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Hunter Not 1st House Member To Seek Presidency -But Most Should Have Spared Themselves The Effort
SignOnSanDiego - Union Tribune ^ | 2/20/07

Posted on 02/20/2007 5:37:09 AM PST by areafiftyone

WASHINGTON – Morris Udall. Dick Gephardt. John Kasich. Bob Dornan. Jack Kemp. James Garfield. Dennis Kucinich.

What these gentlemen have in common – other than having all served in the House of Representatives – is that each ran for the White House while he was still a congressman. Only one of them made it.


Morris Udall


Dick Gephardt


John Kasich


Bob Dornan


Jack Kemp


James Garfield


Dennis Kucinich


Duncan Hunter

And he got shot.

Now that Duncan Hunter has taken the plunge for the Republican presidential nomination official, the Alpine congressman may soon encounter the peculiar challenges that face a sitting House member who wants to be president.

“Many House members feel the urge (to run) in spite of their public invisibility, lack of national stature and limited access to campaign funds,” said Thomas Mann, a presidential campaign scholar at the Brookings Institution. “History suggests they should resist.”

Be certain that Hunter, a former House Armed Services Committee chairman, has thought of all this. But he's betting that his conservative stands on defense matters, international trade and border enforcement will distinguish him from other Republican candidates now hogging the headlines, including a Sept. 11 hero (former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani) and a war hero (Arizona Sen. John McCain).

Plenty of sitting House members have aimed for the Oval office, some more successfully than others.

Morris Udall, the Democratic congressman from Arizona, may have run the most credible campaign in recent decades: He narrowly lost to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential primaries. Experts attribute his success in part to his stature in the House, his famous sense of humor and his engaging, self-deprecating manner.

“He didn't come across as either arrogant or as a lightweight,” said David Rhode, a political science professor at Duke University. “He was a skilled politician, but he wasn't too full of himself. With just a little more luck, he might have been president.”

Having clout in the House offers no guarantee. Most people have probably heard of Richard Gephardt, the former House Democratic leader who tried twice to win his party's nomination. He was widely respected in Congress, had strong ties to key party constituencies and performed well in debates, but lost the nominations in 1988 and 2004.

The only sitting House member ever to win the presidency was James Garfield. Back in 1880, he was the Republican leader of the House, in a day when candidates were chosen within the party. Garfield became the dark-horse candidate when the Republican convention became deadlocked, and he won the White House in 1881.

Two months after his inauguration, he was assassinated by a disgruntled lawyer in a Washington, D.C., train station. Since Garfield's time, the nominating process has become public and the financial demands are enormous, requiring candidates to lure early “seed” money that might give their campaigns stature. While Hunter raised more than $1 million for each of his last two congressional campaigns, being little known outside his district will make it difficult to attract the $50 million to $100 million each presidential candidate may need to be a serious contender.

“Money is very important in the year before the primary, because it's used to judge the viability of a candidate,” said Stephen Wayne, a presidential scholar at Georgetown University. “He's going to have a tough time, because financial backers like to get behind people who have a chance.”

John Anderson, an Illinois congressman who ran for the Republican nomination in 1980, was in a situation that resembles Hunter's, experts say. But although only a third-tier candidate, he ran second to George Bush Sr. in the Massachusetts primary and second to Ronald Reagan in Vermont. Overnight, he became a household name, though he could not maintain his momentum in later primary states. In the general election, he ran as an independent against Reagan and then-President Jimmy Carter, taking 7 percent of the national vote.

Anderson's presidential campaign spokesman, Mark Bisnow, attributed Anderson's initial success to the campaign's media focus in early-voting states and to worry among conservatives about Reagan's movie-actor status.

“Even though he was one of the most respected congressmen of his day, a person of towering integrity, as articulate as they come and very moderate, nobody knew him outside Washington,” said Bisnow, who wrote a book about the campaign titled “Diary of a Dark Horse.”

“All the attention was showered on the people who were already well-known.”

The list of House members who sought the presidency goes on. There was Jack Kemp, the New York Republican winnowed out during early primary voting in 1988; Bob Dornan, the Orange County Republican who made a brief bid for the nomination in 1994; John Kasich, the Ohio Republican who faced a dozen primary candidates in 2000; and Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio Democrat who placed far behind in almost all primary states in 2004.

Kucinich is running again and he believes national stature will matter less in the 2008 election than in the past.

“This goes beyond your rank in the political firmament,” he said. “This election is going to be about the war, and anyone who wants to be president will have to explain why they voted for the war.”

One thing that dark horses have going for them is that no one expects them to do well. It helps, Wayne said, if such a candidate “can do something in the beginning – like raising lots of money or performing well in New Hampshire or Iowa – something that makes the media and activists say, 'Wow, this person has really surprised us.' ”

“It happened with Jimmy Carter,” Wayne said. “And it happened with Bill Clinton.”


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: 2008; americarunsonduncan; duncanhunter; duncanwho; electionpresident; elections; hunter; medialies; nochance; unelectable
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1 posted on 02/20/2007 5:37:11 AM PST by areafiftyone
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To: areafiftyone

Rudy first mayor to seek Presidency -- Others had much smaller egos.


