I don't usually blog about politics. That's Bryan's department. He's better at it and generally more informed than I am. [Bryan adds: and troublingly obsessed with it.]
But. . .
Having watched both the Democratic and Republican Conventions this week, I just have a couple of reflections I must get out.
I recently finished the year-long project of reading the excellent new biography of Abraham Lincoln, Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I admired Lincoln before this biography, but this thorough and fascinating book taught me why I should really admire him: because he was an excellent leader and an extraordinarily moral man. In selecting his Cabinet, he gathered around himself the most talented men of his era--even if they did not share his views, and even if they thought poorly of him, stereotyping the "Westerner" as an inexperienced and unsophisticated man. With only one exception (Salmon P. Chase, an Ohioan, whom history has not been kind to) these men came to admire Lincoln's honesty, his open consideration of all sides of an issue, his patience, and his desire to do the right thing. In several instances, individuals in and out of his Cabinet treated him with incredible scorn and disrespect. His regular practice in these instances was to pour his anger, self-justifications, and frustrations into a scathing letter. . .and then never mail it. Having dealt with the anger of the moment, he then thought about what was best for the country, and acted calmly and decisively.
I'll revisit Lincoln in a moment, but now on to the conventions. I should note that I enjoyed both Obama and McCain's speeches. They were similar in many ways. While I watched a good portion of what PBS showed of both conventions, there was one moment that struck me the most. Either Tuesday or Wednesday night of the Republican Convention, the "post-game" analysis was on. Mark Shields (Syndicated Columnist, Liberal) and David Brooks (New York Times, Conservative) were discussing John McCain's temperament. Everyone agreed that John McCain always treated his staff well. So far so good. Then Brooks, who endorses McCain, went on to add that he treated his colleagues in the Senate quite differently. He noted that McCain was known on the Senate floor for his red-faced, screaming rages at senators who voted against his measures. That he yelled at them for betraying him or being disloyal. Brooks then noted that he sometimes apologized hours later, but sometimes held grudges. It was agreed that he had a horrible temper. He once publicly called his wife--his wife--a term so vulgar and offensive that I honestly had never even heard it before I graduated from college.
I can't help but be disturbed by this. What I am looking for in a president is someone who has the temperament for the job. Who is a good leader in the pattern of Lincoln. Based on this analysis of him by a friendly commentator, I feel that John McCain is not that man. I was awed by the stories of his courage as a POW--who wasn't? But being a POW is not, McCain himself acknowledges this, a qualification to be president. Grace, respect, and clear-headedness under pressure is.
While I do not personally know Barack Obama, I do know that he is not a red-faced, screaming ranter. It is simply not in his temperament. He is a student of Lincoln--has read and studied the same biography I did (didn't know this until I finished it). This alone does not qualify him to be president. I've watched him over the past several years (remember, we voted for him in Illinois), and I've seen someone who is thoughtful and open to new ideas, who is graceful and clear-headed under pressure. He treats his wife and children with genuine affection and respect. He doesn't, though he is counseled to, stoop to shouting and name-calling in this race. I hope that as Americans consider who has the character to be a good president, they consider this.
For more on McCain's temperament, see here and here and here and here and here.
Update: An article out just today sums it up:
McCain's history of hot temper raises concerns
John McCain made a quick stop at the Capitol one day last spring to sit in on Senate negotiations on the big immigration bill, and John Cornyn was not pleased.
Cornyn, a mild-mannered Texas Republican, saw a loophole in the bill that he thought would allow felons to pursue a path to citizenship.
McCain called Cornyn's claim "chicken-s---," according to people familiar with the meeting, and charged that the Texan was looking for an excuse to scuttle the bill. Cornyn grimly told McCain he had a lot of nerve to suddenly show up and inject himself into the sensitive negotiations.
"F--- you," McCain told Cornyn, in front of about 40 witnesses.
It was another instance of the Republican presidential candidate losing his temper, another instance in which, as POW-MIA activist Carol Hrdlicka put it, "It's his way or no way."
