Throttlebottom’s Revenge How Political Satire Shaped the Perception of the Vice Presidency

The vice presidency of the United States proves to be a paradoxical position, with a sordid history of murder, deceit, incompetence, and ignorance paired with the illustrious, whitewashed façade of the second in command. Although so close to near absolute power over the executive branch, the position itself holds little power, save for what the president chooses to give his symbolic “right hand man. ” Many of the fundamental problems within the office stem from the ambiguity of the constitution and the failed vision for the vice presidency. Without direction from the constitution, guidance from an attentive president, or common sense, many vice presidents faltered, making mistakes that damaged the perception of the vice presidency. Amendments to the constitution gradually clarified the role of the vice presidency because of the deplorable history of vice-presidential incompetence and public pressure brought on by honest political satire. One of the most influential and biting accounts of vice presidential satire, the 1931 Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical “Of Thee I Sing, ” remained culturally relevant and effective decades after its initial release because it referenced the true fundamental flaws of the vice-presidential position. Referencing the early problems with the nomination process, “Of Thee I Sing ” directed the public’s attention back to the mistakes within the constitution and how the nomination process described in the twelfth amendment resulted in a long history of vice-presidential incompetence. Earlier satirists had already pounced on vice-presidential mistakes, from the massive blunders of Aaron Burr, to the seemingly insignificant mistakes of George