2 posted on 02/20/2007 5:43:30 AM PST by TommyDale (What will Rudy do in the War on Terror? Implement gun control on insurgents and Al Qaeda?)
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To: TommyDale
ALL POLITICIANS HAVE HUGE EGOS!
3 posted on 02/20/2007 5:44:58 AM PST by areafiftyone (RUDY GIULIANI 2008 - STRENGTH AND LEADERSHIP)
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To: areafiftyone
Duncan Hunter is strong on national security, homeland security, our borders, free and fair trade and the life of the unborn child - he is exactly what our country needs right now.

GO DUNCAN HUNTER!!!

4 posted on 02/20/2007 5:46:47 AM PST by alicewonders (I like Duncan Hunter for President - 2008!)
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To: areafiftyone

>>>>“History suggests they should resist.”

That is terrible advice for anything across the board.

Others have failed [at anything], so no one should try [ever again]?

We are a nation of accomplishments. Each accomplishment came with prior fails.


5 posted on 02/20/2007 5:47:30 AM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: areafiftyone
Dennis Kucinich????? The only good that can come from his entering the race again is that it will dilute the Communist vote................
6 posted on 02/20/2007 5:47:43 AM PST by yoe ("Take No Prisoners" has a lovely ring to it............... ummm General P. are you listening?)
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To: areafiftyone
Again, the question: Who would really be better suited to command the military -- a former mayor who has been out of office for 5 years, or the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Armed Services? This is a no-brainer. Hint: The answer isn't "Rudy".
7 posted on 02/20/2007 5:49:01 AM PST by TommyDale (What will Rudy do in the War on Terror? Implement gun control on insurgents and Al Qaeda?)
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To: areafiftyone

"Anderson's presidential campaign spokesman, Mark Bisnow, attributed Anderson's initial success to the campaign's media focus in early-voting states and to worry among conservatives about Reagan's movie-actor status."

This is ludicrous. Anderson became the rallying point for RINOs, not conservatives. He was another creation of a media effort to block a conservative nominee by glamorizing a "moderate." Same deal as Giuliani.


8 posted on 02/20/2007 5:49:19 AM PST by hellbender
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To: TommyDale

As we have said many times - being in the military and having combat experience is not necessary to be president - Otherwise we would be looking at president John Kerry.


9 posted on 02/20/2007 5:50:50 AM PST by areafiftyone (RUDY GIULIANI 2008 - STRENGTH AND LEADERSHIP)
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To: TommyDale

Or President John McCain.


10 posted on 02/20/2007 5:51:40 AM PST by areafiftyone (RUDY GIULIANI 2008 - STRENGTH AND LEADERSHIP)
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To: Calpernia
“History suggests they should resist.”

Yes - I guess history suggests that no mayor, woman or black should try either.

11 posted on 02/20/2007 5:51:42 AM PST by alicewonders (I like Duncan Hunter for President - 2008!)
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To: Calpernia

I think what they mean is the American people do not like to elect Senators or Representatives. Very rarely do they make it beyond that.


12 posted on 02/20/2007 5:53:24 AM PST by areafiftyone (RUDY GIULIANI 2008 - STRENGTH AND LEADERSHIP)
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To: alicewonders

And what is worse, that advice came from a 'scholar at an Institution'.

I will ensure to mark that name so this person is never involved with any teachings of my children in the future.


13 posted on 02/20/2007 5:53:48 AM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: areafiftyone
Whether that is what he meant or not; that is still terrible advice. The man needs a copy of the Little Engine that Could :P
14 posted on 02/20/2007 5:55:11 AM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: alicewonders

Me thinks they dont want him to run!

Interesting how Rudy is a Hero, Mclaim is a Hero, but no mention of Hunters service (they seem to ignore that alot).

History is about to change. Go Duncan Hunter:)


15 posted on 02/20/2007 5:57:04 AM PST by OMalley (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!! Just say NO to Rudy "Tootsie" Giuliani-GO Duncan Hunter 08:))
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To: Calpernia

LOL! That's a cute book!


16 posted on 02/20/2007 5:57:18 AM PST by areafiftyone (RUDY GIULIANI 2008 - STRENGTH AND LEADERSHIP)
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To: areafiftyone
"I don't have to hire consultant to develop a conservative image because I am a conservative." - Duncan Hunter
17 posted on 02/20/2007 5:57:53 AM PST by OB1kNOb (PRAISE THE LORD! After 20+ years, a REAL conservative I can support 4 President - DUNCAN HUNTER '08)
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To: areafiftyone
:)

18 posted on 02/20/2007 5:58:50 AM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: OB1kNOb

Duncan Hunter bump!
http://duncanhunter2008.us


19 posted on 02/20/2007 5:59:32 AM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: Calpernia

How do you do that so fast? You got a stash pile of picks? LOL cute by the way:)


20 posted on 02/20/2007 5:59:47 AM PST by OMalley (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!! Just say NO to Rudy "Tootsie" Giuliani-GO Duncan Hunter 08:))
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