Presidential Trivia

Dick Polman in the Philadelphia Inquirer brings up a bit of presidential trivia in his review of the final episode of The West Wing (from Political Diary):

"West Wing... took its final bow on NBC last night, ushering in the Matt Santos administration with so much schmaltzy earnestness that, by 8:45 pm, even the most dewy-eyed Democratic viewer was probably hungering for the street-smart cynicism of The Sopranos at 9. There was President Jeb Bartlet riding to the Inauguration with Santos, a seamless handover of power from one high-minded Democrat to another. And that got me thinking: When was the last time that an exiting Democratic president bequeathed his job to a Democratic successor? I ran to my almanac. Ready? It was 1856. Franklin Pierce to James Buchanan" -- Philadelphia Inquirer national political analyst Dick Polman on the airing of the last episode of West Wing on NBC.

Although there have been two Dem presidents in a row since then (such as Roosevelt to Truman and Kennedy to Johnson), in each case the transition was caused by a death in office. Only in TV can you get two Dems elected in a row without burying one of them.