People who actually achieve in life make for shitty politicians

[micrometers]

Ever notice that people who succeed in business or the military tend to make for awful politicians, and they tend to be beaten by people who do not have anything resembling that success?

Examples:

Jimmy Carter loses to Ronald Reagan. Carter served as a Naval submarine officer. Reagan was a hollywood actor

George HW Bush loses to Ronald Reagan. George Bush was shot down in WWII while flying a Navy bomber. Reagan, again, never served

George HW Bush loses to Bill Clinton.

John Kerry loses to George W Bush. Kerry served in Vietnam in one of the most dangerous assignments. George W Bush of course flunked out of the Texas air national guard.

John McCain loses to Barack Obama. McCain was a Vietcong POW for several years while Obama never even had to face the prospect of a draft.

more examples:

Wesley Clark fizzles in the 2004 Democratic primaries. This despite him being a former NATO general.

Mitt Romney is barely beating Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Neither of them have ever really accomplished anything in the capitalistic system. Gingrich especially.

Rush Limbaugh who is one of the most powerful voices in the Republican party never served in the military or really accomplished anything in the private sector. Herman Cain, in contrast, has.

My theory is that to succeed in politics you have to be highly entrepreneurial and know how to promote yourself. Meanwhile, in business and the military, naked self-promotion is frowned upon, in exchange for humility and team-building. But humility is not rewarded in politics. Humility makes people look weak.

 

[soundforbjt]

What about Ike?

 

[xBiffx]

Kennedy?

 

[woolfe9999]

I think you're wrong to equate "achievement" in the military with achievement in business in this context, and all your examples seem to pertain to the military. Also, other posters have mentioned 2 counter-examples where the one with military experience won the election. They didn't mention U.S. Grant or Teddy Roosevelt, as 2 other examples.

 

[Linflas]

Ever notice that people who succeed in business or the military tend to make for awful politicians, and they tend to be beaten by people who do not have anything resembling that success?

Examples:

Jimmy Carter loses to Ronald Reagan. Carter served as a Naval submarine officer. Reagan was a hollywood actor

You left out the part where he was governor of California 1967-1975.

George HW Bush loses to Ronald Reagan. George Bush was shot down in WWII while flying a Navy bomber. Reagan, again, never served

Once again just wrong, he served in the Army Reserve from 1937 until he reported for active duty in April 1942. It is true he did not serve overseas but he did serve.

George HW Bush loses to Bill Clinton.

John Kerry loses to George W Bush. Kerry served in Vietnam in one of the most dangerous assignments. George W Bush of course flunked out of the Texas air national guard.

John McCain loses to Barack Obama. McCain was a Vietcong POW for several years while Obama never even had to face the prospect of a draft.

more examples:

Wesley Clark fizzles in the 2004 Democratic primaries. This despite him being a former NATO general.

Mitt Romney is barely beating Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Neither of them have ever really accomplished anything in the capitalistic system. Gingrich especially.

Rush Limbaugh who is one of the most powerful voices in the Republican party never served in the military or really accomplished anything in the private sector. Herman Cain, in contrast, has.

My theory is that to succeed in politics you have to be highly entrepreneurial and know how to promote yourself. Meanwhile, in business and the military, naked self-promotion is frowned upon, in exchange for humility and team-building. But humility is not rewarded in politics. Humility makes people look weak.

 

[micrometers]

That Reagan was governor is irrelevant. Title says, "achieve in the military or business"

Governor of CA is neither.

Reagan didn't serve with distinction like HW Bush. Objectively I do believe that HW Bush was a better president than Reagan.

 

[soundforbjt]

Once again just wrong, he served in the Army Reserve from 1937 until he reported for active duty in April 1942. It is true he did not serve overseas but he did serve.

Making movies.

 

[Fern]

-snip-
Rush Limbaugh who is one of the most powerful voices in the Republican party never served in the military or really accomplished anything in the private sector. Herman Cain, in contrast, has.

