Tests that Bush has passed

LISTEN to George W. Bush’s naysayers, and it sounds like the governor of Texas is a political novice about to run an amateur-hour campaign for president. “Republicans want a winner, but Gov. Bush is totally untested,” complains Lamar Alexander. Adds Pat Buchanan: “It’s not unusual for hot front-runners to get into trouble, especially for one as untested as Bush.” Even Republicans who aren’t running against Bush have their doubts. “I have nothing against George Bush,” says David Keene of the American Conservative Union, “but he is totally untested nationally.”

Keene has a point: Bush has never before faced the national electorate. But the same could be said of most of the other candidates: Gary Bauer and Elizabeth Dole have not previously run for any office at all, and Rep. John Kasich, Sen. John McCain, and Sen. Bob Smith have never faced voters outside their home states. To the extent that Alexander and Buchanan have—they’ve participated in a few GOP primaries—they’re experienced at losing. At best, Alexander, Buchanan, and Steve Forbes have faced a few pop quizzes, with decidedly mixed results. The only Republican in the race who has truly faced a national test is Dan Quayle. But nobody thinks he can win.

LISTEN to George W. Bush’s naysayers, and it sounds like the governor of Texas is a political novice about to run an amateur-hour campaign for president. “Republicans want a winner, but Gov. Bush is totally untested,” complains Lamar Alexander. Adds Pat Buchanan: “It’s not unusual for hot front-runners to get into trouble, especially for one as untested as Bush.” Even Republicans who aren’t running against Bush have their doubts. “I have nothing against George Bush,” says David Keene of the American Conservative Union, “but he is totally untested nationally.”

Keene has a point: Bush has never before faced the national electorate. But the same could be said of most of the other candidates: Gary Bauer and Elizabeth Dole have not previously run for any office at all, and Rep. John Kasich, Sen. John McCain, and Sen. Bob Smith have never faced voters outside their home states. To the extent that Alexander and Buchanan have—they’ve participated in a few GOP primaries—they’re experienced at losing. At best, Alexander, Buchanan, and Steve Forbes have faced a few pop quizzes, with decidedly mixed results. The only Republican in the race who has truly faced a national test is Dan Quayle. But nobody thinks he can win.

About the Author

John J. Miller

John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.