential election. 

This is a repost as there was an error the first time I posted! Comic historian Thom Woodley digs into the record of Adlai Stevenson II, Governor of Illinois and two-time nominee of the Democratic party, who lost big to Dwight Eisenhower. 

Join comic historian Thom Woodley as we talk about Henry Wallace, former Vice President and the 1948 candidate of the Progressive Party... and also maybe, just maybe, a secret Soviet asset. 

Comic historian Thom Woodley (@thomwoodley) takes you on a tour through the rogues gallery of presidential candidates who didn't quite make it. This episode, Lewis Cass (Democrat, 1848), who lost to Zachary Taylor. 

Thom Woodley takes you on a tour of the 1948 presidential election, in which 3rd party Democrat Strom Thurmond runs on a platform of segregationist views - and later goes on to rebuild the Republican party in his image. 

Re-release of this 2015 episode; comic historian Thom Woodley takes you through the 1844 election where historical great Henry Clay was defeated by dark horse James K. Polk. 

Comic historian Thom Woodley investigates the losers of presidential history - this time Thomas E. Dewey, two time Republican nominee, the gangbusting man on the wedding cake who lost to FDR and Harry Truman. 

Thom rereleases his episode on presidential loser Daniel Webster, the only man to turn down two separate vice-presidential offers (either of which would have led to his becoming president). 

Every episode, comic historian Thom Woodley dissects one of the losers of presidential elections. This time, the discussion is on Wendell Willkie, a proto-Trump figure: businessman who never served in office, former Democrat, famous for speaking on a controversial issue. What would have happened had a completely nonexperienced man had beaten FDR and been at the helm during WW2??

Every episode, Thom Woodley delves into a different Loser of American presidential elections. Enjoy this re-release of diehard conservative (and possible Nesferatu) Hugh Lawson White of Tennessee, one of 1836's Way Too Many Whig candidates.