Nicholas Johnson, Iowa City Press-Citizen, December 22, 2007, p. 15A
I grabbed this off of Johnson's Web site, and it bears repeating.
__________
All the Democratic Party's presidential candidates would make good-to-excellent presidents. How to choose?
Here are some suggestions from an Iowa-born old Washington hand.
•
Don't miss the caucus. Take a friend. New York's Boss Tweed said, “I
don't care who does the electing, just so long as I do the nominating.”
This is your chance to do the nominating. Plus, it's fun.•
Don't rely on “positions” and rhetoric. A campaign is not a presidency.
Even if meaningful and honestly spoken, political forces and conditions
change.• Forget “electability.” Any Democratic Party nominee is
electable in 2008. (Although Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's high
negatives create some risk.) Consider their ability to govern.•
Forget the media's top three. Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and former
Sen. John Edwards are going to New Hampshire regardless. Use your
chance to “vote twice.” Support one of the others you want kept in the
race. If they're not initially “viable” at your caucus you can switch.
Experience at everything
All
have “experience” at something. But a president needs experience at
everything. Who has the broadest, deepest range of experience?
An
American president is policy wonk in chief as well as commander in
chief. Federal personnel director as well as national cheerleader. They
must maintain our economy while improving our foreign relations. Above
all, they must have superior, large-institution administrative skills
and experience.
When they negotiate and deal with other major
institutions it gives them credibility as well as real understanding if
they've worked within them: Congress, cabinet positions, municipal and
state governments, international organizations, and negotiations with
foreign leaders.
We don't have a school for presidents. There's
no parliamentary system to provide the ultimate prime ministers both
administrative and legislative experience.
Quality rankings
So here are the qualities I'm looking for — followed by my opinion of who ranks highest.
•
Experience administering large institutions (state or large city
governments, corporations) — Gov. Bill Richardson (governor; Secretary
of Energy), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (mayor of Cleveland).• A
“people person” with charisma or down-home manner, sense of humor
(including self-deprecation), or what Molly Ivins called “Elvis” —
Obama (charisma and “Elvis”), Richardson (down-home; humor).•
The understanding and credibility earned by working inside both
Washington's executive and legislative branches — Richardson (cabinet
(Energy), Congress). (Legislative: Clinton, Edwards, Kucinich, Obama,
Richardson and Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd).• A
willingness to put forward courageous, “best policy” proposals, rather
than “starting off backing up” –Kucinich (only one to organize and
vote against the war, and propose universal single-payer health care
rather than for-profit insurance).• Experience working inside international organizations (e.g., U.N., World Bank) — Richardson (UN ambassador).
• Understanding of the elements and process of citizen empowerment — Obama (community organizer).
• An understanding of foreign policy (as distinguished from administering it) — Biden, Dodd (plus, of course, Richardson).
•
An ability to work with, but an independence from, special interest
money and influence (the “Washington Establishment”) — My guess is
that all have, can (and will have to) work with Washington's real power
centers.However, Clinton's strength in this department is her
weakness. She and Bill could probably name all of their 4,000
presidential appointees in one evening without notes. But part of the
reason for their millions from corporate lobbyists and PACs is the
Washington Establishment's expectation of another pro-corporate,
business-as-usual Clinton administration.• Experience
negotiating with foreign leaders — Richardson (North Korea, Iraq,
Sudan; U.N.; return of hostages); Biden and Dodd.• Champion of the underdog — Edwards, Kucinich.
You
may have a different list of qualities and evaluation of candidates.
But I hope this kind of approach may be helpful to you in a year when
we are blessed with a very tough choice from among excellent candidates.
_______________
Nicholas
Johnson served as maritime administrator, FCC commissioner and
presidential adviser for a White House Conference during the terms of
three presidents. He now teaches at the University of Iowa College of
Law and maintains the blog, FromDC2Iowa.blogspot.com.,/i>
Blog For Iowa 
People of Iowa and New Hampshire do two things to make an informed
choice and back it up. First: if you want to know why more and more
people across the nation are calling Joe Biden the “Complete
Candidate” see this video from the AARP debate, moderated by Judy
Woodruff. Here, you will see Joe Biden providing solid answers to
questions that cover the gamut of the important issues facing this
country. http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=CIHrkbnOikw
Second: Pledge to support Joe Biden. Search “Dough4Joe” or got to
http://www.Dough4Joe.com
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Let's look at the experience of the Democratic field:
Joe Biden — Elected office for 35 years.
Elected Senator in 1972, and is the fourth most senior Democratic Senator.
Chris Dodd — Elected office for 32 years.
US Congressman, 1975-1981; Elected US Senator in 1980, and the first Senator from Connecticut to serve five consecutive terms.
Bill Richardson — Elected office for 20 years.
Congressman, 1982-1997. Appointed as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 1997. Appointed U.S. Secretary of Energy, 1998. Elected Governor of New Mexico in November 2002.
Barack Obama — Elected office for 11 years.
Senator since 2004. Also served in the Illinois state Senate from 1997 to 2004.
John Edwards — Elected office for 9 years.
Senator since 1998. Democratic party's Vice-Presidential Candidate, 2004.
Hillary Clinton — Elected office for 7 years
Elected senator in 2000 in NY State, and largely won due to being a Democrat in NY State and a celebrity. OK, so she spent 8 years in the White House, but so did Socks the cat. In 1996, she became the only First Lady to be subpoenaed, as a consequence of the Whitewater scandal.
Hillary has spent the LEAST number of years of elected office, yet she is considered a frontrunner???? This must be due to America's obsession over celebrity status, as well as the obsession over electing a woman for President.
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I appreciate this post. It's nice to be reminded of why we vote and that caucusing on the 3rd isn't just about pumping your fist for the candidate who pumps the most money. With that in mind, I'd like to remind readers of a candidate that is forgotten too often when we talk about experience and international affairs: Senator Joe Biden. Several notes were made about electing a president who can administer large institutions and improve our international affairs. Joe has served Deleware for the past 37 years, at various points chairing the Judiciary Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. He's been a senator since the Nixon administration, and he's been examining Supreme Court Justice nominations and working with our neighbors overseas since Jimmy Carter and Reagan were elected. My hope and prayer for America: Joe Biden, a pragmatist who has earned my trust and my support.
Before the 3rd, check out: http://www.joebiden.com
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There are varying opinions even among politicians and legislators as to what is the right of the government and what is the right of the parents. The First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, has stated, “The basic rationale of depriving people of rights in a dependency relationship is that certain individuals are incapable and undeserving of the right to take care of themselves and consequently need social institutions specifically designed to safeguard their position. It is presumed that under the circumstances society is doing what is best for the individuals.” She went on to describe that “dependency relationships” included family, marriage, slavery, and the Indian reservation system. (Harvard Education Review, 1973, p.493).
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