James Monroe

The first thing that strikes you about the house is how beautiful it is. The second thing that strikes you is how comfortable it is. The third thing that strikes you is how unexpected the first two things are in this most public of family mansions, the White House."

IT'S 15 MONTHS to Election Day, and seldom have an opposing political party's chances of winning a presidential election been rated so low.It's understandable why. The incumbent has consistently enjoyed favorable ratings of 70 percent or higher and led the nation through a popular war the Democratic leadership opposed almost unanimously. What's more, the Democrats are in disarray -- without an ideology, short of experienced candidates and losers in five of the past six elections.Under these circumstances, it might seem foolhardy to expect anything other than a landslide victory for President Bush.

IT'S 15 MONTHS to Election Day, and seldom have an opposing political party's chances of winning a presidential election been rated so low.It's understandable why. The incumbent has consistently enjoyed favorable ratings of 70 percent or higher and led the nation through a popular war the Democratic leadership opposed almost unanimously. What's more, the Democrats are in disarray -- without an ideology, short of experienced candidates and losers in five of the past six elections.Under these circumstances, it might seem foolhardy to expect anything other than a landslide victory for President Bush.

Today's hip country sounds have America up and dancing. Whether it's the "Achy Breaky," the "Boot Scootin' Boogie," the "Cheatin' Heart," the "Cowboy Hip Hop," the "Tush Push" or any number of others, the hip hop sound of 1990s pop country music can make even the most shaded of wallflowers start their toes a-tappin'.It seems as though when Brooks and Dunn, Billy Ray Cyrus and Garth Brooks, among others, hit the scene, country music found many "Friends in Low Places" it did not know about.

James Monroe Cannon III, former reporter and foreign correspondent for The Sun who later became a top Newsweek correspondent and an aide to New York Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller and President Gerald R. Ford, died Sept. 15 from complications of a stroke at Capital Hospice in Arlington, Va. Mr. Cannon, who was 93, lived in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood. James Myers Cannon was born in Sylacauga, Ala., and was raised in Athens, Ala. When he was in college at the University of Alabama, from which he earned a bachelor's degree in 1939, he changed his middle name to his father's.

On the day I visited Ash Lawn-Highlands, once the plantation home of the fifth president of the United States, my path to the front door was blocked by an iridescent blue peacock that sported a spectacular tail. The bird's opulent color and showy plumage stood out in stark contrast against the simple yellow and white frame house that is located in rolling hills a few miles south of Charlottesville, Va. James and Elizabeth Monroe called the unpretentious place their "cabin castle."Eventually the magnificent fowl slowly and majestically vacated the porch, and I was free to enter the Plain Jane farmhouse.

On January 31, 2005, JAMES, beloved husband of Bernice Lawson, devoted father of James Kevin Lawson. He is also survived by one grandson, Ami James Monroe Lawson, three god-daughters, three sisters-in-law and a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives. Friends may call at the Gary P. March Funeral Home, 270 Fred Hilton Pass on Friday, from 10 A. M til 7 P.M. Family will receive friends at Union Temple Baptist Church, North Avenue and Monroe Street, Saturday, from 11 :30 A. M to 12 noon.

On November 17, 2005, BERNICE L., wife of the late James Lawson; devoted mother of James Kevin Lawson; she is also survived by one grandson, Ami James Monroe Lawson; three sisters, Marquerite Wheeler, Margaret Williams and Darlene Coles; and a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives. Remains will lie-in-state at Union Temple Congregation, 1100 W. North Ave, Tuesday, 10 A.M., where family will receive friends from 11:30 to 12 noon, Funeral Services to follow. Interment Woodlawn Cemetery.

This is the 52nd presidential election.The eighth was the last gasp of the Federalist Party. Demoralized because the War of 1812, which it had opposed, had turned out so well for the Democratic-Republican administration which waged it, the Federalists did not formally nominate anyone.(But electors chosen by the state legislators in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Delaware voted for Gov. Rufus King of New York for president and Maryland's John Eager Howard for vice president.)The Democratic-Republicans continued their Virginia dynasty, President Madison helping secure the nomination for his secretary of state, James Monroe, just as President Jefferson had helped secured the nomination for his secretary of state, Madison.

Q: How many presidents served as a U.S. senator before they were elected as the country's chief executive?A: Fifteen presidents served as a U.S. senator before they were elected to office. They are: John Quincy Adams, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Benjamin Harrison, Warren Harding, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.One president, James A. Garfield, was actually elected simultaneously as president of the United States and a senator from Ohio in 1880.