Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale have lived 30 percent longer than any other presidential and vice-presidential pairing since the end of their joint political service nearly 12,100 days

waltermondale10.jpgFormer Vice President Walter Mondale underwent a successful heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic last Wednesday at the age of 86.

Mondale and his former boss, 89-year old Jimmy Carter, have each led long, productive lives over the last three-plus decades since serving side-by-side as president and vice-president.

Carter and Mondale are one of the 49 presidential and vice-presidential pairings in U.S. history, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Fifteen of these ended with a death in office of either the president (Kennedy-Johnson, Roosevelt-Truman, Harding-Coolidge, McKinley-Roosevelt, Garfield-Arthur, Lincoln-Johnson, Taylor-Fillmore, Harrison-Tyler) or the vice-president (Taft-Sherman, McKinley-Hobart, Cleveland-Hendricks, Grant-Wilson, Pierce-King, Madison-Gerry, Madison-Clinton).

Of the remaining 33 out of office, no pair lived longer once their formal political partnership ended than Carter and Mondale.

In fact, it’s not even close.

As of Monday, Carter and Mondale have lived 33 years and 28 days since their last day of service together on January 20, 1981 – or a span of 12,081 days.

That is 2,828 days longer (and counting) than the next longest post-administration pairing in U.S. history of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson – or 30.6 percent.

Adams’ presidential administration ended on March 4, 1801 and he and Jefferson lived the next 25+ years until they both died on the same day, July 4, 1826, for a span of 9,253 days.

Creeping up the all-time list are George H.W. Bush and Dan Quayle at #4.

Bush and Quayle have lived 21 years and 28 days since exiting in January 1993 after their defeat to Bill Clinton and Al Gore, or 7,698 days ago.

In three months, the duo will eclipse Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr at #3.

Burr served as Jefferson’s first vice-president until March 4, 1805. Jefferson died 7,792 days later.

Clinton and Gore currently sit at #9 at 13 years, 28 days and counting and will pass up Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush (15 years, 4 months, 16 days) for the #8 spot in less than two and one-half years.

The only other surviving presidential and vice-presidential pairing – George W. Bush and Dick Cheney – have lived 5 years, 28 days since departing the White House in January 2009 (1,854 days), or #20 all-time.

Rounding out the Top 10 are:

· Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew (1973-1994) at #5: 20 years, 6 months, 12 days
· Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford (1974-1994) at #6: 19 years, 8 months, 13 days
· John Quincy Adams and John Calhoun (1829-1848) at #7: 18 years, 11 months, 19 days
· Andrew Jackson and John Calhoun (1832-1845) at #10: 12 years, 5 months, 11 days

The shortest post-administration stint is held by the presidential and vice-presidential pairing of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin.

Hamlin was replaced on the 1864 ballot by Tennessee War Democrat Andrew Johnson and left office on March 4, 1865.

Lincoln was assassinated just 42 days into his next term on April 15th.

Other particularly brief post-administration half-lives were turned in by:

· Franklin Roosevelt and Henry Wallace (January-April 1945): 2 months, 23 days (82 days)
· James Monroe and Daniel Tompkins (March-June 1825): 3 months, 7 days (99 days)
· James Polk and George Dallas (March-June 1849): 3 months, 11 days (103 days)
· Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller (1977-1979): 2 years, 6 days (736 days)
· George Washington and John Adams (1797-1799): 2 years, 9 months, 10 days (1,015 days)

The average post service half-life among the 33 pairings in history is 3,504 days, or approximately 9 years, 7 months.

Post-Administration Longevity Among Presidential and Vice-Presidential Pairings

Rank
President
Vice-President
Years
Span*
Days*
1
Jimmy Carter
Walter Mondale
1981-
33 years, 28 days
12,081
2
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
1801-1826
25 years, 4 months
9,253
3
Thomas Jefferson
Aaron Burr
1805-1826
21 years, 4 months
7,792
4
George H.W. Bush
Dan Quayle
1993-
21 years, 28 days
7,698
5
Richard Nixon
Spiro Agnew
1973-1994
20 years, 6 months, 12 days
7,499
6
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
1974-1994
19 years, 8 months, 13 days
7,196
7
John Q. Adams
John Calhoun
1829-1848
18 years, 11 months, 19 days
6,930
8
Ronald Reagan
George H.W. Bush
1889-2004
15 years, 4 months, 16 days
5,615
9
Bill Clinton
Al Gore
2001-
13 years, 28 days
4,775
10
Andrew Jackson
John Calhoun
1832-1845
12 years, 5 months, 11 days
4,545
11
Ulysses Grant
Schuyler Colfax
1873-1885
11 years, 10 months, 9 days
4,333
12
Grover Cleveland
Adlai Stevenson
1897-1908
11 years, 3 months, 20 days
4,129
13
Martin Van Buren
Richard Johnson
1841-1850
9 years, 8 months, 15 days
3,547
14
Theodore Roosevelt
Charles Fairbanks
1909-1918
9 years, 3 months
3,379
15
Benjamin Harrison
Levi Morton
1893-1901
8 years, 6 months, 10 days
3,115
16
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
1837-1845
8 years, 3 months, 4 days
3,018
17
Dwight Eisenhower
Richard Nixon
1961-1969
8 years, 2 months, 8 days
2,989
18
James Buchanan
John Breckinridge
1861-1868
7 years, 2 months, 28 days
2,646
19
Rutherford Hayes
William Wheeler
1881-1887
6 years, 3 months
2,283
20
George W. Bush
Dick Cheney
2009-
5 years, 28 days
1,854
21
Franklin Roosevelt
John Garner
1941-1945
4 years, 2 months, 23 days
1,543
22
Lyndon Johnson
Hubert Humphrey
1969-1973
4 years, 2 days
1,463
23
Calvin Coolidge
Charles Dawes
1929-1933
3 years, 10 months, 1 day
1,403
24
Harry Truman
Alben Barkley
1953-1956
3 years, 3 months, 10 days
1,196
25
Thomas Jefferson
George Clinton
1809-1812
3 years, 1 month, 16 days
1,143
26
Herbert Hoover
Charles Curtis
1933-1936
2 years, 11 months, 4 days
1,071
27
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Marshall
1921-1924
2 years, 10 months, 30 days
1,066
28
George Washington
John Adams
1797-1799
2 years, 9 months, 10 days
1,015
29
Gerald Ford
Nelson Rockefeller
1977-1979
2 years, 6 days
736
30
James Polk
George Dallas
1849-1849
3 months, 11 days
103
31
James Monroe
Daniel Tompkins
1825-1825
3 months, 7 days
99
32
Franklin Roosevelt
Henry Wallace
1945-1945
2 months, 23 days
82
33
Abraham Lincoln
Hannibal Hamlin
1865-1865
1 month, 11 days
42

* Through Monday, February 17, 2014. Table compiled by Smart Politics.

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