Posted on 11/03/2004 1:24:15 PM PST by cogitator
A very brief vanity. I was just musing on the pattern of electing presidents, and it seems to me that the proper job preparation is to be a state governor, not a U.S. Senator. Here's the breakdown since 1900:
1. William McKinley -- governor of Ohio
2. Teddy Roosevelt -- governor of New York before vice-president (succeeded deceased president)
3. William Howard Taft -- governor general of the Phillipines
4. Woodrow Wilson -- governor of New Jersey
5. Warren Harding -- Lt. Governor of Ohio
6. Calvin Coolidge -- governor of Massachusetts (succeeded deceased president)
7. Herbert Hoover -- Secretary of Commerce
8. Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- governor of New York
9. Harry Truman -- senator and vice-president; (succeeded deceased president) - Dewey was governor of New York and nearly beat Truman in the reelection campaign
10. Dwight Eisenhower -- military general
11. John F. Kennedy -- senator
12. Lyndon Johnson -- senator and Vice-President (succeeded deceased president)
13. Richard Nixon -- senator and Vice-President
14. Gerald Ford -- senator and Vice-President (succeeded resigned president)
15. Jimmy Carter -- governor of Georgia
16. Ronald Reagan -- governor of California
17. George H.W. Bush -- representative, ambassador, CIA director, Vice-President
18. Bill Clinton -- governor of Arkansas
19. George W. Bush -- governor of Texas
Summary: of the 19, only one (JFK) went directly from the Senate to POTUS. All of the other senators-to-Presidents either became President by succession from VP, and Nixon and Bush were vice-president to president (Nixon notable for the eight year interregnum). McKinley, Wilson, FDR, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush (7) were governor-to-president, and TR was also governor-to-VP. Coolidge was also a governor before VP, and Harding (a smoke-filled-room choice) was a Lt. Governor.
So -- the odds are against a senator running for President. So I think that the GOP should examine the gubernatorial or past-gubernatorial ranks for viable candidates in 2008 (Tommy Thompson?), and I think Bill Richardson of NM is going to emerge as a strong Dem contender, if he doesn't have a heart attack or two first.
Harding also went directly from the Senate to the presidency.
Yeah! Hillary ain't no governor.
this is why i think Owens and Pataki will make a run on our side with a Lets pick Jeb or Rudy VP slot
Time to start prepping Jeb.
Ack, you're right, I missed that in the bio. OK, 2 senator-to-president, 7 governor-to-president. My thesis is still supported by the data. ;-)
It also helps that Pataki is governor of New York -- that seemed to work for a lot of them, and NY has a lot more EVs than NM!
"this is why i think Owens and Pataki will make a run on our side with a Lets pick Jeb or Rudy VP slot."
OR, how about a Rev. Jesse Peterson, author of "Scammed", the "other" Jesse. We sure could use some good, young, conservative black representatives, and Jesse is great.
Ford was a Congressional Representative, not a Senator.
yeah but Pataki is a gun grabber i think - not exactly espousing our conservativism. still if it was between him and hillary the choice is clear
The reason for the preponderance of governers (and one general and one cabinet secretary), as opposed to Senators is simple: the Presidency is an executive job, one that requires both leadership skills and an ability to negotiate with one's political opponents to get things done. Being a governor is like a beta test for the Presidency, whereas being a Senator is...what?
This is why Condi Rice won't be successful running for President, not unless she becomes a cabinet secretary (State, please, Mr. President). Giving a bunch of speeches and dealing with the sharks in the press and media would also help.
Pataki is governor because NY came to laothe Mario Cuomo.
Pataki won't win the nomination for the same reason that Rudy won't - because they can't win a single southern state due to their anti-gun positions and actions.
Yes, but he was not elected.
thats why i see Rudy as a VP candidate to "balance" the ticket. I like Rudy a lot despite some of his issue flaws
IIRC, Ford was a congressman.
Pataki is a lame speaker and a big-spending prochoice wimp/RINO moderate.
Magic 8 ball says:
Gov Bill Owens.
Correction accepted -- I thought he went from Congress to the Senate.
Anyone who wants to be President must first have been either
(1) in a major political office before, or
(2) WON A WAR, or had a major consequence militarily or through other leadership.
dont pass that test, you will not be chosen President.
Condi Rice does NOT pass the test.
Powell passes, barely.
wes clark... oh yeah, "he won a war" - Kosovo. no wonder he got beat by a guy with 4 months in 'nam.
A place to hone speaking skills and rhetorical devices. I agree with your premise, PLUS governors don't have to vote on bills and have a long "record" of pro-this and con-that. There may be occasional controversial gubernatorial vetoes, but governors are much more "pro" for the agenda items that they send to their Legislatures.
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