A President in the State Legislature?

Over at Mapes on Politics, the Oregonian's Jeff Mapes wonders aloud; is there a future presidential candidate in the Oregon Legislature?

So I'm back from Medford and covering Bill Clinton and I'm thinking about something one of Hillary Clinton's backers said. "Can you think of anybody in the Oregon Legislature," this person said, "who you think should be president in five years?"

The point being, of course, that if Barack Obama wins the presidency, he will be just five years removed from the Illinois Legislature - and doesn't that show just how inexperienced he is?

Well...maybe. But it is fun to think about what it would be like to have one of our current Oregon legislators as president. Is it a stretch for Senate President Peter Courtney to be just President Peter Courtney? They say all U.S. senators think of themselves as presidential material - does that hold for House Speaker Jeff Merkley, who is merely running for the Senate?

So, here's my challenge. Is there an Oregon legislator who, with five years seasoning, could or should be president?

Read the rest and give your picks for potential Presidents from Oregon over at Mapes on Politics.

April 01, 2008 Posted in elsewhere.