Posted by
Tim Blessing on Saturday, February 16, 2008 7:36:20 PM
Senator McCain would be a different kind of President.
He talk's about Lincoln, Roosevelt I, and Reagan.
He's written a book recently about decisionmakers.
Personally, I think he symbolize's a different kind of president by the name of James K. Polk.
He's not charimatic like Reagan or telegenic like Kennedy or Clinton.
He's something like Eisenhower, but Eisenhower was a General whereas McCain is Navy.
If he is like President Polk that mean's he's a goal setter, austere, workaholic, and never parties.
Polk said he would serve one term, get the Southwest from Mexico, solve the Oregon boundary dispute, and bring the Treasury under Presidential Control.
Viewed from the angle of pure results: Polk is the most successful president in history.
Unfortunately, he's passed over by Historians for more dramatic presidents like Lincoln and Jackson.
Polk is not rated in anybody's top ten list of great presidents.
John Siegenthaler of NBC News wrote a book on Polk in the last several years.
He's what you call a 2nd Tier President, but personally I think he should be rated higher than say Truman.
He became a Episcopal Priest after leaving the White House in 1849, but died 4 months later.
In essence, he worked harder than any President, got dramatic results, and had no charisma.
John McCain seem's to be like Polk in his drive and ambition. Unfortunately, in our media saturated age Polk would not play well.