Michigan Policy Circle
October 8, 2004

Political Asides
by Craig Ruff,
President & Chief Executive Officer

In New Hampshire, the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate is 94 years old. She is Doris (Granny D) Haddock. Granny D gained a bit of fame for walking 22,000 miles over 14 months to register women to vote. That was when she was much younger—90. We don’t know whether she attributes her long life to walking, climbing Granite State cliffs, a daily martini, or an occasional cigar. She is challenging incumbent Republican Senator Judd Gregg, a young whippersnapper of 57. We petition C-SPAN to cablecast their debates.

Speaking of longevity, how about that U.S. Supreme Court? Four U.S. Supreme Court justices are over 70 (Stevens—84, Rehnquist—80, O’Connor—74, and Ginsburg—71). The youthful Scalia, Kennedy, Breyer, and Souter are respectively 68, 68, 66, and 65. The spring chicken Thomas is a mere 56. Drooling at the prospects of the next president getting an appointment or two to the highest court, partisans might be forewarned. Life expectancies are getting longer by the day. Oliver Wendell Holmes served until he was 90, and that was well before Surgeon General’s warnings about smoking and obesity and medical science triumphs. Don’t look for a vacancy until the presidency of Chelsea Clinton or a Bush twin.

In the category of political coincidences, John F. Kerry, George W. Bush, and Abraham Lincoln all lost their first congressional campaigns (Lincoln failed in his nomination bid). We struggle to find other comparisons among the three.

Attempting to compete in the personal vitriol of the presidential campaigns, Ralph Nader called John Edwards a “sniveling coward.” He was miffed that Edwards did not criticize Dick Cheney over limiting medical malpractice awards. Slipping below 1 percent in polls, Nader is at least consistent: He adheres to no limit on political malpractice. He acknowledges that he will not win a single state (he could have added, a single precinct). It’s not because he is a tone-deaf egotist, but because, in his words, the “system is rigged.”

It comforts to know that the national networks have dumped their exit polling consortium and formed a new one, with Associated Press at the helm. Execs promise that they will spend more time analyzing the data this year before announcing winners and losers by state. Enjoy the extra 15 seconds of suspense on election night.

If you lived in Spain or many other democracies, the national campaign would just be beginning. Food for thought.

View other Michigan Policy Circle documents