Tucson, Arizona Monday, 14 July 2003
By C.J. Karamargin
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
If the politics of the past can predict politics of the future, Arizonans have a few years before one of our own will run again for president.
Nine to be exact.
Beginning with Sen. Barry Goldwater in 1964, an Arizona politician has made
a White House bid every dozen years.
That means the next one is due in 2012.
Rep. Mo Udall wanted the job in 1976. Former Gov. Bruce Babbitt thought he had a chance in 1988. And Sen. John McCain mounted a valiant effort in 2000.
Two Democrats. Two Republicans. Only Goldwater got as far as winning his party's nomination. It didn't matter in the end. All of them lost.
So who will be the next son of the Grand Canyon State to stride across the
national stage? It might not be a son at all.
Assuming Gov. Janet Napolitano wants, wins and completes a second term, she'll
be looking for a new gig in 2010.
Then again, there's always Rep. Jeff Flake. The Mesa Republican decided last
week he wouldn't challenge McCain next year.
Be a governor first
History also tells us that governors who want to be president have a bit of
an edge.
Beginning with Thomas Jefferson way back when, 17 of our 43 presidents were
governors. Nineteen if you count two onetime territorial governors.
But it was hardly a trend until relatively recently. Of the last five presidents, four had experience running a state: George Bush the younger, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.
Whether the trend continues, of course, is anyone's guess. Hillary Clinton
probably hopes it doesn't. Napolitano at this point probably cares less. She
has been governor for only seven months.
But it is worth noting that all those recent governors who've made their way
to the White House are from the South or West, just like seven out of the last
eight presidents.
Ford turns 90
The only one of that group who wasn't celebrates his 90th birthday today.
Leslie King Jr. was born on this date in 1913. After his parents divorced and
his mother remarried, little Les took the name of his stepfather, a paint salesman
named Gerald R. Ford.
Ford served as a congressman from Michigan for 25 years before becoming Richard Nixon's vice president, upon the resignation of Spiro Agnew, in 1973.
Ford became the 38th president on Aug. 9, 1974, after the Watergate scandal forced Nixon to resign. Despite carrying Arizona (with 56 percent of the vote) and every other Western state except Texas, Ford lost his bid to retain the presidency to Carter in
1976. He now lives with his wife, Betty, in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Lieberman sets up
Sen. Joe Lieberman is the only Democrat running for president who has an actual
office in Arizona.
The Connecticut lawmaker recently opened his state campaign headquarters at
824 N. Central Ave. in Phoenix.
According to state party officials, Dean, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and
Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina have staffs in Arizona but no office. Sen.
Bob Graham of Florida, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich
of Ohio have neither. At least not yet.
Lieberman's Phoenix war room, which happens to be the same spot from which Napolitano ran her gubernatorial campaign, can be reached at (602) 393-0067.
Lieberman, by the way, is planning his fourth visit as a candidate to Arizona
later this month. Details are still being worked out.
Or just go to a movie
As the presidential campaign heats up, an excellent way to slip into the right mood is by spending a couple of hours watching one of the greatest political movies ever made.
No, not "Legally Blonde 2." As enjoyable as that film is, we're talking
timeless classics here.
"Mr. Smith goes to Washington," the 1939 Frank Capra gem about a young
idealist cast adrift in the cesspool of Congress, is Thursday's featured film
at Cinema La Placita.
The cinema shows free movies outside at La Placita Village, 110 S. Church Ave.
Call it politics under the stars. It begins at 7:30 p.m.