Do you think Thomas Jefferson would get elected today?

[Larry Edgerton]

Thomas Jefferson is in my opinion quite possibly the most brilliant statesman that the world has ever known. He foresaw all of what is happening today and tried to write into the constitution rules that did not allow the federal government too much power.

Add to that his design capabilities and he is certianly a man to be admired.


But, would he be electable today?

Larry

[Paul McGaha]

A great man for sure. I should go and see his place, I dont live too far from it.

We were lucky in that we had several great men back at that time. President Washington. President Adams. Ben Franklin just to name a few.

Would he be elected today? Maybe. I'm thinking those great qualities of his would come right thru again.

PHM

[curtis rosche]

not sure if they would, they would have better standards and wouldnt go as low as the other candidates. it would be one of those stupid things were they wouldnt get elected because they dont put down or get dirty in their tactics.
though if they were in a debate they might actually accomplish something instead of just attacking eachother and not really doing much

[David Keller NC]

While an interesting question, my understanding that the terms of service prohibit political and religious conversations. My guess is that this one would be termed "of politics", therefore political.

But, before it gets closed, I'll offer my 0.02 (and worth about as much). In this day of hyper-media velocity, and the press's tendency to distort any quote they can come across in an effort to attract viewers in the 700+ channel universe, Thomas Jefferson's words that (paraphrasing here - I'm too lazy to look up the exact words) "The tree of Liberty must occasionally be refreshed by the blood of patriots and tyrants; it makes a most excellent manure" would have him instantly villified as an extremist promoting political violence.

And therefore completely, utterly unelectable today.

[David Dockstader]

Personally, recognizing his brilliance and foresight, I think he'd be smart enough not to even run!

[Paul McGaha]

To me this thread is more about history than politics. Starting with Larry thinking Thomas Jefferson is a great man.

[Dan Hintz]

http://www.silive.com/opinion/columns/index.ssf/2012/01/10_american_presidents_who_cou.html



THOMAS JEFFERSON

http://media.silive.com/advance/photo/2012/01/10442814-small.jpg

Our third president, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence was, by today’s standards, a political puzzle. For example, he founded a political party called the Democratic-Republicans. He was fiercely opposed to creation of a central bank, but he also worked to quash the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Jefferson’s experiments with economic warfare (he could be quick with an embargo) all but halted the American economy — which did not endear him to big business interests. He was a flip-flopper on the issue of slavery; he owned slaves, but later became an abolitionist.

Jefferson would be disqualified for the presidency, in the modern-day court of public opinion, for signing the Louisiana Purchase (talk about an expansion of federal authority!); and his notion that church and state would forever be separated (it’s an idea he championed, not a law of the land, but it became a tenet of American jurisprudence).

Perhaps the biggest piece of political baggage Jefferson would be burdened with today would be his thoughts on religion. He was no believer, but insufferably tolerant of those who were. “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg,” he wrote.

[Belinda Barfield]

I would vote for him, but I don't believe he would electable today as those who currently have too much power aren't willing to give it up.

Now, as to how long it takes this thread to go really political and get locked? I'll give it until 9 EST.:(

1818 August 4.
"The objects of this primary eduction [university education] determine its character and limits. These objects are To give to every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business; To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express and preserve his ideas, his contracts and accounts, in writing; To improve by reading, his morals and faculties; To understand his duties to his neighbors and country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either; To know his rights; to exercise with order and justice those he retains; to choose with discretion the fiduciary of those he delegates; and to notice their conduct with diligence, with candor and judgement; And, in general, to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed. To instruct the mass of our citizens in these, their rights, interests and duties, as men and citizens, being then the objects of education in the primary schools, whether privet or public, in them should be taught reading, writing and numerical arithmetic, the elements of mensuration...and the outlines of geography and history.

Think on this, Curtis, how much of your teaching follows these recommendations. How many of your teachers through the years and professors do you feel would vote for Jefferson?

[John Fabre]

Thomas Jefferson is in my opinion quite possibly the most brilliant statesman that the world has ever known. He foresaw all of what is happening today and tried to write into the constitution rules that did not allow the federal government too much power.

Add to that his design capabilities and he is certianly a man to be admired.


But, would he be electable today?

Larry
Would he be electable today? Yes, he was a smart man. He would get my vote.

[Van Huskey]

Ah, the romanticizing of historical figures. Without writing a long post that will likely take me past the finish line for this thread and thus be for naught I will say in a word, no. If he was transported forward with his baggage, particularly slavery, intact he would be as electable and as a neo-nazi. If he had grown up in todays world his opinions and ideals would have been molded by completely different circumstances and we have no way to speculate. Jefferson was a brilliant man but as he stood deeply flawed when viewed by a modern lens.

[John Coloccia]

I would vote for a can of condensed milk over anything I'll have to choose from later this year, and yet I must vote. So yeah, I think Jefferson is electable.

[Michael Weber]

I would vote for him but he would be vilified as an atheist based on his "Jeffersonian Bible". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible
As a previous poster notes, he would be smart enough not to run after seeing what our modern political system has become. Perhaps he could start a new revolution.

[Pat Barry]

He would likely stand out among the lackluster set of candidates we have today, however, it is a moot point.

[Rod Sheridan]

I'm sure Jefferson would be a stand out candidate today.

I just think he would stand out in a negative way.

Jefferson was no doubt a smart man, and well educated for his time, however his education and character formation was from a far different time.

His morals and view of societies responsibilities would probably be out of touch with the modern world, however his sense of personal responsibility and accountability may have been more stringent than the modern view.

He would no doubt be a fascinating man to converse with, however I think the issues of the modern world are probably far more complex than previous issues, simply because our understanding of science has provided more information regarding the world, and of course we are now much more of a global society than ever before.

As someone said " there's a surplus of simple solutions, and a dearth of simple problems". I think that may cover the transporting of any figure from the past, into the present.

Regards, Rod.

[Seth Dolcourt]

From Dan Hintz's post, 'ol Tommy J looks as lively as an oil painting. He would need a very different avatar for his social networking page.

++++

Conquerors, emperors, high priests, and monarchs had to play the game of leading their own society, in their own time. Perhaps it's fair to say that an elected leader of a developing republic would still find his or her leadership stride in modern society, the skills transcend the ages.

However, the question is would Thomas Jefferson be electable today? Since I'm a Wikipedia PhD, and not a real historical analyst, I'm gonna go with...no, on the presumption that his view of humanity is locked forever in 1800.

[David Weaver]

Am I remembering correctly that he had a very unconvincing speaking voice (maybe even annoying or unbecoming)?

That alone pretty much would get you out of the race these days.

EDIT: Just looked it up. He was a quiet speaker, and supposedly a terrible public speaker, and refused to deliver a state of the union address, choosing instead to send a letter.

Can you imagine what the media would do to a bad public speaker these days?

[Greg Peterson]

Jefferson would be absolutely unelectable today.