March 1, 2005

Why Do Senators Run for President?
By Roger Easson

So now there is all this talk about Hillary Clinton running for President. I have no doubt she would make a great President. However, I am growing tired of people who would make great Presidents who haven't a ghost’s chance of winning. Consider the evidence.

During the last 26 elections, Senators have only won the Presidency twice.

John F. Kennedy was the last President who served in the senate from 1953 to 1960 when he ran for President in 1960.

Prior to Kennedy we have to go back 40 years to find the next one in Warren G. Harding who served in the Senate from 1915-1921 when he ran for president in 1921.

Now Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon were also senators but they moved from Vice President to Presidency, not from the Senate directly to the Presidency.

Look at the winning candidates:

Theodore Roosevelt was a Vice President when President McKinnley was assassinated.

William Howard Taft was Secretary of War in the Roosevelt administration when he ran for President in 1909.

Woodrow Wilson was Governor of New Jersey as he ran for President.

Calvin Coolidge was Governor of Massachusetts as he ran for President.

Herbert Hoover served as Secretary of Commerce under Presidents Harding, and Coolidge and was in this office in Coolidge’s administration as he ran for office.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was Governor of New York as he ran for President.

Harry Truman was Vice President under Roosevelt and became President at Roosevelt’s death.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of NATO as he ran.

Kennedy was a Senator as we have already learned.

Lyndon Johnson was a Vice President who became President when Kennedy was Assassinated.

Nixon had been a Vice President and ran on that record as a Private Citizen.

Gerald Ford was Vice President who took over when Nixon Resigned.

Jimmy Carter was Governor of Georgia when he ran for President.

Ronald Reagan was Governor of California when he ran for President.

George Bush, Sr. was Vice President for Reagan as he ran for President.

Bill Clinton was Governor of Arkansas when he ran for President.

George W. Bush was Governor of Texas when he ran for President.

So the path to President looks like this in this Century:

Governors 7 Vice Presidents 6 Cabinet officers 2 Senators 2 Military Men 1

The evidence suggests that Governors and Vice Presidents beat Senators in a race for the White House nearly every time. So then why are we talking about running Senators again for the Presidency?

Since Cheney says he won't run for President in 08, let’s make sure that we have a governor running so we can stand a real chance of winning.

Please. Don't we have some good Democratic Governors from the Midwest, South, or West who could run and win?

I like Hillary, but she should run for Governor of New York before she tries to run for President. Then she might have a chance of winning.