Born to Run

There are two kinds of people who choose to run for President of the United States. There those individuals who either hear a calling to public service or have it thrust upon them, and there are those who were born to run. If you’ve read many presidential biographies you know that quite a few guys who end up in that office have sought it their entire lives. Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon and LBJ are examples of the latter kind who actually got elected. Al Gore, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton are also of that type, they just haven’t been able to get there yet. Those who were “called” include Ronald Reagan, Eisenhower and Truman. JFK and George W. Bush had it thrust upon them. The most telling characteristic of the born-to-runs is their very early entry into politics, usually as soon as is possible. Bill Clinton went straight from law school to being a law professor at the University of Arkansas. He held that position for a mere year before mounting a campaign for Attorney General of that state. Richard Nixon ran for congress as soon as he was discharged from the Navy after WWII, getting elected in 1946 at the age of 33. LBJ told people he was going to be president while he was still a teenager. John Kerry arrived in Vietnam and promptly told his commanding officer that he was the “next JFK.” He also took an 8mm film camera to collect future campaign footage. Al Gore was raised to be president, period.

Some would include JFK in that group, but it was actually his older brother Joe who was the designated future president in his family. Jack was allowed to be a cavorting playboy up until Joe died during WWII. It was only then that Jack was expected to pick up the baton.

So, what’s the point? For the born-to-runs, winning the prize is what it’s all about. Anything they say or do is merely the vehicle that gets them to the White House. And in general, there is little they won’t say or do to get there. Bill Clinton was the epitome of a finger-in-the-wind politician. His triangulating was masterful. Of course it helped immensely that he had a third candidate (Perot) off which to triangulate, but he might have won anyway. He co-opted conservative issues like welfare reform, NAFTA and the death penalty, wisely recognizing they were not enough to piss off his liberal base. Plus he had the charisma and smoothness to make his flip flops seem consistent. They didn’t call him Slick Willie for nothing. Hillary, on the other hand, only has the ambition.

But the guys who were called (or called out) actually have a sense of duty and honor. I shouldn’t let it get to me, but the most annoying thing that liberals say to me is when they insist that George W. Bush is driven by the vilest motives that they can come up with. If he’s not “rewarding his buddies in the oil business,” then he’s plotting with Osama Bin laden to start a war and give no-bid contracts to Haliburton. But the truth is that, in his family, public service is considered an obligation and an honor, not a prize. When I look at George these days I wonder that if he knew then what he knows now, would he have run? My guess is not, but he understands his duty now and will carry on regardless of the slings and arrows.