Lott says senators can't win 2008 presidential nomination

[Moooooo]

From The Hill:

Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), one of the most seasoned political observers in Congress, says that even his most ambitious colleagues — including Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) — don’t have the right stuff to win the White House.

 “I don’t think any senator can win the nomination,” Lott told The Hill in a wide-ranging luncheon interview. “If they get the nomination, they won’t be elected president.” In fact, he said the only way a senator could be elected president is if both parties nominate a senator.

“I don’t think senators make good candidates, actually, because of what we do. If you’re in the Senate for 10 or 15 years, there’s a good chance you’ve voted on both sides of every issue” — something that can be exploited in campaign television ads, as it was to the detriment of the Democrats’ 2004 candidate, Sen. John Kerry, Lott said.

Lott made his comments at a time when Frist and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), and others are considering presidential bids. He said the nominee is likely to be a current or former governor or big-city mayor. He mentioned Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) and even Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour as possible Republican nominees.

[A18]

I would certainly hope he's right. We don't need a senator in the White House. We need a governor who's willing to cut spending and close the border.

[No more McShame]

I would certainly hope he's right. We don't need a senator in the White House. We need a governor who's willing to cut spending and close the border.

Amen!

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I would certainly hope he's right. We don't need a senator in the White House. We need a governor who's willing to cut spending and close the border.

You mean like what some people expected from Gov. Bush?

[No more McShame]

Yes, exactly.  I've been very disapointed with President Bush on spending and the borders.

[Joe Republic]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Hmmm...I wonder who that might be referring to?

Generally speaking, big-city mayors are arguably in a much worse position than senators.  I realize Lott's point that voting records can't be picked apart with mayors.  But the fact is that mayors' support is much more localized, and they lack the state-wide support that a governor or senator can easily pick up.  In Giuliani's case, even his own city wouldn't really provide much of a base for him.

[Brandon H]

Yes, exactly.  I've been very disapointed with President Bush on spending and the borders.

Yeah. That's why I voted for Peroutka since Bush and Kerry are both wrong on spending and wrong on immigration.

[MissCatholic]

Bushs spending has been an absolute disgrace. but the fact that republicans tolerate it even makes more closer to becoming an ultra liberal.

[phk]

Bushs spending has been an absolute disgrace. but the fact that republicans tolerate it even makes more closer to becoming an ultra liberal.

The GOP is just a personality-cult centered around Bush, they have no principles, no nothing in reality. They just do whatever he does.

[No more McShame]

Bushs spending has been an absolute disgrace. but the fact that republicans tolerate it even makes more closer to becoming an ultra liberal.

Huh? makes what "closer to becoming an ultra liberal"?