Seeing the Future
So I was reviewing for my A.P. Gov exam when I came across these little snippets of information while reading about the executive branch. The following is paraphrased/quoted from Kaplan and just so you know, was published in January 2008... before the primaries started to determine our potential presidential nominees.
INFORMAL QUALIFICATIONS OF THE PRESIDENCY (A CHART) (ABBREVIATED):
Male: The vice presidential candidacy of Geraldine Ferraro has been the highest major party female nomination. (Okay, I suppose Hillary hasn't cinched it yet.)
Middle-Aged: No one in his late 30s or 70s has been nominated for his first run. (Ha, not anymore. McCain? Unless we're expecting an upset by Huckabee...)
Wealthy: Presidential candidates have been expected to come from financially successful families. (Really? Because I thought everyone was surprised by the fact that the Clintons are splendidly rich... here's also some good ol' SNL satire to go along with that.)
Is in Good Health: Much scrutiny is given to possible health issues or "flaws." (Like how they badgered McCain for his health records as much as they did to the Clintons' for their tax returns?)
Then I've paraphrased the paragraph that follows the chart...
"Polls show that party identification is the primary factor in getting elected and staying popular... The economy is important as well... Also important is whether we are involved in a war or crisis... Personal behaviors matter, as well... The activities of associates, too, can affect a president's popularity."
Aside from the fact that our nominees haven't been elected yet... People don't want to vote for McCain because he's a Republican like Bush, we just so happen to be succumbing to a recession, we just so happen to be involved in a war, Hillary is "likeable enough" according to Obama, and Obama's former pastor is giving him quite the amount of trouble...
NO WONDER IT'S SUCH A BIG DEAL THIS YEAR! Everything makes sense now. Way to be dead on. Thanks, Kaplan.
Now since you're so good at predicting the future, how about you predict I get a 5 on this exam.
INFORMAL QUALIFICATIONS OF THE PRESIDENCY (A CHART) (ABBREVIATED):
Male: The vice presidential candidacy of Geraldine Ferraro has been the highest major party female nomination. (Okay, I suppose Hillary hasn't cinched it yet.)
Middle-Aged: No one in his late 30s or 70s has been nominated for his first run. (Ha, not anymore. McCain? Unless we're expecting an upset by Huckabee...)
Wealthy: Presidential candidates have been expected to come from financially successful families. (Really? Because I thought everyone was surprised by the fact that the Clintons are splendidly rich... here's also some good ol' SNL satire to go along with that.)
Is in Good Health: Much scrutiny is given to possible health issues or "flaws." (Like how they badgered McCain for his health records as much as they did to the Clintons' for their tax returns?)
Then I've paraphrased the paragraph that follows the chart...
"Polls show that party identification is the primary factor in getting elected and staying popular... The economy is important as well... Also important is whether we are involved in a war or crisis... Personal behaviors matter, as well... The activities of associates, too, can affect a president's popularity."
Aside from the fact that our nominees haven't been elected yet... People don't want to vote for McCain because he's a Republican like Bush, we just so happen to be succumbing to a recession, we just so happen to be involved in a war, Hillary is "likeable enough" according to Obama, and Obama's former pastor is giving him quite the amount of trouble...
NO WONDER IT'S SUCH A BIG DEAL THIS YEAR! Everything makes sense now. Way to be dead on. Thanks, Kaplan.
Now since you're so good at predicting the future, how about you predict I get a 5 on this exam.
prism:
sunshine (daily rants)
2 comments:
this isn't mccain's first run.
I assumed that they were referring to a post-primary race, and that no party's definite nominee has been over 70 and going for his first term. But maybe not, I can see what you're saying.
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