Another Nixon Observation
Written by Daniel on August 30, 2008 – 5:43 pm - Welcome, if you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or subscribe to our email newsletter. Thanks for visiting!
As we celebrate John McCain’s 72nd birthday this weekend, another observation from the closing pages of Richard Nixon’s LEADERS:
Churchill, de Gaulle, and Adenauer all made their greatest contributions when they were past what we think of as the normal retirement age. Churchill was already sixty-six when he began his wartime leadership of Britain, de Gaulle was sixty-seven when he created the Fifth Republic, and Adenauer was seventy-three when he took the reins as Chancellor. De Gaulle was still President at seventy-eight, Churchill was still Prime Minister at eighty, and Adenauer was still Chancellor at eighty-seven. [Elsewhere he notes that Golda Meir was seventy when she became Israel's fourth prime minister. "Even in her seventies she drove her self unmercifully, working until the early morning and keeping her attention focused simultaneously on the biggest issues and the smallest details of government."].
[T]he same drive and the same stamina that propel the great leader up often keep him going long after others have settled into placid retirement. Often we age because we allow ourselves to age. We grow old by giving up, or by sitting back, or by letting ourselves become inactive. … Great leaders make their own rules, and they are not the kind to surrender meekly to the calendar merely because that is the customary thing to do.
FYI, Alben W. Barkley, the 1948 Dem VP nominee, was 71 at the time. After four years as VP, he returned for another term in his beloved US Senate.
And as long as we’re speaking of Dem VP nominees, let’s take a brief trip through Wiki-history.
Geraldine Ferraro was an assistant county prosecutor with three terms in the House when selected in 1984. Sargent Shriver had been director of the Peace Corps and ambassador to France for 2 years (1974). Let’s not forget Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1920 - VP running mate of Gov. Cox against President Harding. At the time, he had served 2 years in the New York State Senate and seven years as assistant secretary of the Navy, during which time he lost a primary for US Senate. And then there’s my personal favorite, 1908 nominee John W. Kern, who was a member of the Indiana State Senate for four years and twice an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Indiana before the Dems put him on the ticket. Of course, Kern was the running mate of William Jennings Bryan, whom the Democrats nominated in 1896 after just two terms as a congressman from Nebraska. He was still an ex-2 term congressman when the Dems nominated him in 1900 and 1908.
Of course, as long as this post is meandering along, I will close with a quote from Algore’s speech to the DNC on Thursday:
Before he entered the White House, Abraham Lincoln’s experience in elective office consisted of eight years in his state legislature in Springfield, Illinois, and one term in Congress – during which he showed the courage and wisdom to oppose the invasion of another country that was popular when it started but later condemned by history.
The experience Lincoln’s supporters valued most in that race was his powerful ability to inspire hope in the future at a time of impasse.
Of course, we can play the experience game back and forth all day. Everyone bends their prior statements and positions to comport with new realities. On balance, I’ll associate myself with comments by Jim Lindgren on Volokh:
Last 5 posts by DanielUnlike the Palin risk (becoming President with no substantial foreign policy experience and less than a year’s experience as VP), which is unlikely to occur, the Obama risk is likely to be realized: becoming President without having any substantial administrative experience as a governor or business CEO.
- WisEye in Wis Lawyer - November 16th, 2008
- 2nd MU GOPer in the House - November 8th, 2008
- Textbook Case - November 3rd, 2008
- Kagen's Legislative Accomplishments - November 3rd, 2008
- That's not a good thing - November 3rd, 2008
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August 30th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I knew you could do it! Justify Palin’s lack of experience as no big deal and then find room to accuse Obama of being too unexperienced. You found a way in less than 48 hours. Congratulations!
Why don’t you admit that you have lost all objectivity and move on?
August 30th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
According to Rasmussen, 31% of Undecided voters are now less likely to vote for McCain compared to only 6% that are more likely.
