tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post1606040512538514953..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Are Govs Better Presidents?Jonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-79965075597673630682010-07-15T09:13:59.155-05:002010-07-15T09:13:59.155-05:00It's also worth noting that each President has...It's also worth noting that each President has organized his executive branch differently- and usually, very idiosyncratically. I'm sure we've all heard the stories of FDR setting aides against each other and telling everyone just what they wanted to hear and basically turning the Oval Office (did he even use the Oval Office?) into a Rube Goldberg machine. And it worked out pretty well for him! But does anyone really doubt it'd be a disaster for Barack Obama to try that? Nixon basically walled himself off from everyone but Haldermann, Erlichman, and Kissinger. Probably a good idea, since he was pretty terrible to deal with personally. But would George Bush have really benefited from LESS information getting to him?<br /><br />Each President is going to organize differently, and hell, they ought to. The determining factor should be if they know themselves enough to know what kind of organization they need to flourish, not if they've staffed a state government before.Colbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14262426400735202537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-8772693168885051632010-07-14T17:23:50.438-05:002010-07-14T17:23:50.438-05:00Keep in mind that the powers of governorships vary...Keep in mind that the powers of governorships vary from state to state. In Bush's Texas, it was a fairly weak position.<br /><br />Also, I'm skeptical of attempts to lump together various positions as constituting "executive experience." Whenever I hear this kind of rhetoric, the category is invariably described as broad enough to encompass governors, generals, and even CEOs, all of which are very different sorts of jobs with very different powers.Kylopodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06932528611103718373noreply@blogger.com