David Broder revisited: Why Few Senators Become Presidents

[smada]

David Broder: Why Few Senators Become Presidents

An interesting read considering Kerry is a Senator and Dean was a Governor.

[trotsky]

1. Hmmm...

MSN Group "Rush v. Reality" has a different take.

http://groups.msn.com/rushversusreality/rushvsreality2001julydec.msnw

Scroll down to the July 20, 2001 entry.

The White House web page provides personal and political biographies of the forty-two men who have served as president (forty-one who were elected or ascended to the office, plus one appointed by the Supreme Court). Its biographies reveal that "most" presidents did not serve either in the US Senate or as state governors. Of the 42 White House occupants, 16 fall into this category (Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, WH Harrison, Taylor, Fillmore, Lincoln, Grant, Garfield, Arthur, Taft, Hoover, Eisenhower, Ford, and GHW Bush).

The record also reflects that senators generally do make it to the presidency—at least as often as State governors. Fourteen previously served as US Senators and fourteen as governors (two presidents served in both capacities).

The 14 former US Senators: Monroe, JQ Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Tyler, Pierce, Buchanan, A. Johnson, B. Harrison, Harding, Truman, Kennedy, LB Johnson, and Nixon.

The 14 former state governors: Tyler, Polk, Hayes, Cleveland, McKinley, T. Roosevelt, Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, FD Roosevelt, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and GW Bush.

[markdd]

6. What happens to the mix..

when you add the requirement for a "sitting" Senator or Governor at the time of the election?

I think Kennedy was a sitting senator, LBJ and Truman were already sitting Presidents when they first ran for the office. Nixon had been out of the senate since at least 1952 when he first ran fro President. Clinton and Carter were already out of office. Shrub was Gov when the election happened.

Anal point, Andy Johnson was not elected President, he succeeded Lincoln and was never elected at the head of the ticket.

[Kahuna]

2. Kerry beat Dean.

Get over it.

[Cheswick2.0]

3. You can't argue with his facts

Except the one where he says Gore was beaten. But then Gore was VP.
As far as Kerry winning, it is not impossible just because it rarely happens. He needs Dean. :7

[Octafish]

4. Senator Kennedy beat Vice President Nixon.

Senator Kerry can beat Gov. Bush, don't you think?

[denverbill]

5. I only partly agree.

Personally, I think the reason a Senator is worse than a Governor is that a Senator has to vote hundreds or thousands of times.

Kerry could vote for a tax cut, then have Republicans add a capital gains tax cut to the bill, and force him to vote against it. Then in the campaign, they can truthfully say he 'voted against a tax cut'.

Plus, there is the added disadvantage of having to vote even on things that never come close to becoming law.

As President or Governor, you only vote on bills which have passed both houses and passed reconciliation. So instead of having 1000 votes over the course of a year, the President or Governor, in signing the bills, only 'votes' a couple of times. He doesn't have to vote against one tax bill then for another, he only votes on the final bill.