My First Days in the White House
My First Days in the White House is a 1935 book written by Huey Long, with full-page illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Cléanthe Carr. Called Long's "second autobiography" and published posthumously in 1935, it emphatically laid out his presidential ambitions for the election of 1936.
Summary
Approaching the 1936 presidential elections, Louisiana Senator Huey Long details a political fantasy in which he is president of the United States. Through imaginary conversations Long outlines his policies, including the "Share Our Wealth" plan, a balanced budget, an income cap of 500,000dollars per year, and a program to eliminate dust storms. He also proposes to "reorganize and modernize" the American air forces, presumably as either a more autonomous component of the Army, or a separate branch altogether. Long fantasizes about his inauguration as President of the United States, detailing that he would be sworn in on the Bible his father had read to him and his brothers and sisters.He also detailed his nomination picks for his cabinet, listed below. Long does not name a Secretary of Agriculture or Postmaster General, instead saying that those offices should be filled "from the recommendations of the farm organizations" and "according to their merit and record of service" respectively, with Long appointing two unnamed individuals. The book also suggests that the Director of the Budget should be elevated to a cabinet position, with Al Smith filling the role. The book does not name Long's vice president.
| Position | Proposed secretary | Party | Home state |
| Secretary of State | William Edgar Borah | R | Idaho |
| Secretary of the Treasury | James J. Couzens | R | Michigan |
| Secretary of War | Smedley Butler | R | Pennsylvania |
| Secretary of the Navy | Franklin D. Roosevelt | D | New York |
| Secretary of the Interior | Lytle Brown | I | Tennessee |
| Secretary of Commerce | Herbert Hoover | R | California |
| Attorney General | Frank Murphy | D | Michigan |
| Secretary of Labor | Edward Keating | D | Colorado |
| Secretary of Agriculture | Not named | N/A | N/A |
| Postmaster General | Not named | N/A | "a western state" |