Mathew Brady / AP Photo
President Obama better hope the Rutherford Hayes family isn’t still active in Ohio politics. In a speech on Thursday aimed at reforming energy policy, Obama said the 19th president’s refusal to use the telephone is “why he’s not on Mount Rushmore”—and Obama said he doesn’t plan on making the same mistake. “One of my predecessors, President Rutherford B. Hayes, reportedly said about the telephone ‘it’s a great invention, but who would ever want to use one?’” Obama said. “He’s looking backwards, not looking forward. He’s explaining why we can’t do something instead of why we can do something. The point is there will always be cynics and naysayers.” Obama pointed to “unnamed” Republicans running for a “certain office” that are opposed to finding alternative energy.