Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen653
I keep hearing on the news about the infallible characters, integrities and work ethics of George Mitchell and the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Do you agree with these assessments? Do you consider these two men to be among the most hard-working and accomplished U.S Senators in the 20th century? Why did neither man capitalize on his reputation (however hyped it may be) and seek higher office?
|
I certainly credit Moynihan with having been a terrific public speaker, the last of the eloquents from the Camelot age. It annoys me somewhat that Senator Obama keeps getting such high marks from the young, "the black Kennedy" , as a riveting public speaker because he would have been quite ordinary in the JFK days. I do not deny that the Senator has managed to inspire large numbers of people, but I would postulate that the standards for rhetorical inspiration have been relaxed in the last few decades.
These were both pretty decent human beings, and pretty decent human beings don't often seem to have the killer instinct required to grab the presidency.