Daniel Robert 'Bob' Graham
(Project Vote Smart)
Qualifications: Sen. Graham is in his third term in the US Senate, and before that served two terms as Governor of Florida. He got an LLB from Harvard Law School, but does not appear to have been a practicing attorney. Unquestionably qualified. If elected, he'll be the first President since Andrew Jackson to bring both gubernatorial and senatorial experience to the job.
Strengths: Bob Graham is a tough fighter with plenty of experience. He knows everybody, and everybody knows him. He's been hanging in on the Intelligence Committee for a while, saying that Our Only President has made a hash of intelligence, and that appears to be getting clearer all the time. He appears to be very comfortable talking about foreign policy. In economics, he's an incrementalist, but (if you will) a strong one, not accepting incremental change as a compromise, but seeking it as the best way to change.
Weaknesses: Oddly enough, Sen. Graham's strength is his lack of weaknesses, rather than any particular strength. There isn't an area of policy where he makes a stand, but there isn't one he is weak on, either. He is a bit dull, and frankly, given that he's from Florida I doubt he's all that honest, but he's smart, and he's capable of persuasive argument. He won't be the Education President, or the Environment President, or the Labor President, but he'll be a solid Democrat who believes in compromise, caution, and character.
I suppose I should add that he is the oldest of the candidates at 66, and has had some history of heart trouble. He appears to be in good shape, and I don't believe that he is incapable of the job, but it is out there.
Priorities: Bob Graham is a centrist. He says so over and over again. I'm willing to accept that; I can't quite tell what it means in practical terms. It seems to me his first priority is, of all things, al Qaeda. After that, he is concerned about the state budgets, and he would probably aid them with federal money. He seems interested in (incremental) health care reform, in balancing the federal budget, in a moderately progressive income tax structure, and in, er, did I mention al Qaeda?
Coalitions : This would be terribly interesting. He is a centrist. He's not a McCain crossover who is Liberal on some things and Conservative on others, nor is he a Clinton pragmatist who is exactly as Liberal as polls will allow, no more and no less. He likes the middle ground. Does that make him more able to put together coalitions? I suspect not. I suspect that he will be like the Bat in Aesop Fable.
Legislative: Three terms in the Senate are enough to start any President on a good Legislative relationship. If you don't want to count that, there are the fourteen years in the Florida legislature. He understands the way bills are passed and killed, and if he doesn't know where the bodies are buried, he knows who knows. The question is not whether he can get things accomplish, it's whether he will want to accomplish anything substantial.
Executive: Two terms in the Florida Governor's seat. He'll run the White House well, and he'll have a bunch of experienced people with him. If anything, I expect him to lean towards too much experience and not enough young blood in the cabinet, which also means a lot of white men. Of course, it also means fewer fights in the Senate. Don't expect a lot of leaks, or a lot of press conferences for that matter.
Judicial: He hasn't been a judge yet, has he? I guess not. He also isn't on the Judiciary committee. I have no idea what he did in Florida way back when, but I can't imagine him doing much radical from the White House. I also wouldn't expect him to challenge the judiciary's power, but I could imagine a fight between a Scalia court (shudder) and a Graham White House on a few issues.
Crisis: Sen. Graham, if called in the middle of the night with a crisis, would know what to do or say, and he would do or say it immediately. Afterwards, if it turned out wrong, I suspect he'd stick with the decision just to see it through. On the other hand, since his instincts are essentially Conservative (in the Rossiter sense at least), I doubt he'd get us into too much trouble that way.
Day-to-day: Here's where we're supposed to talk about his little notebook logs, where he writes down everything that happens, every phone call, every hand shaken, and every mouthful eaten. Only I doubt that is very enlightening, so I'll just say that I don't think he'll take a lot of naps, or skip a lot of meetings. Again, there are some health concerns, and he may not work all night, but neither will we feel like the Chief of Staff is running the show.
Leadership: Hmm. He's dull, he's a centrist, and frankly, no-one can remember him for more than an hour at a time. Senator Graham is not an inspiring leader, frankly. He's not great at sound bites, or at Cuomo-esque lengthy, complicated speeches around central images. He appeals to the reason, which would be refreshing, wouldn't it?