Somewhere, James Buchanan is smiling

Pennsylvania isn’t the “Mother of Presidents.” That title that goes to the state of Virginia, which gave birth to eight of our chief executives.

But the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does seem to have the dubious distinction as the birthplace of arguably the two worst presidents in our history.

Until Joseph Robinette Biden shuffled onto the scene, Pennsylvania could only claim one U.S. president, and Franklin County was the birthplace of that president, James Buchanan Jr.

Buchanan was born at Cove Gap in Peters Township and is memorialized locally with a monument at his birthplace, “Stony Batter,” markers scattered around the area, and a school, highway and several businesses bearing his name.

Just as Nero was said to have fiddled while Rome burned, Buchanan’s cluelessness regarding slavery and his total inaction as seven southern states left the union made his presidency an unmitigated disaster.

Come to think of it, his actions, or inactions, may have set the bar so low for future generations of Franklin County-born politicians that just being able to walk and chew gum at the same time serves as the only qualification for public office here. Regardless, he has been the consensus choice among historians for the worst U.S. president for years, that is, until now.

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Buchanan now has some stiff competition at the bottom of the list from our current occupant of the White House, Joe Biden, who was born in Scranton. Someone must have told Biden that Buchanan was the worst president, and ol’ Joe, not to be outdone, said, “here, hold my sippy cup!”

Now, to be charitable, Biden is getting up there, at age 78, so in my mind, it’s not sporting to pick on him over the things that happen to people of advancing age: forgetfulness, blurting out senseless gibberish (don’t all liberals do that?), lack of self-control, being bad-tempered or unsteady on your feet.

These things will happen to most of us eventually, and after all, those gazillions of people who voted for him had to know he was just “Good ol’ Joe," right? If you want to fairly judge Biden as president, look at his performance in office and his policies, or lack thereof.

Biden hasn’t even served half of his term yet and has the country in a mess. Absolutely no one, including many of his former cheerleading squad who make up the legacy media, dispute that. The numbers don’t lie, whether they be poll numbers, economic statistics, the stock market, or the number of mothers lining up for baby formula.

Things are bad, and they are bad because Biden set out with a purpose on Jan. 20, 2021, to undo everything that his predecessor, Donald J. Trump, had accomplished during four years. Nihilism isn’t a good thing on which to base national policy.

Depending on what you may think is the motivation behind Biden’s actions, you can judge him on whether he’s been a total failure or wildly successful. If Biden set out to turn the United States into a marginalized, Venezuela-like socialist country, he is succeeding.

If he thinks his anti-fossil fuel, overspending, open-border, soft on crime, woke military and weak foreign policy positions will make America stronger, then he is failing.

Personally, I think it’s more of the former than the latter, although a lifetime spent as a political hack in Washington has obviously taught him nothing about how to run anything, let alone the most powerful nation on earth.

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Biden’s motivations aside, one thing is clear: If he gets his way, then America is toast. Fortunately, most Americans are now aware of that, and plan to clip his wings by giving Congress back to the Republicans in November.

There is even a theory that Biden’s own party’s “October Surprise” may be to invoke the 25^th Amendment to remove him from office, giving us someone who is even less popular, Kamala Harris, as president. I don’t buy that theory, even though the Democrats have shown no hesitation to weaponize government to preserve their power.

Whatever happens, it seems that the position in last place of America’s 15th president, James Buchanan, is over and has been snatched away by Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.

“Requiescat in pace,” President Buchanan! I know that wherever you are, you are smiling.

Dwight Weidman is a resident of Greene Township and is a graduate of Shepherd University. He is retired from the United States Department of Defense, where his career included assignments In Europe, Asia and Central America. He has been in leadership roles for the Republican Party in two states, most recently serving two terms as Chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party. Involved in web publishing since 1996, he is the publisher of The Franklin County Journal. He has been an Amateur Radio Operator since 1988, getting his first license in Germany, and is a past volunteer with both Navy and Army MARS, Military Auxiliary Radio Service, and is also a NRA-certified firearms instructor.

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Has Joe Biden usurped James Buchanan as worst president ever?