Inspired by Alex, I’ve decided to write a political series of my own, though mine won’t deal with mutually agreed upon political principles (a worthy project), but with political genius, or lack thereof. How do certain politicians out-maneuver their opponents, rise to stardom, and dominate the national stage? What lessons did they learn that other, less successful, politicians missed? And how can we recognize a political genius when we see one? I have a broad framework in mind for this series, but I won’t be as specific as Alex was, at the outset. Instead, I’ll write about my principles of political genius, as they come to me, but I hope in a reasonably coherent and organized way. Politicians like to think of themselves as statesmen of great importance, but it’s simply a fact of political life that the vast majority of politicians will never be known by even a meaningful fraction of the American public. This is true even of politicians who’ve attained some of the nation’s highest offices.
Can you, savvy political observer though you are, name even half of the nation’s Governors or Senators? Could you name even 40 members of the House? Because of this relative anonymity, politicians who aspire to higher office must find a way to raise their profile. Grasping emerging issues can accomplish this powerfully. Now let’s be clear on our terms here: an emerging issue is not necessarily an issue that you’re profoundly concerned about. Often, emerging issues seem comparatively unimportant to savvy contemporaries, and entirely overblown in hindsight. This is irrelevant to our political genius. He does not yet have the power to create the new emerging issues, and must content himself with attempting to shape the debate about events that predate his influence. Emerging issues also aren’t emerged issues. It does no good to become a half-hearted proponent of oil drilling (as McCain was), at the 11th hour, and after others have made the movement famous. Savvy politicians are pro-active, and they engage on issues before they pop in the public consciousness.
Recall Nixon in 46′ maneuvering his way onto the disreputable, but soon to be powerful, House on Un-American Activities Committee. Two years later, Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers brought anti-communism to a fever pitch, and Nixon was in the center of the storm. Two years after that, McCarthy’s infamous speech made red-hunting the movement of a decade. Nixon took control of the issue, before it officially popped, and cast himself into the stratosphere in the process. Or think about Roosevelt touring New York farms in the late twenties, giving him insight into the real world effects of a Depression Hoover never quite understood. Emerging issues can also be of shorter duration. Reagan grasping the Panama Canal issue in 76′, to bludgeon Ford. Nixon advocating an expansion of the Korean War in 49′ and early 50′, to paint Truman as soft on Communism, and take advantage of the MacArthur dust-up. The politician who follows his own priorities, as events overtake him, is sure to find success an ill-fitting garment.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Hmm…wow. I’m honestly not sure if I could name forty House members or not. I can name almost the entire Senate and a fair amount of governors, though.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Political success in 2008 has little to do with genius, and more to do with imbecility. This year, we saw the perfect intersection between a dumbed-down electorate and a hyper-partisan news media.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I think I could get forty senators. Probably not the others though.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:55 pm
#1: I’m the exact same way.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Hmm…I kind of want to quiz myself now.
Political genius is definitely an interesting topic. Although, probably the hardest part is melding genius with something that’s more than short-term tactics or sensationalistic issues. I guess that’s more of statesmanship. But I still believe both can be combined.
#2 Interesting…maybe sometimes political genius is largely avoiding stupidity, considering how easy it is to make mistakes in the fishbowl that is a campaign…or maybe, managing mistakes and controversies that come up successfully.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I actually went and quizzed myself after this:
AK – Palin
HI – Lingle
WA
OR
CA – Schwarz.
