Romney didn't want to run for president, son says

radcen said:

While these people are good examples, I believe they stand out precisely because they are exceptions to the rule, not of the general rule itself.

It should be noted that, of all those mentioned here, only two actually became President. And of those two, only one served well as President. In fact, Taft may not be a good example. The more I think about it, he was relatively ineffective as President, yet a very fine SCOTUS judge. Where was his heart? On the bench, that's where.

It cannot be known for sure whether the rest would have been effective leaders in their own right, as they never attained the position.

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I would agree with you... folks who are reluctant candidates are certainly the exception rather than the rule. Of the men that I mentioned, Only Washington and Taft became President... and only Washington was entirely successful. Taft wanted to be on the Supreme Court. Of the others, one can argue that Seymour would have made an excellent President, certainly in comparison to Grant, though Reconstruction would have been less severe; Stevenson too, with his experience as governor and his intelligence would probably have done well, though the Eisenhower years might have looked different. Davis would have been interesting as he would have been even LESS of an interventionist than Coolidge. Probably wouldn't have made any difference.

radcen said:

Responding before I read the rest of the thread.

I read this a day or so ago. I will say that I do not believe it for one second.

However, just for the sake of conversation, let's say it is true. Then I'm glad he lost. I believe it is pretty near impossible for a person to be a good leader if their heart is not in it.

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