Primary Election Quotes
When Lyndon Johnson was elected Vice President he, as the former Senate Majority Leader, wanted to lead the Democratic Senate Caucus. Gore objected because he thought that violated the separation of powers between the Executive and the Legislative branches, and he wanted the Senate to be independent from the administration. Despite Gore’s objection, Johnson was elected.
Kristol’s reputation as a political pundit suffered as a result of this assertion. However, Kristol was a very astute observer of the political scene; it indicates how remote Obama’s chances were believed to be even in 2006. Kristol was not alone in his view, just more bold in asserting it.
Harriman was the senior Democratic leader of the era. Every aspiring Democratic politician would make it his business to get to meet Harriman and try and get his endorsement. However, Carter was not a typical politician and when he decided to run for the Presidency, he had not even met many of the leading Democratic Party leaders. Harriman, a man of the old school, could not believe that anyone in the party who he did not know could possibly have the connections and the sophistication to win the presidency. However, Watergate had seared the American political soul and voters were not looking for a veteran, sophisticated politician. Nixon had been that.
Republican candidates at that time, in order to win the nomination of the party, had to prove to the base of primary voters that they were strong conservatives. In doing so, they had to adopt policies and views that were too far to the right for most American voters and they would lose the general election.
He was discussing the Presidential Primary Race.
