Whenever election season hits, I hear people complaining that contemporary politicians are boring. What are they comparing them to? I mean, are there any interesting politicians around? Were there ever?
I don’t actually know what they mean by “boring” anyway. I am guessing “boring” is the opposite of “suspected of (inherently exciting) felonious activity”. What do you mean by boring?
What could a politician do to be more interesting? Alan Keyes tried crowd-surfing, but he lost so he is boring for that reason. What would interest you, and what do you think would interest the general public … how are they different?
My personal opinion is that politicians are not boring, it’s just politics that is. Politics might be interesting to me if it weren’t so terribly repetitious; you get to hear precisely the same arguments every year. But I think if politicians were to say new and different things it would just bore the general public even more, since people are bored by what they don’t understand and there is a heck of a lot they don’t understand. Adlai Stevenson (the one from the 1950s) used to make a point of talking about a different thing at every campaign stop; voters never really figured out what his big themes were.
I have serious disagreements with his politics, but I think Jesse Jackson is damned interesting. You never know what he’s going to say next, but it’ll be eloquent. He’s one of the last true orator/politicians. I love hearing him speak.
Rudy Giuliani, I find, is a fascinating, refreshing politician. But boy, what I wouldn’t give to have seen one of Rudy’s heros – and mine – Teddy Roosevelt.
Ronald Steel wrote:
“Both major parties feared him, but the Progressives of the day – felix Frankfurter, Walter Lippmann, Learned Hand – thought he was a demigod. “TR bit me and I went mad,” William Allen White said, speaking for a generation of intellectuals.”
Coming at your question from a slightly different angle, you’d probably find some of the old political bosses pretty “interesting,” to use your term. Study the career of Frank Hague, the boss of Jersey City. Or read “The Power Broker” and learn about Robert Moses of New York.
The fascinating thing about potentates like Hague and Moses is how they wielded their power for both beneficial and destructive aims; neither of them (nor most of the old bosses, I think you’ll find) was thoroughly good or evil.
If you want interesting politicians in the U.S., it’s best to look away from the two big parties. Bernie Sanders (HR VT) might be the most interesting one around, by that criterion.
In the coming elections, I suppose Ralph Nader might be considered interesting. “Grandpa” Al Lewis is hardly a politician, per se, but he’s running for senate in NY against Hillary and the republican, and boring he’s not!
Have a gander at http://www.grandpa2000.org/
Dammit, TheThrill took my answer. Bernie Sanders is the only independant congressman in the House, and he really manages to remain an independant, rather than aligning himself with either party. And for no other reason, the way the man’s hair refuses to obey the laws of gravity is DEFINATELY interesting.
I think Bob Dornan and Bob Barr are interesting politicians, but interesting in the “car crash” sense- I’m absolutely fascinated with reading what they’ve recently said, because it’s almost guaranteed to be so mind-convoluting as to be on a par with acid.
I agree that Teddy was one of our most interesting Presidents; I consider Andrew Jackson on the same level (hey, you kill four guys in duels and then hang three others, and you get to be an ‘interesting’ person in my book. Keep that in mind, future serial killers).
I think too many politicians are too scared of being quirky, and therefore disliked; being seen as an interesting person because of hobbies or personality traits runs the risk of being disliked or distrusted. Better to be bland and involve oneself’s in non-controversial issues.
the most interesting politician in the US is Willie Brown. The mayor of SF.
He has several mistresses, gave one of them a post under him, is known to threaten people, got pied in the face, said “no one making under $50,000 should live in SF”, and then retracted it, saying where would we get the waiters, has great taste in clothes, is known to have a drug addled past, has a porsche, got the GOP to support him in the mayorial race, on and on. The man is absolutely interesting.
I think Teddy Roosevelt is one of the most interesting people to ever hold office. A sickly little boy with asthma, he grew up determined never to be weak again. He roamed the frontier and was one hell of a charismatic character. He’s the only President I can think of off the top of my head who made himself a famous and respected President (for doing something good - no scandals) by accomplishing something during peacetime. (I know, San Juan Hill isn’t peacetime, but he wasn’t President then)
Most recently, I liked John McCain. He would’ve had my vote if he got the nomination over wuss-boy Bush. I don’t give a flying shit who’s running now. I may not even vote this year, cuz I just don’t care between either one of those losers.
