Alexander Haig, 85; soldier-statesman managed Nixon resignation

[syscom3]

Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. (December 2, 1924 – February 20, 2010) was a United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. In 1973 Haig served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, the number-two ranking officer in the Army. Haig served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, commanding all U.S. and NATO forces in Europe.

A veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War, Haig was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart.

On February 20, 2010, Haig died from complications from an infection after being hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on January 28, 2010.

Alexander Haig - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

washingtonpost.com

 

[FLYBOYJ]

 

[ToughOmbre]

TO

 

[Gnomey]

 

[vikingBerserker]

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

Wheels

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

 

[diddyriddick]

I thought he was already dead. Guess that is what I get for thinking.

Any of ya'll remember when President Reagan was shot and Haig created a furor when he said that he was in charge?

 

[syscom3]

I thought he was already dead. Guess that is what I get for thinking.

Any of ya'll remember when President Reagan was shot and Haig created a furor when he said that he was in charge?

Yes. I was talking with my co-worker about that. We both agreed that he was taken out of context that he was "in charge".

 

[Njaco]

If you watch the clip of it, he was only saying he was in charge of the White House until the VP could take over.

 

[diddyriddick]

If you watch the clip of it, he was only saying he was in charge of the White House until the VP could take over.

Agreed, and it needed to be said. IIRC, Vice President Bush couldn't be immediately found, and obviously that presents problems.

 

[comiso90]

If you watch the clip of it, he was only saying he was in charge of the White House until the VP could take over.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eaq8EHWy4Y

i dont know about that... he incorrectly states the chain of command.

"president, vice president and secretary of state in that order"

speaker of the house is before the sec of state..

"Im in charge here in the white House" of coarse he was talking about the government. i sincerely doubt he was talking about running the mansion.

I think he was trying to provide stability in a time of stress. He himself was stressed and thought he was doing the right thing. He made an errors that a high level politician shouldn't make.

I dont fault him for trying to take charge.. but i do fault him for poor communication and misunderstanding the constitution.

I thank him for his service.



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[Njaco]

"Im in charge here in the white House" of coarse he was talking about the government. i sincerely doubt he was talking about running the mansion.

I'm not sure I agree with you on the meaning of "Im in charge here in the white House" . When I saw the clip the other day, I believed he meant the White House in general and not the whole country. And thats the problem with fairly generic statements like that - can go both ways.

 

[comiso90]

I'm not sure I agree with you on the meaning of "Im in charge here in the white House" . When I saw the clip the other day, I believed he meant the White House in general and not the whole country. And thats the problem with fairly generic statements like that - can go both ways.

I may agree with you except for the fact that he took the trouble to list the chain of command. What does that have to do with White house biz?

and besides, for most people, as he would be aware," in charge at the white house" is synonymous with running the country. I doubt Mr Haig was trying to reassure us that the lawn upkeep and was being done and the bills are being paid.

as you say... i guess it's open to interpretation.

 

[Njaco]

I doubt Mr Haig was trying to reassure us that the lawn upkeep and was being done and the bills are being paid.

Its all good!

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

The Secretary of State is 5th in the line of succession now.
United States presidential line of succession - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The line of succesion was amended to this in 1947.
It more closely follows the original line of succession.

When Al Haig went to school the Secretary of State was next in line after the Vice President.
This was in effect from 1886-1947.

Wapedia - Wiki: United States presidential line of succession.

http://www.continuityofgovernment.org/SecondReport.pdf

Page 32.

The 1886 Presidential Succession Act turned the presidency over to cabinet members in the order of the creation of their respective departments, which were Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of War, Attorney-General, Postmaster-General, Secretary of theNavy, and Secretary of the Interior.
The law included several other minor provisions. The 1886 Act did not require a special election when a statutory successor to the President takes office as did the first succession act. It did, however, require the statutory President (the Secretary of State or lower cabinet official who takes over as president) to call Congress into session within twenty days so that Congress would have the opportunity to provide for a special election by law if it so chose.

It has been said that during that stress filled time he made a mistake.
Then again he may have just meant the bills were going to be paid.


Wheels