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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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 Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:53 pm Post subject: Do Senators Make Good Presidents...? |
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Senators holding the Oval Office after the Second World War: Truman, JFK, LBJ, and RM (Nixon occupies a special place as a former Vice-President and not merely a Senator).
Ford was a Congressman.
FDR, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and W. Bush were governors. (H.W. Bush failed to win a Senate seat and rose through the executive branch to the Vice-Presidency in 1980).
In any case, the current presidential race has narrowed to the point where it seems conclusive that our next president will be a Senator. Do Senators make good presidents? |
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stillnotking
Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Location: Oregon, USA
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:11 pm Post subject: Re: Do Senators Make Good Presidents...? |
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| Gopher wrote: |
Senators holding the Oval Office after the Second World War: Truman, JFK, LBJ, and RM (Nixon occupies a special place as a former Vice-President and not merely a Senator).
Ford was a Congressman.
FDR, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and W. Bush were governors. (H.W. Bush failed to win a Senate seat and rose through the executive branch to the Vice-Presidency in 1980).
In any case, the current presidential race has narrowed to the point where it seems conclusive that our next president will be a Senator. Do Senators make good presidents? |
Sometimes. I think it's very hard to predict who will make a good President. Certainly it's difficult for sitting Senators to be elected President, but it's virtually certain we will get one this year, so that's irrelevant.
It's arguable that executive experience makes a stronger leader, but it's also arguable that experience with the arcane rules and political currents of Congress makes a more effective one. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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Why not?
Experience in the Senate should be helpful, but it hasn't been a particularly good springboard to the presidency. We've probably had more generals elected president than men directly from the Senate. Truman, JKF and RMN served in the Senate, but were not leaders in the Senate. Only LBJ served there a long time and had been a Senate leader. Of that group, only JFK got elected president directly from the Senate.
Johnson was one of the most effective presidents we've ever had. People who know Washington said LBJ knew where the levers of power were in Congress and knew how and when to pull them. I suspect that LBJ is the rare bird who had skills both as a legislator and as an executive. |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| We've probably had more generals elected president than men directly from the Senate. |
I am referencing American affairs post1945. There has been only one general elected to the presidency in this modern and contemporary era.
Taken together, all eras would include Washington, Grant, and Eisenhower. I have not added them all up, however. Who else is there besides these three? |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor.
Oops: The big one. George Washington |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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I should have known about Jackson and Taylor.
Never knew about Harrison. That would make six presidents who emerged from the professional officer corps to the presidency in all American history. All generals and no admirals, moreover, although many other presidents had served in the Navy (JFK, Nixon, Carter, for example).
Wonder how many have emerged from the Senate overall. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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Men from previous centuries who went directly from the Senate to the presidency...zero.
John Tyler went from the Senate to the VP, then inherited the presidency when 'Tippecanoe' died.
James Garfield went to the presidency from the House.
Benjamin Harrison might have been a Senator immediately before he became president, but he's so boring I don't want to spend the time reading about him to find out for sure. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Never knew about Harrison. |
You forgot Harrison? According to legend, it was during his campaign that some wit put whiskey in log cabin-shaped bottles (because they were claiming Wm Henry was born in a log cabin) and this was where Log Cabin Maple Syrup came from.
"Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too" is my all-time favorite bad political slogan.
From the looks of it, only JFK was able to go directly from the Senate to the White House. There were several who went from successful Senate terms to governor of their state, then the White House.
Up to Jackson, Secretary of State was the prefered job training. Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, JQ Adams all served as SecState just before becoming president. |
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Hater Depot
Joined: 29 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:34 am Post subject: |
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| The problem with a game like this is the small sample sizes. |
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