August 30th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Gov. Palin has experience and accomplishments. Whether 20 months is enough experience is debatable but her accomplishments are impressive none the less. We all know several of them. It is the individual’s prerogative to acknowledge them or not. I can’t help feeling that if she did not have an R next to her name all these outraged people would be celebrating her.
As for the poll, I would attribute that poll to people not knowing much about Palin yet. For instance, did you know Palin’s first veto was used to block legislation that would have barred the state from granting benefits to the partners of gay state employees? She is for traditional marriage but is in favor of equal rights.
I am impressed with that decision. It will not impress hard core conservatives and liberals will write it off. She knows that and she still did the right thing. What a fantastic woman!
August 30th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
I was aware of that veto. And I think her pro-gay rights stance is admirable. I certainly don’t write it off.
“I can’t help feeling that if she did not have an R next to her name all these outraged people would be celebrating her.”
The thing is, I can’t help feeling that if she didn’t have a 2nd X-chromosome, her name wouldn’t have been within a million miles of the short list.
August 30th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
I am glad you do not write it off Gov. Palin’s support for gay issues. We will see how many people do or don’t and how much difference Palin’s pro-equality positions makes in the election. McCain has also been very supportive of the gay community to. Maybe there similar views on this are part of what inclined him to pick her.
I explained in a previous post about her accomplishments and experience, and from that, why I believe her gender was a moot point in selection, or largely so. I am willing to consider alternate opinions but I believe I have addressed the current explanations adequately.
The real test will be the Vice Presidential debates.
August 30th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Nathan, I keep hearing about these “accomplishments,” but have yet to hear any specifics. Please, enlighten me…what did she accomplish? I really do want to know.
August 30th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
By the way, Daniel–when are you going to post on the last day of the convention? You seem to have gotten distracted, and I would like to read your opinion.
August 31st, 2008 at 1:11 pm
There are several of them Kat and you commented under some of them in previous posts of Daniels. I had commented to Evan that I don’t expect liberals to give credit where credit is due. I do expect quibbling over minor points and alternate interpretations rather acceptance of the good things Gov. Palin has done. Reasonable people will have to judge the worthiness of liberal’s dismissals. But for anyone else who just saw this thread and aren’t aware of Gov. Palin’s accomplishments I will list some of them again.
1. In Alaska, Governor Palin challenged and defeated a corrupt incumbent republican governor and infrastructure.
2. Her first veto in office was a bill that would have prohibited the state offering benefits to the partners of gay employees.
3. She vetoed over 300 pork spending proposals.
4. She is the commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard. Though she never went into battle she still has to run it. That is still more than Obama and Biden.
5. She crosses party lines working with, appointing and removing both democrats and republicans.
6. She even EBAYed the state’s jet. What an environmentally and very financially responsible thing to do.
7. Passed a landmark ethics reform bill.
8. She raised taxes on oil companies.
8. Alaska borders 2 foreign countries. It is largest state, with 200+ Indian tribes and reservations, and 1/3 of the countries shoreline. Alaska is also, importantly, America’s oil and natural gas capital. Her management has made her the most popular governor in the country.
August 31st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I have to say, I do love how amount of shoreline and square footage is part of her qualifications. Forget that based on population Alaska is roughly the same size as Fort Worth, TX, because it’s close to Russia. To hear those on the right cite Alaska’s close proximity to Russia as foreign policy credentials really shows how thin her resume is. I live a mile from Lake Michigan but I certainly can’t sail a boat.
As for the other “accomplishments” you listed, you’re right. We don’t agree on which ones are legitimate, but it doesn’t really concern me too much. What worries me more is her complete lack of familiarity or even opinion on matters of foreign policy. McCain goes on and on about how dangerous the world is and how we need a leader who can face those challenges. I’m sorry, but Sarah Palin is not that person.
August 31st, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Oh, and sorry for going off topic, but what business do Palin and McCain have going to the Gulf Coast right now?
