Why Bill Richardson is the Democrat’s best hope for 2008
People who think about these things recognize that senators just don’t become president. The last two sitting senators were Warren Harding (1921) and JFK (1961). Maybe it’s the perceived lack of experience, or maybe it’s the easy access to voting records as fodder for attack ads. For whatever reason, senators don’t become president.
Oh, and neither do representatives; James Garfield (1881) is the only sitting member of the House to be elected president.
Who does? Governors and vice presidents.
So let’s look at the current crop of candidates. (Well, viable ones. The whole list is pretty long.)
On the Dems’ side:
Biden — sitting senator
Clinton — sitting senator
Dodd — sitting senator
Edwards — lawyer (former senator)
Gravel — lecturer
Kucinich — sitting representative
Obama — sitting senator
Richardson — governor (N.M.)
On the Repubs’ side:
Giuliani — lawyer (former mayor)
Huckabee — minister (former governor)
Hunter — sitting representative
Keyes — author
McCain — sitting senator
Paul — sitting representative
Romney — businessman (former governor)
Tancredo — sitting representative
Thompson — actor (former senator)
Which means that, if you’re concerned about the party winning more than the particular candidate, Bill Richardson is your best bet on the Democratic ticket, followed by Edwards and Gravel. On the GOP ticket, Romney is your best bet, followed by Giuliani, Thomson, Huckabee and Keyes.
This is good news for the GOP because there are more non-senators and -representatives on its side. On the other hand, if Richardson gets the Democrat’s nod, history hints he can beat anyone on the Repub ticket.
Gnomic says:
Correction! You might want to check out Huckabee’s day job: Governor of Arkansaw.
Yes, its still a state.