From a Friend

First off, we have McCain vs. Obama for president. Not even a contest. A proven man (war hero, lifetime of service to our country), or a man that has to prove himself (what has he accomplished other than writing a book?). With all due respect to Sen. Obama, John McCain has my vote hands down. And who cares how old he is? Oh! But what if he should die? Well, we have Sarah Palin on the ticket.

All this to-do about Sarah Palin's experience. Well, numerous US presidents were governors first, perhaps representing the fact people always had known the experience that was gained in the office of governor. Has something changed that we now doubt it? Oh, she's a she. I guess that is what is being questioned since it was never questioned before. Clinton and Bush's campaign are the most recent. I don’t remember anyone questioning their experience. I mean, they were governors.

Let's be real, if a person can successfully lead a state in the US, then they can also be able to lead the country. Isn't a state just a somewhat miniaturized version of the country? Of course. but no one will admit it. Several other presidents were governors first and again, in their campaigns, no one ever questioned their experience. Oh! They were he's. Ya' think?

In all, 19 presidents were governors first. A few of them were not governors in the modern sense of the term; that is, they governed territories rather than states. Andrew Jackson acted as military governor to the Florida Territory and as governor to the Northwest Territory in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. William Harrison governed the Indiana Territory for twelve years at the beginning of the 19th century. Lastly William Taft served as Governor-General in the Philippines at the beginning of the 20th century.

In the early years of the US, the following presidents were governors first:


Thomas Jefferson: the first president to hold the position of governor, served as Virginia’s governor from 1779-1781
James Monroe: served as Governor of Virginia from 1799-1802, and again served for a brief period as the 16th Governor of Virginia from January through April in 1811.
John Tyler: another Governor of Virginia, serving from 1825-1827

Following governors from Virginia, other presidents were governors first from a variety of other states:


Martin Van Buren: Governor of New York in 1829
James Polk: Governor of Tennessee, serving from 1839-1841
Andrew Johnson: Governor of Tennessee from 1853-1857 and then appointed by Lincoln to serve as military governor of Tennessee from 1862-1864
Rutherford Hayes: Governor of Ohio from 1868-1872 and again from 1876-1877
Grover Cleveland: Governor of New York from 1883-1885
William McKinley: Governor of Ohio from 1892-1896

Numerous presidents were governors first in the 20th century. The list begins with Theodore Roosevelt, first Governor of New York from 1899-1901. Others on this list are:


Woodrow Wilson: Governor of New Jersey from 1911-1913
Calvin Coolidge: Governor of Massachusetts from 1919-1921
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Governor of New York from 1929-1933
James Carter: Governor of Georgia from 1971-1975
Ronald Regan: Governor of California from 1967-1975
William J. Clinton: Governor of Arkansas from 1983-1992
George W. Bush: Governor of Texas from 1995-2000
Guess what? In comparison, only 12 presidents were senators and not governors (some were both governors and senators). They were: John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Benjamin Harrison, Warren G. Harding, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon.

The fact that more of all U.S. presidents were governors as opposed to senators suggests the importance of the Governor' Office with respect to the presidency.

When reflecting on which presidents were senators, think of these names and their reputation: Andrew Jackson, (most degrading campaigning ever. The stress killed his wife), Harry Truman (actually not elected. He was vice president and was sworn in after President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office in April, 1945. Truman, in fact, gave the go-ahead to deploy the atomic bombs over Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan), John F. Kennedy (we do remember Marylyn, don’t we?), Lyndon B. Johnson (was never elected but sworn in after the assassination of JFK and went down in history as one of the worst presidents in US history), and Richard M. Nixon (do I have to remind anyone he left in disgrace after resigning because of the Watergate scandal?).

The U.S. has had 43 presidents, and 19 of those presidents were governors first and only 12 were senators first. Think of this. What did the other 12 have for experience? Go to the history book. You will be really surprised. the bottom line is, I think history shows me that Sarah Palin is ready and experienced for the job. This is probably the first time in the history of our elections that we have had equal billing on both the President and Vice President tickets. Is there another choice?

Isn’t history such a great resource?