The Almost Presidents

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Dennis Lee Nowicki

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In '89, John Adams ran against George Washington
He tried again in the next election, Washington still won
In '96, Adams won, and Jefferson, not quite
Then, Aaron Burr, the almost Prez to Jefferson's delight
In '04, Pinckney came in second, Jefferson was first
Tried a second time against Madison, he did worse
DeWitt Clinton fought Madison, but, he, too felt the sting
In '16, James Monroe won prez, the loser, Rufus King

In '20, Monroe ran and won, since he was unopposed
Next, Jackson lost to Adams, Andrew's animosity rose
In '28, they raced again, this time, Adams was down
Henry Clay challenged Jackson, next, Clay maintained his frown
In '36, Van Buren, Harrison's bubble, he burst
Next election, the same pair ran, but the results were reversed
In '44, it was Polk and Clay, Clay came in second place
Then Lewis Cass lost to Taylor in this presidential race

In politics and sports,
it's such a disgrace
That we know those who came in first, but not second place

In '52, Winfield Scott got fewer votes than Franklin Pierce
Buchanan foiled John Fremont's desire to be prez four years
In '60, Stephen Douglas and Lincoln spared, Abraham won
The next one, George McClellan could not beat out Abe Lincoln
In '68, Grant could be prez, Horatio Seymour could not
Horace Greeley challenged Grant next, but a second term, Grant got
Then, Hayes beat Sam Tilden, who won the popular vote
In '80, Garfield bested Hancock, an officer of note

'84, Grover Cleveland won, though James Blaine also ran
But Ben Harrison stopped Cleveland's re-election plan
Head to head, again in '92 they ran, Cleveland, ahead
William Jennings Bryan tried, but McKinley won instead
Bryan and McKinley once more, Bryan failed to win the race
In '04, Alton Parker competed but Ted got first place
Persistent, Bryan challenged Taft this time, to no avail
In '12, Wilson and Taft, the runners, Taft, the one to fail

In politics and sports,
it's such a disgrace
That we know those who came in first, but not second place

In '16, Wilson beat out Charles Hughes for the president slot
James Cox vied for president but Harding was in the right spot
In '24, Coolidge surpassed John Davis, slipped on the climb
Then, Hoover made president, leaving Al Smith hoping 'next time'
In '32, FDR beat Hoover, the Depression's why
Against FDR, Alf Landon failed, but made a good try
Wendel Wilkie put on the gloves, FDR knocked him flat
Tom Dewey tried, but in the White House chair, Franklin still sat

In '48, Dewey ran against Truman and lost
Adlai Stevenson raced Ike, but the finish line, last to cross
Adlai tried again in '56, but couldn't beat Ike
Nixon went after JFK, but John's who people liked
LBJ, the incumbent, Goldwater tried and went
In '68, Nixon and Humphrey raced, Nixon, president
In '72, George McGovern ran against Nixon, no go
Then, Carter and Ford raced to lead the country, Ford was too slow

In politics and sports,
it's such a disgrace
That we know those who came in first, but not second place

In '80, Carter's bad economy put Ron in the seat
Walter Mondale tried to push out Reagan, but couldn't beat
George Bush Sr. against Mike Dukakis, Mike had to give up
In '92, Bill Clinton challenged Bush, Bill won the gold cup
In '96, Bob Dole and Clinton squared off, Bob conceded
Then, Al Gore took on Bush Junior, was close, but more, Al needed
In '04, Bush faced John Kerry, but John was over and done
Then, it was Barack Obama and John McCain, Barack won

In '12, Obama's vote count was much higher than Romney's
Next, Hillary faced Trump, seemed hers, but the prize not Hillary's
Last, Trump and Biden, Joe's the choice, Don reevaluates
These were the 'Almost Presidents' of the United States

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