NV
ID
UT – Huntsman
AZ – Napolitano
MT
WY
CO
NM – Richardson
ND
SD
NE
KS – Sebelius
OK
TX – Perry
MN – Pawlenty
IA – Culver
MO
AR
LA – Jindal
WI
IL – Blagojevich
MI – Granholm
IN
OH – Strickland
KY
TN
MS – Barbour
AL
GA – Perdue
FL – Crist
SC – Sanford
NC
VA – Kaine
WV
MD
DE
PA – Rendell
NJ
CT – Rell
RI
MA – Patrick
NY – Paterson
VT
NH
ME
**23
AK – Stevens
HI – Akaka
WA
OR
CA – Feingold/Boxer
NV
ID – Craig
UT
AZ – McCain/Kyl
MT
WY
CO
NM – Domenici
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK – Coburn
TX
MN – Coleman
IA – Grassley
MO
AR
LA – Vitter
WI – Feingold
IL – Obama/Durbin
MI
IN – Bayh
OH – Voinovich/Brown
KY – Bunning
TN
MS
AL
GA
FL – Martinez
SC – DeMint
NC
VA
WV
MD
DE – Biden
PA – Specter
NJ
CT – Lieberman
RI – Whitehouse
MA – Kerry/Kennedy
NY – Clinton/Schumer
VT – Sanders
NH – Sununu
ME – Collins/Snowe
**32
HOUSE MEMBERS
Ron Paul
Dave Hobson
John Murtha
Paul Broun
Mary Bono
Steny Hoyer
Barney Frank
Nancy Pelosi
Virgil Goode
Marilyn Musgrave
Louis Gohmert
Tom Tancredo
Duncan Hunter
Steve Chabot
Dennis Kucinich
Roy Blunt
Judy Biggert
Wayne Gilchrest
Jeff Flake
Don Young
Maxine Waters
William Jefferson
Jean Schmidt
Mark Udall
Tom Udall
Walter B. Jones
Steve King
Eric Cantor
John Conyers, Jr
Zach Wamp
Jesse Jackson, Jr
John Duncan, Jr
Paul Ryan
Heather Wilson
Chet Edwards
Doc Hastings
Peter King
Steve LaTourette
**38
You were right. I couldn’t name half the Governors (I only got 23), half the Senators (I only got 32), or 40 Representatives (I only got 38).
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Whoops, I just remembered Sen. Chris Dodd from CT. I guess I got 33 Senators then.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Josiah,
I can probably name around 60 Senators, 30 Governors, and maybe 25 House Members. Akaka, Bunning, and Brown are the only Senators you listed that I probably wouldn’t have thought of. It seems strange to me that you’d remember Bunning but forget McConnell.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Matthew,
Oops! I totally forgot about Mitch McConnell. I only had Jim Bunning on my mind because I’m an obsessive Fed Watcher, and Bunning has been a big Federal Reserve critic lately.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Double Whoops, since I’ve posted that, I also remembered Saxby Chambliss, Sam Brownback, Elizabeth Dole, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lindsey Graham, Lamar Alexander, Robert Byrd, Chuck Hagel, Dick Lugar, and Jim Webb. I don’t know how I forgot those.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Still only 43 Senators I can name, though.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Matthew, it seems that we ought to identify ‘emerging issues’.
Did you have a set of emerging issues in mind when you wrote this Mr. Miller?
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Let’s see…governors…I wanna see if I can get half. Palin, Lingle, Schwarzenegger, Kulongoski, Gregorie, Napolitano, Richardson, Blagojevich, O’Malley, Rell, Rendell, Perry, Crist, Jindal, Huntsman, Barbour, Patrick, Kaine, Sebelius, Paterson, Carcieri, Lynch, Pawlenty, Granholm, Manchin, Bredesen, Corzine — and that’s really all I can get. 27.
Senators…I wanna see if I can get 2/3…Stevens, Murkowski, Akaka, Inoyue (sic?), Boxer, Feinstein, Cantwell, Murray, Smith, Bingaman, McCain, Kyl, Hutchison, Cornyn, McConnell, Obama, Biden, Mikulski, Cardin, Webb, Warner, Byrd, Rockefeller, Alexander, Corker, Wicker, Thune, Sununu, Gregg, Sanders, Snowe, Collins, Martinez, Nelson, Nelson, Dole, DeMint, Kennedy, Kerry, Clinton, Coleman, Klobuchar, Kohl, Feingold, Brownback, Roberts, Brunning (sic?), Craig, Reid, Durbin, Inhofe, Coburn — God, I still need fifteen more! — Whitehouse, Hatch, Johnson, Levin, Reed, Menendez, Lautenberg — ten more — and I’m sure I’m forgetting someone really obvious, though I’m at 57 and that’s pretty good — ah, Hagel — 58 — Salazar, 59 — Chambliss, duh, 60 — Pryor, Lincoln — 62 — Voinovich, Brown — 64 — Lugar — 65 — oh crap, I only need two more to get to 2/3. This is tough. Oh, Lieberman! LOL. 66. Harkin! YESSSS 2/3. Bond! McCaskill! 69! Schumer! 70! Landrieu and Vitter! 72. Engisn, 73. Two more and I get 3/4 of the Senate. Dodd! Need just one more. Grassley! There. 75. I win.
