Grover Cleveland

Why was President Grover Cleveland considered the “shining star” during the Gilded Age…..?

I just need to refresh my memory a bit…thanks!

Grover Cleveland who resembled a bullfrog with bleeding hemerhoids was viewed as a financially moral man, well nigh incorruptible, as a Sherrif in Buffallo New York Cleveland became a legend for his honesty & blunt refusal to tolerate the ‘usual’ way things had been done. Cleveland carried that reputation into the New York’s Governer’s Office, then as now a job tainted with spoils & corruption, and once more earned kudos for blunt honesty and hard work. In an age when people expected their politcians to be venal creeps (have things changed?) Cleveland was considered remarkable. Even two ‘sex scandals’ failed to mar the public’s opinion of Grover Cleveland the only President thus far to have a character on Sesame Street named for him….

http://www.erie.gov/sheriff/history_grover_cleveland.asp

“”"Sheriff Cleveland personally looked into the quality of items purchased for his department. For example, a contractor who provided the wood for the jail reported the delivery of the usual one hundred cords. The Sheriff took up his tape measure, removed the crooked sticks, and discovered that the pile measured only eighty cords. He then ordered that the difference be made up. In another example, the Sheriff discovered that the miller who delivered flour for the jail had provided poor quality product. He discarded the flour and insisted on better quality be baked into the bread for the prisoners. The prisoners had a hard enough time, was his announcement, and he directed that they not be cheated in the quality or quantity of the food furnished by his department.
Sheriff Cleveland often delegated the routine duties of the office to his diligent Undersheriff W.L.G. Smith. The Sheriff could go out hunting or fishing, as he enjoyed, and confidently leave the Undersheriff in control of the office. However, as noted by biographer Charles H. Armitage, Sheriff Cleveland shirked none of his official responsibilities. Receiving the nickname, “Buffalo’s Hangman”, when it became his duty to hang a man, Sheriff Cleveland refused to delegate this task and completed the hanging. In 1872, he personally sprung the trap on two men, Patrick Morrissey, convicted of stabbing his mother to death, and Jack Gaffney, a well-known gambler who had been found guilty of shooting a man over a card game. 5 The jail-yard gallows were located on Washington and Batavia streets, which is now the site of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.
Upon completion of his term as Sheriff, Cleveland returned to his law practice in Buffalo. Many predicted that he was through in politics, as he had been regarded as too much of a non-partisan Sheriff, frequently clashing with the old line Democrats.
Beyond the Office of Sheriff
As it turned out, this Sheriff was not through, and in 1881, Cleveland was elected Mayor of Buffalo, and a year later became the Governor of New York State. He was recognized for his stance against corruption, and credited with the slogan, “public office is public trust.” He then became the Democratic nominee, and was elected the 22nd President of the United States in 1885. Having been unsuccessful in his presidential reelection bid in 1888, Cleveland reemerged successfully in his third campaign in 1892, making him the only President in history to be reelected after a prior defeat. Throughout his tenure he was known for his independence and controversy in his cabinet appointments, often again at odds with his political party. He eventually retired to his home in New Jersey where he subsequently died in 1908. “”

Peace///////\\\\\\\\\/////////////\\\\\\\\\

Grover Cleveland – First minute of his 1892 campaign speech