Among your other inaccuracies, kind of difficult to argue that Rush Limbaugh never accomplished anything in the private sector given his recent $400 million contract extension. The guy's built up a media empire of sorts that's made him uber rich.

Fern

 

[EagleKeeper]

Making movies.

Uncle puts people where it is felt they will be able to fulfill their assignments

 

[Fern]

That Reagan was governor is irrelevant. Title says, "achieve in the military or business"

Governor of CA is neither.

Reagan didn't serve with distinction like HW Bush. Objectively I do believe that HW Bush was a better president than Reagan.

His acting career was fairly successful, and he was president of the SAG for a number of years. That's business, and he was successful.

Military? Not really. Although that's no knock against him. At that time the vast majority signed up for duty during WWII with full expectation of returning to civilian life upon it's conclusion. I.e., never intended to be career military.

Fern

 

[micrometers]

Among your other inaccuracies, kind of difficult to argue that Rush Limbaugh never accomplished anything in the private sector given his recent $400 million contract extension. The guy's built up a media empire of sorts that's made him uber rich.

Fern

Yes, he is sort of successful as an artist and demagogue. But before radio he was just a flub bouncing from job to job.

Could Limbaugh have managed say, a steel mill, or led an infantry unit? I would say no.

 

[micrometers]

His acting career was fairly successful, and he was president of the SAG for a number of years. That's business, and he was successful.

Military? Not really. Although that's no knock against him. At that time the vast majority signed up for duty during WWII with full expectation of returning to civilian life upon it's conclusion. I.e., never intended to be career military.

Fern

President of an actor's guild isn't near the same as succeeding as an oil wildcatter like Bush.

 

[soundforbjt]

His acting career was fairly successful, and he was president of the SAG for a number of years. That's business, and he was successful.

Military? Not really. Although that's no knock against him. At that time the vast majority signed up for duty during WWII with full expectation of returning to civilian life upon it's conclusion. I.e., never intended to be career military.

Fern

And screwed alot of actors out of money because he was in the studio owners pocket.

 

[xBiffx]

President of an actor's guild isn't near the same as succeeding as an oil wildcatter like Bush.

So business just means big business that the left hates, not that it caters to? What a troll.

 

[micrometers]

another: herbert hoover was a trained engineer and had been very successful in the private sector.

Yeah, Eisenhower and JFK are the exceptions to the idea so far. I'm not saying that all who succeed in military or business fail, but in large part they do.

Especially in the modern era of talk radio I do think that we're going to see more politicians in the mold of Newt Gingrich and fewer in the mold of George HW Bush.

 

[Fern]

JFK is an exception to what?

Fern

 

[woolfe9999]

26 American Presidents have had active, war time military experience:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_by_military_service

I excluded the ones who served but not during war time, and excluded Reagan (wrongfully stated by the OP as not having served) because he served only stateside during WWII. These men all were able to be elected to the highest office, and many were re-elected, sometimes against opponents with no military experience (e.g. Eisenhower v. Stevenson.)

That's 59% of all the POTUSES we've ever had. Compare that to the general population. How many people have had wartime military experience? 5%?

To the contra, wartime military experience appears to be a BIG plus for electability in American politics.

- wolf

 

[Zedtom]

Then there are people who have been high achievers who had the good sense to not run for political office.

Peter Ueberroth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Ueberroth

 

[JEDIYoda]

You all will have to forgive karmypolitics for posting his opinions albiet however mis-guided.
He is allowed to post and express his views.

Just remember he is the same Karmypolitics who I believe stated he did not have to know anything about whatever the topic was to have an opinion..lolol

 

[Linflas]

Making movies.

Note that he enlisted in the reserves 4 years before we were drawn into WWII.

Ronald Wilson Reagan enrolled in a series of home-study Army Extension Courses on 18 March 1935. After completing 14 of the courses, he enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve on 29 April 1937, as a Private assigned to Troop B, 322nd Cavalry at Des Moines, Iowa. He was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the Cavalry on 25 May 1937. On June 18 of that year Reagan, who had just moved to Los Angeles to begin his film career, accepted his Officer’s Commission and was assigned to the 323rd Cavalry.

