Posted on 01/26/2007 2:07:25 PM PST by Congressman Billybob
John Kerry announced this week that he will not run for President in 2008. I dont think any capable observers who pay attention to details such as political appeal and fund-raising strength thought that he had a snowballs chance anyway. But since my long-time acquaintance, John Kerry, has taken himself out of the race, I thought I should do the same.
I met John Kerry in Woolsey Hall at Yale, in 1963. I was a junior, and an officer of the Yale Political Union, when sophomore Kerry showed up to join the Union. He was a year older than me, but a class behind me. Thats because Id skipped the First Grade, and hed repeated the Twelfth Grade.
Kerry came to the Union to make a name for himself. He was dressed like an Assistant Professor with leather elbow patches on a band-new jacket. And he made sure everyone knew that hed been educated in Europe and spoke fluent French. Given his style, I didnt bother to mention that I spoke French, also.
He did make a name for himself. It was insufferable. The principal differences between Kerry then, and Kerry now, is he has more wrinkles and more money. Otherwise, hes the same. Its a sad commentary that this hollow social climber came so close to becoming President in 2004. Its good hes out of the 2008 race, although other candidates remain in the race who shouldnt get near the White House without a Visitors Pass.
Still, his example of announcing the obvious, that hes not running in 2008, encourages me to do the same.
Im out of the 2008 campaign. To eliminate any wiggle room in this declaration, I add Shermans words: If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.
What are my reasons? These items disqualify me from running:
I do not have a single friend, in the US, or elsewhere including China, who would donate $1 million to my campaign, or would hustle that amount of money from other friends, who are interested in certain favorable decisions by the White House. Furthermore, if anyone offered me $1 million, and obviously had an ax to grind in some public issue, Id tell them to take a hike. (That is exactly what I did, thirty years ago, when a multi-millionaire sought to purchase my services with a shady contribution.)
Although Ive spent the better part of forty years making presentations and speeches in public, I have never told a bald-faced lie in public not since I ceased doing criminal defense work thirty-five years ago. (As all lawyers and many laymen know, it is the obligation of any defense lawyer to present whatever defense might help the client beat the rap.)
I have never attempted to fashion a statement on any issue to offer soothing words apparently to groups on different sides of the issue. Instead, in speaking and writing on public issues my whole adult life, Ive always stated my opinion in plain English, plus the reasons for it. Ive never pulled my punches to avoid offending individuals or groups to whom I was speaking.
And, on those occasions when age, maturity or additional facts caused me to change my opinion on any subject, I did not pretend this was somehow a continuation of my old position. Instead, I explained in plain English why I was wrong before, and why I think my current position is better.
I have never changed my position on any public issue because large numbers of people disagreed with me. I respect Galileo. Pushed to recant his conclusion that the Earth revolves around the Sun, he agreed to stop saying that. But he added, And yet, it still moves.
I have led an ordinary life, which means there are events in my life which would cause harm to me, or to my family, if they were trumpeted about by opponents as if those mistakes were all there was to my life.
So, my conclusion on running for President is obvious. I am ill-equipped to run. If I ran, I would be defeated. Therefore, I wont run. Still, it is galling to me to see people run for President who have less knowledge, experience, and integrity than I and tens of thousands of other Americans have. We would have better public officials if fewer candidates offered only talents for intrigue and the little arts of popularity, as Hamilton, Madison and Jay warned in the Federalist. But thats a story for another day.
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About the Author: John Armor is a lawyer specializing in constitutional law, who may again be a candidate for Congress in the 11th District of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
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That's it. I'm in.:)
Today I found out my daughter is supporting Obama. She's a bright but politically clueless sophomore psych major. That's just one example of what I alluded to about Obama weeks ago -- he'll have the JFK factor where a lot of women will vote for him and could not care less what his actual positions are on the issues.
John "Gong Show" Kerry fails...again. What else is new? Pathetic jerk!!!
Good on you Cong. Billybob. I say, don't run for congress. Run for the Senate and start now. We must get more decent Senators, and I can't think of anyone better for the job than you. Whatever you do, God be with you.
One less for Hillary. Don't discourage her just feed her any stories you find about Hillary's dirty tricks on Obama. Slowly poison the well and let your daughter pass it on to her liberal friends.
That IS true. A significant minority of preppies "repeat" their senior years after they have graduated. The goal is to give them a leg up in the Ivy League competition. Kerry was one if those "repeats."
True story.
John
LOL...only if Paris Hilton was in there...
My oldest graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and her husband has a PhD. And they are in their mid thirties and are still politically clueless.It's all over the place, I'm tellin' ya. I met a guy a week ago who talked enough politics to learn I am Republican, and said, "I'll bet you think that journalism isn't objective." My reaction at his insinuation that journalism obviously is objective was just to laugh. On reflection, I should have just asked him how journalists get the wisdom to be able to be objective. I figure objectivity and wisdom are pretty much synonyms, because I have never heard of "unwise objectivity."
And I don't think it will be easy to explain why journalists are any wiser than you or me . . .
I can't help thinking that out of 300 million Americans there has to be not tens of thousands but hundreds of thousands of adults whose integrity and wisdom would match the best of the candidates so far on offer.It is a bitter joke when people speak of "the best person for the job." It would be nice, but mostly we have had "adequate" - at best. Ronald Reagan might actually have been the best person for the job. In all other cases we have been voting for the lesser evil (naturally, since Reagan was probably the best man for the job every year since 1960 or so).
I add Shermans words: If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.
Hey, there's always Congress.
Your reminisces of Kerry always entertain me. In 2005 he came to a friend's funeral. I had been caught outside the police cordon and got in by joining Kerry's small entourage. He was ostentatious about making himself seen for the cameras, but oddly enough didn't speak to the members of the family, nor the 100+ combat veterans at the funeral.
If I didn't know better, I'd think he was avoiding us. I didn't think we were radioactive?
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Well done, as usual, John.
Great line: Thats because Id skipped the First Grade, and hed repeated the Twelfth Grade.
I admire you, and I agree that the nation would have to reform greatly before they would elect a man like you. Don't give up, we NEED people like you in ANY office. Keep us informed of your endeavors...
And his supporters always went on about how dumb George W. Bush is? ROFLMAO!
Little wonder few qualified REAL republicans will enter the race..
Pretty smart of them actually..
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