I find John McCain interesting, in large part because his background is so fascinating. Admiral’s son, partier and womanizer who finished near the bottom of his graduating class at Annapolis, shot down as a pilot over Vietnam; a prisoner of war for years; refusing a release before his comrades when the enemy found out he was from a big-shot military family.
Plus the whole way he was partially tainted by the S&L scandal and came back from it. That probably defined his political career since. He’s a maverick in a political party that has little toleration for mavericks.
I also find Lindsey Graham, the Congressman from South Carolina, interesting. Seems to be thoughtful, and I’m trying to determine if that folksy, down-home, old-style Southern politician thing he’s got going on is real or contrived.
In terms of presidents, Kennedy and Teddy Roosevelt certainly fit the bill. Nixon’s divisiveness made him interesting.
Politician’s are so careful these days to not go out on any limbs, and alienate voting blocks. The result is the carefully worded tripe you hear that doesn’t mean anything. (For an example, look at any sound bite Hillary Clinton has uttered in New York – “Mumble-mumble-mumble children … mumble-mumble-mumble the Jewish community … mumble-mumble-mumble.”
If only some charismatic politician would look into the camera and say, “I don’t care what the polls say. This is what I believe; this is the right thing to do; and this is what I’m doing.” People would fall all over themself for the guy.
I thought McCain would be a guy like that. But the Republican establishment buried him.
Hey Milo, let’s start a John McCain write-in for President campaign. Many people forget that we are not limited to the two people that the Republicans and Democrats hand us. There is the write-in option, and IIRC, Pat Paulson used to get votes every year.
We’ve got a perrenial candidate for local things down here that I’m sure few if any of you have heard of. Lisa Perez is her name and she’s involved in local Democratic Party stuff but has never really expressed, that I’ve seen, any real views. I’ve met her several times, she lives in my neighborhood. What makes her interesting as a candidate is her background. She was convicted of murder and went to prison. That was back when she was a guy. After she got out she had her sex change operation, became lesbian and, when she decided to pursue her political career, she changed her last name to Perez so she could be an hispanic surnamed minority candidate.
I kinda liked Ann Richards, who was a Democratic governor from Texas. She had a character who was a Male Chauvinist Pig, and who regularly appeared whenever she was treated with less than the full respect that the governor of a major state deserves.
I also admire Jim Hightower, the former Texas agriculture commissioner. He’s loopy on the left end of the spectrum, and his radio show on the Pacifica network (I think) is a joy to listen to.
There’s just something about the air in Texas, I guess…
Robin
It’s always easy to find interesting people on a local level. I volunteer about 30-40 hours a week for our local Democratic party’s election campaigns (this is in addition to working 20 hours a week and here’s the best part: I won’t even turn 18 until February, so I can’t even vote!) and I can tell you that some of the state senate and assembly candidates are some of the coolest and most interesting people I’ve ever met. There’s a Harley riding man who raises horses in one district and and a garbageman in another who’s one of the most hardworking and honest people around. We’ve got a firefighter who coached my brother’s soccer team and a retired school engineer who are sadly running against each other in the primary, so even though they’re two of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, one of them has to lose. Probably any candidate can be interesting if you know them personally. I recently met Al Gore (well, I shook hands with him and talked for about 10 seconds, if that counts) and he struck me as someone you could have a deep conversation with. But still, I think it’s at the local level where most of the truly unique people reside. So I encourage everyone to get involved! Get out there and volunteer for a campaign! I can easily say this is one of the greatest experiences of my life, and has changed my thinking in many ways. It’s great.
Buddy Holly posts to this MB? THE Buddy Holly? THAT’LL be the day!
I don’t think he’s an interesting politician, but here’s an interesting observation: doesn’t Michael Dukakis look like one of those puppets from “The Thunderbirds”?