Amateur Hour

AT the 1936 Democratic convention, H. L. Mencken turned to the novelist James T. Farrell and gestured at the bleating herd on the podium. “Do you see all of those politicians up there?” Mencken asked. “Every one of them thinks he can be president of the United States.” Now every nonpolitician thinks he can be president too—particularly in the Republican party. The GOP has taken the Americans with Disabilities Act to its logical conclusion: People who don’t know anything can work in the Oval Office. This is bad for the GOP, for conservatives, and for the country.

Half the field of Republican candidates for the 2000 presidential nomination are nonpoliticians. As of now, the pols include a governor (Bush) two senators (McCain, Smith), a former congressman and vice president (Quayle), and a former governor (Alexander). The non-pols are a pundit (Buchanan), a publisher (Forbes), a politician’s wife (Dole), and two conservative operatives (Bauer, Keyes). It’s as if the party had taken out a help-wanted ad: “TOP EXECUTIVE POSITION: Rule world, lead party. Benefits: Substantial. Experience: None.”

About the Author

Richard Brookhiser

Historian Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.

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Presidential Election

AT the 1936 Democratic convention, H. L. Mencken turned to the novelist James T. Farrell and gestured at the bleating herd on the podium. “Do you see all of those politicians up there?” Mencken asked. “Every one of them thinks he can be president of the United States.” Now every nonpolitician thinks he can be president too—particularly in the Republican party. The GOP has taken the Americans with Disabilities Act to its logical conclusion: People who don’t know anything can work in the Oval Office. This is bad for the GOP, for conservatives, and for the country.

Half the field of Republican candidates for the 2000 presidential nomination are nonpoliticians. As of now, the pols include a governor (Bush) two senators (McCain, Smith), a former congressman and vice president (Quayle), and a former governor (Alexander). The non-pols are a pundit (Buchanan), a publisher (Forbes), a politician’s wife (Dole), and two conservative operatives (Bauer, Keyes). It’s as if the party had taken out a help-wanted ad: “TOP EXECUTIVE POSITION: Rule world, lead party. Benefits: Substantial. Experience: None.”