... and Tyler, Too

Well, we've certainly seen a spike in votes this week. How big? In the first 24 hours, we've had more votes than the previous four weeks, combined. We're not dumb. We know the only reason why we've had a spike this week is because the insanely popular character from the — okay, maybe not "insanely," per se, but definitely "very" — popular show is fighting.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Bartlet effect.

And, needless to say, none of this bodes well for Jed Bartlet's foe this week, John Tyler. We can't really blame our voters, though. We defer to Maeby Fünke on people's knowledge of Bartlet compared to Tyler.

And that's fine. We can't blame people for not voting for some lesser-known 19th century president over the guy from The West Wing. It's unlikely that neither of the HttCttD authors would say they like the life-long slave holder over any character portrayed by Martin Sheen. However, we kind of have to question the fact that over 90% of voters think that the guy with MS could win in a fight over the guy who doesn't have MS. He might do well against the guy in a wheelchair, who — if FDR's first fight is any indication — theoretically could meet Bartlet in the Marshall Bracket Finals.

While we wouldn't normally devote a Wednesday post to further argue one way or another, we thought it would be nice to give John Tyler a little more sun. After all, it's not like it's going to help him... at all.

Other things to consider about John Tyler:
He's got the genes of survival — Of the 15 children Tyler fathered (not including any illegitimate ones he may have fathered with his slaves), only one, Anne Contesse Tyler, died in infancy. All 14 others survived to adulthood. That's pretty good, considering no one has ever referred to the 19th century as "The Era of Low-Infant Mortality."

In fact, it was the Era of Post-Mortem Photography, which is as creepy as it sounds.

And despite the fact that he was born in the 1700s, two of Tyler's grandsons are still living today. Tyler's fifth child with his second wife — Lyon Gardiner, who was born when Tyler was 63 — had two sons when he was 71 and 75. The fact that someone born in the 18th century should have two grandchildren alive in the 21st century should count for something.

Doesn't have MS — Not to belabor a point, but...



Volunteered during War of 1812 — He didn't see any action, but the fact that he volunteered shows some bravery and fearlessness... right?

Look, don't get us wrong. Bartlet's great. We figured he'd have no problem advancing (whether he should or not is another issue). We just figured Tyler should get some credit where credit is due.

That being said, let's not forget that he owned slaves and that he was elected to the Confederate government. Both of these facts have nothing to do with fighting skills, we just want to make it clear that while we may sympathize with Tyler's situation this week in relation to the blog, we're not saying the guy himself was awesome.

Though the fact that someone born 221 years ago still has living grandchildren is quite impressive.

If you haven't already, please vote in this week's poll. Bartlet? Tyler? Who cares who you vote for, help us break our record for most votes in a week.