Men for high positions are not always chosen because of previous
preeminence, but frequently through circumstances of situations or from
expediency:
There are Presidential candidates and aspirants who have an
erroneous idea of the candidacy, similar to that of many persons
on the subject of wines and cigars, who consider the oldest
as the best; while the real connoisseur knows perfectly well
that such commodities are not permitted to exceed a certain age
without losing rather than gaining in quality. Some keep their
Presidential aspirations constantly before the people--as, for
instance, Blaine and Sherman for several years. Others get up a
drumming and fifing as soon as the year for the nomination comes
on? If most of these people would poke their noses a little into
the political history of this country, they would find that for
a generation or more we have had no President whose reputation
and “boom” was two years older than the hour of his election.
When the Democrats nominated James K. Polk as their candidate,
the politicians, surprized and disillusioned, inquired, “Who is
James K. Polk?” The name of the Whig President, Zachary Taylor,
was famous scarcely one year before the election. Pierce and
Buchanan were absolutely less known than their rivals, Marcy
and Cass, and before Lincoln’s nomination there was nowhere
any talk about him; every one was thinking of Seward. Who, in
1862, would have prophesied that U. S. Grant would one day
become General-in-chief and President of the Republic? Such an
individual would have been regarded as fit subject of a lunatic
asylum. Hayes owed his nomination to his hard-won victory of the
year previous over the Democrat, Allen, in the gubernatorial
campaign in Ohio; and no one had thought of Garfield two days
before his nomination.--_Der Deutsche Correspondent._
(383)
=Choices=--See MODESTY.