I get Bush and Cheney canceling their speeches at the convention and think that’s probably the right thing to do. But McCain giving his acceptance speech in a fresh disaster zone reeks of exploitation. To say nothing of the fact that the security considerations and arrangements by him and his staff and his Secret Service detail will all require the attention of local officials, which could obviously be better served helping the victims.
August 31st, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Alaska has enough dealing with other countries that it has an office for foreign affairs of its own.
Square footage means as much as everything that’s on it that she has to manage. That includes a lot. What of the rest of it? It make take some time to figure some kind of negative spin on supporting equality, or raising taxes on oil companies, or her landmark ethics reform bill but I’m sure if some libs here put there mind to it they will think of something, or will ignore it.
August 31st, 2008 at 3:16 pm
What of the rest of it?
Well, I applauded her veto last night and think her “reformer” and “anti-corruption” labels are slightly misplaced considering her two abuse of power scandals (one currently ongoing).
As for the rest, I’m not yet familiar with the rest of what you listed to say one way or the other. You’ll have to forgive me for not just taking your word on your characterizations. No offense intended, but you did also bring up her “axing the bridge to nowhere” but failed to mention that she actually supported it for over a year before she finally gave up on it.
August 31st, 2008 at 7:20 pm
It’s hard to believe that you are not familiar with any of Gov. Palin’s other accomplishments. I hope you don’t take offence, but you’re very misleading with what you leave out about Gov. Palin. Your lack of familiarity with her accomplishments does seem commensurate to the lack of information you produce about allegations against her. Can you acknowledge that the “currently ongoing” investigation is “currently ongoing” because she instigated the investigation? What was the other abuse of power about that you mentioned? Was she found guilty by some legal entity? I honestly don’t know what you are referring to so I can’t say for sure her guilt isn’t something you just assumed like you did with the Walt Monegan firing.
August 31st, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I’m learning as much as I can as fast I can. There is a lot to go through. However, I have a sinking feeling that I’ve done more vetting in the past 2 days than the McCain did altogether.
There are currently 2 investigations into troopergate. 1 by the AG that, yes, Palin initiated. But that was after a bipartisan committee of the state legislature started one. Many in Alaska question the motives behind Palin’s investigation, worried about tampering. Source: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/492077.html
The other abuse of power I mentioned took place while Mayor. After assuming office, she fired the long-time Police Chief and Library Director. Both of them had supported her opponent. In the termination letter she wrote, “I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla.” Source: http://hatthief.blogspot.com/2008/08/vetting-sarah-palin-irl-stambaugh-walt.html
August 31st, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Oh, and I forgot to mention that Palin was sued by the ex-Police Chief for wrongful dismissal. Palin won because the judge ruled that a Mayor can fire a police chief for any reason he/she wants.
September 1st, 2008 at 9:51 am
So far we have a few firings, the serious one is under investigation and I will accept those findings. Until then we have a couple of firings that appear to be completely legitimate. Not exactly a crucifing situation.
“After turning out the three-term incumbent, Palin brought in an outside attorney, with city funds, to advise on the transition. She asked for resignation letters from six top department heads, saying they’d signed a letter supporting their former boss. She fired two of them — the police chief and the museum director — but within a year two others had quit.”
She pursued an administration change, like she promised, and got a lawyer to make sure everything was advisable and kosher. Supporting someone’s opponent is not a shield.
If what she did as mayor of a tiny town fair game then as mayor she also cut her own salary taxes. “Palin was able to cut property taxes by three-quarters while eliminating small taxes such as the personal property tax and the business inventory tax.”
Does the plus box get as much attention as the negative box?
http://dwb.adn.com/news/politics/story/8334949p-8231037c.html
That article is really very balanced if you want ot know more about her.
September 1st, 2008 at 6:35 pm
To suggest that Sargent Shriver was anything less than a great man who would have been a great president is to not know what you’re writing about.