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Not to worry,the messenger is safe. However Perry is probably right. After all “The Best List” ain't exactly running over with best presidents that came directly to the Oval Office from the Senate. I think Obama, Kennedy and Harding are the only three that moved direct to the Presidency from the Senate. For damn sure no BEST on that list.

Problem is, "The Best List" didn't come from the list of Governors either.

Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, Eisenhower, and the following list did not have the experience of being Governor.

All in all, with all the bad examples of Presidents that were Governors first, it really isn't a factor in whether or not a President will be a good executive.

To date, sixteen senators have also served as president of the United States. Three senators, Warren G. Harding, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama moved directly from the U.S. Senate to the White House.

(Photo: Warren G. Harding. Senate Historical Office)

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James Monroe

Senator, 1790-1794

President, 1817-1825

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John Quincy Adams

Senator, 1803-1808

President, 1825-1829

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Andrew Jackson

Senator, 1797-1798; 1823-1825

President, 1829-1837

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Martin Van Buren

Senator, 1821-1828

President, 1837-1841

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William Henry Harrison

Senator, 1825-1828

President, 1841

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John Tyler

Senator, 1827-1836

President, 1841-1845

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Franklin Pierce

Senator, 1837-1842

President, 1853-1857

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James Buchanan

Senator, 1834-1845

President, 1857-1861

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Andrew Johnson

Senator, 1857-1862; 1875

President, 1865-1869

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Benjamin Harrison

Senator, 1881-1887

President, 1889-1893

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Warren G. Harding

Senator, 1915-1921

President, 1921-1923

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Harry S. Truman

Senator, 1935-1945

President, 1945-1953

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John F. Kennedy

Senator, 1953-1960

President, 1961-1963

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Lyndon B. Johnson

Senator, 1949-1961

President, 1963-1969

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Richard M. Nixon

Senator, 1950-1953

President, 1969-1974

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Barack Obama

Senator, 2005-2008

President, 2009- present