Zell Miller and Andrew Jackson

I don't have access to Lexis Nexis (I'd never leave my computer if I did), but I suspect the adjective most used with Zell the last several days has been "Jacksonian". Zell's speech was certainly Jacksonian in flavor, but it lacked one Jacksonian ingredient.

Andrew Jackson's campaigns for President in the 1820's became the template for how future campaigns would be waged. American politics had been feeling its oats for about 40 years, and in that time no real formula for Presidential politics emerged. Political parties were not the formidable structures they are today. Some candidates honorably treated their nomination with cool indifference, believing that it was best not to campaign for ones self, but rather to accept the will of the people, your supporters. Jackson changed all of that. He was an extremely popular figure in the United States going back to the War of 1812. Jackson had become a household name as a war hero. In the years leading up to his Presidency, he also became a political figure. Jackson was a firebrand capable of very heated, passionate public speech. He was also capable of very gentlemanly behavior, although his gentlemanly behavior could even be cutting at times. Jackson had a fierce popularity, and all of that fire transferred to his campaign, and his supporters loved it. He was one of them, he was a voice for their anger. His campaigns were also extremely organized. Previous Presidential campaigns were no where near as organized as Jackson's. All campaigns after had to be as organized as his.

So, after a brief glossing of Jackson, where does that leave Zell? Well, his style certainly was Jacksonian, but it missed that one big ingredient that made Jackson, Jackson: National popularity. Those of us who jump into politics and current events head first know Miller and either love him or hate him. Much of the country doesn't have a clue who Zell Miller is, though. I've found many ardent Kerry and Bush supporters who didn't know who Zell was. Many more do now, but Zell does not have the national prominence of Jackson, or even of a Rudy Giuliani or John McCain. Because of that, his speech will not have as big of an impact, for better or for worse, as a lot of us political wonks would like to believe.