"The Running Men" by Walter Shapiro in Wash Monthly--great read!

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0311.shapiro.html

Shapiro discusses "how candidates decide to run for President reveals how they are prepared to win." Illuminating article in which Shapiro discusses Clark, Graham, Edwards, Lieberman, Kerry, Dean and Gephardt.

During my quarter century of covering presidential campaigns, I have found that the most telling glimpses of the candidates have come when they were just beginning to step into the cauldron of ambition. This is the time when their lines were still unscripted and their public veneers hung loosely like a suit that they had not yet grown into. Yet most political coverage during this early period is buried in the back pages of the newspapers. With a war in Iraq and other breaking news stories, who can blame editors for decreeing that full-tilt coverage of the presidential campaign could wait until the fall of this year? But what this means, in practice, is that most Americans tune into the campaign at the point when the Democratic contenders have thrown off the last vestiges of spontaneity, and virtually every syllable they utter is an echo of an earlier speech, question-and-answer session, or interview.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Interesting tidbit:

Every vice presidential nominee in the past 30 years, with the conspicuous exception of Geraldine Ferraro, has at one time run for president.


Did Cheney run for Prez?

[Skinner]

3. I think he might be referring to "before 2000"

Here's the full quote:

Of course, everything changed as soon as Lieberman ended up a hanging chad short of having the heartbeat-away job of vice president. Small wonder. Every vice presidential nominee in the past 30 years, with the conspicuous exception of Geraldine Ferraro, has at one time run for president.

That year, both VP nominees -- Lieberman and Cheney -- had never run for president.

At least I don't think Cheney has ever run for president.

[RogueTrooper]

4. Skinner

I think he was referring to after they had run as a vice-presidential candidate, they then ran for President.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. Ah...

It can be read both ways. Damn that Shapiro! :D

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. I checked back to '88 and he wasn't listed as a Pres. nominee.

Served w/ Nixon/Ford 69-75. He was a Rep from 77-87.


More interesting, however, is will the trend hold in this election as well? Who'll the VP nominee for the Dems be? That stat limits it to about 20 people. :shrug:

[KC21304]

2. I'm going to do something here I have not done to this point.

I have never criticized another candidate, never even mentioned another candidates name, I don't believe, but I have to comment on something Dean said. He said that unlike himself, who of course has all these lofty reasons for running, two of the other candidates, (Kerry and Edwards) know only that they want to be President and that is pretty much it. I am paraphrasing so read for yourself.

Guess Dean hasn't had much time to examine the record of John Kerry. That is all I have to say.

[mandyky]

7. Odd you took it that way

The way I took it is that the comment was not so much aimed at other candidates, but was a self-reflective comparison. Meaning, Dean still wanted to serve as opposed to retiring from public service after not running again for Gov. and the place he saw a need for service was at the top. The comments about the other candidates was like an after thought.

[KC21304]

8. Seems the author took it the same way I did,

how odd is that ?