Lieutenant Reagan was ordered to active duty on 19 April 1942. Due to eyesight difficulties, he was classified for limited service only, which excluded him from serving overseas. His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation at Fort Mason, California, as liaison officer of the Port and Transportation Office. Upon the request of the Army Air Forces (AAF), he applied for a transfer from the Cavalry to the AAF on 15 May 1942; the transfer was approved on 9 June 1942. He was assigned to AAF Public Relations and subsequently to the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California. Reagan was promoted to First Lieutenant on 14 January 1943 and was sent to the Provisional Task Force Show Unit of This Is The Army at Burbank, California. Following this duty, he returned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit, and on 22 July 1943 was promoted to Captain.

In January 1944, Captain Reagan was ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the opening of the sixth War Loan Drive. He was assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit, Culver City, California on 14 November 1944, where he remained until the end of the war. He was recommended for promotion to Major on 2 February 1945, but this recommendation was disapproved on July 17 of that year. On 8 September 1945, he was ordered to report to Fort MacArthur, California, where he was separated from active duty on 9 December 1945.

While on active duty with the 1st Motion Picture Unit and the 18th Army Air Forces Base Unit, Captain Reagan served as Personnel Officer, Post Adjutant, and Executive Officer. By the end of the war, his units had produced some 400 training films for the Army Air Forces.

 

[glenn1]

My theory is that to succeed in politics you have to be highly entrepreneurial and know how to promote yourself. Meanwhile, in business and the military, naked self-promotion is frowned upon, in exchange for humility and team-building. But humility is not rewarded in politics. Humility makes people look weak.

Or, you could just as easily say you need a degree of narcissism to run for political office (especially President) that would be crippling in most other settings in the business or military world.

 

[Budmantom]

I think you may have a point, Obama hasn't achieved anything in life besides writing a few books about himself and becoming a junior senator than he achieves the highest office of any politician.

 

[janas19]

OP, your post is just a huge, stinking pile of brainshit. Ok, it's not that bad, but seriously, your generalizations are terrible.

Lots of successful people in the real world make politicians. Some examples, just off the top of my head:

John Boehner: born poor and worked his ass off. Became a successful person.

Barack Obama: was a community organizer and constitutional law professor.

Mitt Romney: say what you will about his campaign, he was very successful.

These are just off the top of my head. Your premise just doesn't hold water. Sorry.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Among your other inaccuracies, kind of difficult to argue that Rush Limbaugh never accomplished anything in the private sector given his recent $400 million contract extension. The guy's built up a media empire of sorts that's made him uber rich.

Except he's just the public fool of a sales tax -funded empire (advertisers tax his viewers when they buy their goods and services and funnel a percentage to Limbaugh.) Your tax dollars there aren't returned so it's a pretty pointless government. It doesn't really do anything -- there's no accomplishment in selling sheeple products they'd already buy but at an inflated price due to psychological manipulation.
So Limbaugh has a part to play in his government of nothing, but he's not contributing anything of lasting value to society.

 

[Rainsford]

This may be too simple a point...but what makes politics so special a field that it's surprising that success in other fields doesn't automatically translate into success in politics?

Politics is a profession, like any other, that requires a certain set of skills and attributes to be successful. Many of those skills are necessary in other fields, like with most skills, but the particular combination found in politics means someone very successful at something may be a horrible politician.

The qualities that make someone a good soldier or a good businessman aren't ALL the same ones that make someone a good politician. And for that matter, other fields may provide very helpful skills for politicians. Reagan's acting experience, while apparently being dismissed as not proper work, greatly helped him effectively inspire and lead the country. Similarly, while many on the right love to hate on Obama's "community organizer" experience, a lot of that translates into politics on the national stage.