Now, let’s see if I can get to 40 House members…
I’ll go in threes…
Paul, Tancredo, Hunter
Pelosi, Hoyer, Murtha
Frank, Waters, Conyers
Bartlett, Gilchrest, Cardin
Van Hollen, Edwards, –
This is boring, I named 75 freakin’ senators. Too much. I’ll do more later.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Oh, I forgot Bayh. 76.
And Sanford. 28.
More easy House ones: Ryan, Shadegg, Flake, Pence, Cantor. And Lewis, to round it off at 20 for now. More later…maybe.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:22 pm
OMG I forgot Lindsey Graham! Hah!
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Oh, I forgot to name Specter and Casey! 78.
December 24th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Here’s my shot at the Senators:
(those who are retiring or were defeated in the last election have the new member’s name in parentheses; also some other notes are in parentheses)
Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, John Sununu (Jeanne Shaheen), Judd Gregg, Patrick Leahy, Bernie Sanders, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Jack Reed, Chris Dodd, Joe Lieberman, Hillary Clinton (did she resign yet?), Chuck Schumer, Bob Casey, Arlen Specter, Barbara Mikulski, Frank Lautenberg, Tom Carper, vacant (formerly Joe Biden), John Warner (Mark Warner), Jim Webb, Elizabeth Dole (Kay Hagan), Richard Burr, Jim DeMint, Lindsey Graham, Jonny Isakson, Saxby Chambliss, Mel Martinez, Bill Nelson, Richard Shelby, Jeff Sessions, Roger Wicker, Thad Cochran, Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker, Jim Bunning, Mitch McConnell, Jay Rockefeller, Robert Byrd, George Voinovich, Sherrod Brown, Evan Bayh, Richard Lugar, vacant (formerly Barack Obama), Dick Durbin, Carl Levin, Debbie Stabenow, Russ Feingold, Norm Coleman, Tom Harkin, Chuck Grassley, Kit Bond, Claire McCaskill, Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pryor, David Vitter, Mary Landrieu, John Cornyn, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Jeff Bingaman, Pete Domenici (one of the Udalls), Tom Coburn, James Inhofe, Sam Brownback, Pat Roberts, Mike Johanns, Ben Nelson, John Thune, Tim Johnson, Byron Dorgan, Kent Conrad, Jon Tester, Max Baucus, Wayne Allard (one of the Udalls), John McCain, Jon Kyl, Harry Reid, John Ensign, Orrin Hatch, Mike Crapo, Larry Craig (unknown new Republican), Mike Enzi, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Ron Wyden, Gordon Smith (Jeff Merkley), Patty Murray, Daniel Akaka, Daniel Inouye, Ted Stevens (Mark Begich), Lisa Murkowski.
That’s about 91, depending on how you count. A few years ago I had them all memorized (just because I wanted to see if I could do it).
And now I’m too drained to try the governors or representatives. Maybe later.
December 24th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Ah! I cannot believe that I forgot Leahy yesterday. Ack! And Tester! I can’t believe that! He just got his seat two years ago! Ack, and Burr, too! And Corker! Good grief! Ah, Stabenow! I knew it was a woman! Damn! I missed some obvious ones. Oh, well.
Fun activity.
December 27th, 2008 at 8:54 am
[...] my second installment in my Political Genius series, and its theme is every bit as important as the first. Savvy politicians understand that elections hinge on contrasting visions of the world. At a [...]