There's a lengthy list of similar outbursts through the years: McCain pushing a woman in a wheelchair, trying to get an Arizona Republican aide fired from three different jobs, berating a young GOP activist on the night of his own 1986 Senate election and many more.
McCain observers say the incidents have been blown out of proportion....
When John McCain came to the Senate in 1987, he quickly got two reputations: a Republican who'd do business with Democrats on tough issues and an impatient senator who was often gruff and temperamental.
In January, Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., told The Boston Globe that "the thought of (McCain) being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." (Cochran has since endorsed McCain.)
Added Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., who has a long list of vociferous, sometimes personal disagreements with McCain, "His charm takes a little getting used to." (Bond, too, supports him.)....
Stories abound on Capitol Hill: how McCain told Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., how "only an a-hole" would craft a budget like he did. Or the time in 1989 when he confronted Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, then a Democrat and now a Republican, because Shelby had promised to vote for McCain friend John Tower as secretary of defense, and then Shelby voted against Tower.
McCain later wrote how, after the vote, he approached Shelby "to bring my nose within an inch of his as I screamed out my intense displeasure over his deceit ... the incident is one of the occasions when my temper lived up to its exaggerated legend."....
Families of POW-MIAs said they have seen McCain's wrath repeatedly. Some families charged that McCain hadn't been aggressive enough about pursuing their lost relatives and has been reluctant to release relevant documents. McCain himself was a prisoner of war for five and a half years during the Vietnam War.
In 1992, McCain sparred with Dolores Alfond, the chairwoman of the National Alliance of Families for the Return of America's Missing Servicemen and Women, at a Senate hearing. McCain's prosecutorlike questioning of Alfond - available on YouTube - left her in tears.
Four years later, at her group's Washington conference, about 25 members went to a Senate office building, hoping to meet with McCain. As they stood in the hall, McCain and an aide walked by.
Six people present have written statements describing what they saw. According to the accounts, McCain waved his hand to shoo away Jeannette Jenkins, whose cousin was last seen in South Vietnam in 1970, causing her to hit a wall.
As McCain continued walking, Jane Duke Gaylor, the mother of another missing serviceman, approached the senator. Gaylor, in a wheelchair equipped with portable oxygen, stretched her arms toward McCain.
"McCain stopped, glared at her, raised his left arm ready to strike her, composed himself and pushed the wheelchair away from him," according to Eleanor Apodaca, the sister of an Air Force captain missing since 1967.
McCain's staff wouldn't respond to requests for comment about specific incidents.
5 comments:
Hi Ellie.
Great post. I agree with your analysis wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, I think McCain's advisers chose wisely when they chose his running mate. She'll pull in some voters he needs, in spite of not being someone I would place in the presidency. I mean, come on, they're saying Obama is in experienced, but then they want to put the governor of Alaska a heartbeat from the oval office?
I'm a bit worried that they'll win, while the Obama will suffer for having chosen a ticket based on experience and reason.
I recently had a conversation with an l.d.s. missionary who had served as a personal assistant to Senator Hatch. He said that McCain often used "the f-word" in his tirades on the senate floor.
On the other hand, this same young man reported that he was running down a hallway one day and almost trampled Senator Obama when the senator unexpectedly stepped out of a doorway. When the young man apologized, Senator Obama graciously took the blame upon himself and apologized to the young man.
I know which man I like the best.
I agree that temperament and respect for others are indeed factors to consider when choosing a president. Thank you for your thoughtful post.
I love hearing your opinions and perspectives. Nice post. I would be highly surprised if Obama has never lost his cool. But I like that the stories I keep hearing put him in a step above so many of us. :) I think I like the label Gentleman: a civilized, educated, sensitive, or well-mannered man: He behaved like a true gentleman.
Sarah,
I didn't mean to imply that I think Obama's never lost his temper. I can't think of anyone I'd say that about--much less someone I'd never met. I just meant he's not known for doing it as McCain is. :-)
Ellie
Oops, and I didn't mean to imply that you were implying that he had never lost his cool. Did that make sense? It was more of a commentary that although the stories are mostly quite positive about him I'm sure he has his moments. But its nice to know that he seems much more in control of his emotions than so many of us! I need to learn to have that kind of control!
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