(a Steve Orr scripture reflection)
The Vice President of the United States is presently very high-profile. That’s not always been the case. The “Veep-stakes,” as a recent headline called the current political spotlight, is not often top-of-mind among our citizens. A good example of the usual situation is this joke that used to be common in political circles: “Have you heard the one about the mother who had two sons? One went to sea and the other became Vice President of the United States of America. Neither was heard from again.”
You've probably heard people in the media refer to the Vice President as "The Veep." What you may not know is that Alben Barkley was the first Vice President to be called "The Veep.” It was suggested by his grandson while he was serving as President Truman’s Vice President. “Veep” became a hit with the press, and that started its journey toward enduring use.
At age 71 on Inauguration Day, Barkley was the oldest Vice President to hold the office. He was the last of the old-time Veeps to preside regularly over the Senate, one of the few to meet regularly with the President's Cabinet, and the very first to become a member of the National Security Council. It was whispered that President Truman could not have governed without him—and it may have been Truman who started that rumor!
Buried in all that information is what is not very well known about Alben Barkley: He was a man of faith, a longtime member of his church, and a great fan of reading the Bible. The Veep was also a prolific speaker and well-regarded for his warmth and sincerity. He made so many speeches during the Truman presidential campaign, the press dubbed him "Iron Man." And because he was a man of faith and well-versed in the Bible, he was fond of quoting and paraphrasing scripture.
When, in the usual course of things, he would have run for President in 1952, the leaders of big labor let it be known that they would not support him because of his age. They wanted a candidate they could depend on to serve a full eight years—something that, at 74, they did not believe he could do. Barkley "retired." But after a while he got bored. So, he ran for office in 1954. At 76 years of age, he became the junior senator from Kentucky. Things were a little different from his "glory days" of being one of the most powerful people in the world. On April 30, 1956, at the age of 78, Barkley was asked about this.
He responded, “I was a junior congressman, then I became a senior congressman, and then I went to the Senate and became a junior senator, then I became a senior senator, then Majority Leader of the Senate, and then Vice President of the United States, and now I’m back again as a junior senator. I am willing to be a junior. I’m glad to sit on the back row, for I would rather be a servant in the house of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty.”
The former Veep was paraphrasing this week’s Psalm 84. It seems fitting that those should be among Alben Barkley’s last words. Minutes later, he collapsed from a heart attack and passed away.
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