18. A Predator Who Became President?
Grover Cleveland (1837 – 1908) is best known today as the only chief executive to have served two non-consecutive terms in the White House. He was elected the 22nd president of the United States in 1884. He served his term, then won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College in the 1888 election. Cleveland then bounced back and was elected America’s 24th president in 1892. A Democrat reformer, Cleveland left his mark with his tireless efforts to fight the endemic political corruption of his era. That earned Cleveland a reputation for political integrity and honesty.
That is not the only thing he is known, for however. Cleveland was famous – or infamous – for scandals that would sink any Democrat today. With some exceptions, such as with Thomas Jefferson, further down this list, most presidential perversions and scandals involved consensual hanky-panky. That, or boorish conduct that amounts to workplace harassment. Inappropriate behavior, but not outright violent criminal conduct. Not so with Grover Cleveland: his biggest scandal involved straightforward sexual assault, and extraordinary levels of corruption and abuse of power to cover it up.
