remarkably chester arthur turned out to be a far better president than anyone, including chester arthur, could have predicted. he owed more than any man in the country, he owed to the spoil system. the collector of the poor. he was fired from that. first thing he did was broke off contact with conklin. said you are corrupt, i want nothing to do with you. conklin felt totally angered by this, to put it mildly. chester arthur then worked with a senator from ohio, pendleton, to pass ultimately to draft, and then pass, the pendleton civil service act creating tests for people to get jobs and to create the civil service commission. only 10% of federal jobs were covered at the beginning, but obviously it set the whole stage for everything that we have here in washington now. it passed january of 1883, and it is the legacy of garfield that came because obviously of his passing. conklin was furious with him, and to his amazement, when they met, chester arthur told him, "your behavior is outrageous." he realized he was powerless to control the man whom he had created, and he went back to his roo

so conklin names chester arthur. chester arthur had never run for political office and he was not in chicago, and he did not know that he would be nominated for anything, let alone vice president of the united states, and when he found out when he got a cable saying you have been nominated for vice president he thought the western union broke. he said, what do you mean? i am not a candidate. well, yes, he was. so arthur had been paid $50,000 a year as port collector, which is enormous in those days, and forced out on grounds of corruption and never held any office or never run for any office and suddenly is running for vice president, and everybody said it doesn't matter. garfield is the youngest man to run for president in american history to that point and he ultimately becomes the youngest president to date to be elected, in good health, 6'2", great physical shape and has a wonderful family who cares about who is going to be vice president, it's irrelevant. and here is a poster of garfield and arthur. the democrat

you always keep this in mind, the media did not like chester arthur very much.hink it's the level of you, but chet got hammered a little bit. all right, mr. trump, as always, thank you for your time. we appreciate you being accessible and we are hoping hillary clinton will come on the factor as well. >> up next on this special edition of the o'reilly factor. new polling on the state of the presidential race. two top experts weigh n a moment. (announcer vo) who says your desk phone always has to be at your desk? now, with one talk from verizon... hi, pete. i'm glad you called. (announcer vo) all your phones can work together on one number. you can move calls between phones, so conversations can go where you go. take your time. i'm not going anywhere. (announcer vo) and when you're not available, one talk helps find the right person who is. hi, john. (announcer vo) so wherever work takes you, you can put your customers first. introducing one talk-- another way verizon connects your business better. learn how at onetalk.com. test test test test now i'm on the path

you always keep this in mind, the media did not like chester arthur very much.t think it's the level of you, but chet got hammered a little bit. all right, mr. trump, as always, thank you for your time. we appreciate you being accessible and we are hoping hillary clinton will come on the factor as well. >> up next on this special edition of the o'reilly factor. new polling on the state of the presidential race. two top experts weigh n a moment. i've been taking fish oil from nature's bounty to support my heart. i'm running, four times a week. eating better, keeping healthy. so that no matter what happens in the future, my "future self" will thank me. thank you! you're welcome! hey listen. whatever you do, don't marry dan! hey babe, i'm dan. hey babe, can i get 14 dollars for... thank you. 45 years of experience has taught us: no matter what the future holds, you're always better off healthy. nature's bounty millions of women worldwide trust tena with their bladder matters. thanks to its triple protections from leaks, odor and moisture. tena lets you be you ♪ you

. >> besides being secretary of state for james garfield and chester arthur -- >> he was secretary of under three presidents. >> what else did he do? >> he was a speaker of the house. he was a governor. >> he changed some of the rules in the house. the speakers are always changing the rules somewhat to their advantage is. >> this was after the civil war when congress was much more central, much more potent than it had been. their reaction against the strong executive said in. to be the secret -- the speaker of the house, to be a power in congress meant a lot more fun than it would today. >> do you have anything to say? >> what do you think would have happened if he won? i think he would be regarded as the best president between lincoln and tr. >> he was assertive, he had intellectual capacity. he had a lot of talent. i think that once he had actually achieved it -- people lost after the president's. this is a distorted malignancy that they suffer from. if they survive it and they win the office. i think that belaying is someone like clay. they have a great deal uncommon. -- i think th

. >> besides being secretary of state for james garfield and for chester arthur. >> and benjamin harrisonecretary of state under three presidents. >> what else? was he elected -- >> he was in congress, he was speaker of the house. he was a very effective iron-willed speaker. >> he changed some of the rules in the house. i'm not sure exactly which rules they are. seems to me speakers of the house are always changing can rules somewhat to their advantage. but a smart, capable guy -- but corrupt. >> remember, this was the period after the civil war when congress was much more central, much more potent, than it had been. the reaction against the strong executive set in. so to be speaker of the house, to be a power in congress, in the 1870s, 1880s meant a lot more than perhaps two today. >> i was curious, what do you think would have happened had he won? how would he have changed -- >> i think he would have turned out to be -- put it this way. i think he would be waregarded the best president between lincoln and t.r. because he was assertive. because he had intellectual heft. because he had --

that includes when chester a. arthur refused to question the qualifications of stink eye willie, the pie-stealing hobo. ( laughter ) very close. stink eye. infrastructure, very strong. ( applause ) now, of course, donald trump doesn't care if the establishment thinks he's fit for the job. ( laughter ) he's a man of the people. that's why yesterday, trump tweeted this photo of himself on this private jet, eating k.f.c. there it is, extra crispy and some chicken. stuck in my that joke stuck in my throat, literally. ( cheers and applause ) that punch line stuck in my throat like a chicken bone. it does bolster his military credentials, because he clearly has a close relationship to the colonel. ( laughter ) but i think-- just looking at that photo, i think he is blowing the whole "man of the people" thing by eating his mr. trump, what part of "finger lickin' good" don't you understand? it's right there. i think that's illegal. i think that's illegal. and just some advice, if you want to seem relatable, don't eat j.f.k. on a