Shermanesque statement

Last updated

William T. Sherman, for whom the statement is named. William T Sherman NPG.65.40.jpg
William T. Sherman, for whom the statement is named.

A Shermanesque statement, also called a Sherman statement, Sherman speech, or the full Sherman, is American political jargon for a clear and direct statement by a potential candidate indicating that they will not run for a particular elected position.

Contents

The term derives from the Sherman pledge, a remark made by American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman when he was being considered as a possible Republican candidate for the US presidential election of 1884. He declined, saying, "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected." Thirteen years prior, he had similarly asserted, "I hereby state, and mean all that I say, that I never have been and never will be a candidate for President; that if nominated by either party, I should peremptorily decline; and even if unanimously elected I should decline to serve." [1] These statements are often abbreviated as "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve." [2]

Other iterations

US President Lyndon B. Johnson invoked the pledge in his March 31, 1968, national address, which focused mainly on the Vietnam War. Johnson announced that – because 'partisan causes' would interfere with his duties – he would not seek a second full term, saying "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." [3]

President Franklin D. Roosevelt inverted the pledge in 1944, stating that he felt obligated to serve if nominated: "If the people command me to continue in this office and in this war, I have as little right to withdraw as the soldier has to leave his post in the line." [4] Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted "to use words similar to Sherman's" when many asked him in the 1940s to run for the presidency, but did not because he believed that no one "has the right to state, categorically, that he will not perform any duty that his country might demand of him". [5]

Since then, journalists have often pushed for potential candidates to give a Sherman pledge in lieu of a less definitive answer. In 1983, Democratic Congressman Mo Udall of Arizona, who was noted for his wit and who had campaigned for president in 1976, was asked if he would run in the 1984 election. Udall responded, "If nominated, I shall run to Mexico. If elected, I shall fight extradition." [6]

When asked by Fox News whether he would pursue the presidency in 2008, Vice President Dick Cheney quoted Sherman's statement nearly word-for-word. [7] When Ohio Governor Ted Strickland endorsed Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, he issued the Sherman pledge word for word when asked if he wanted to be selected as her vice presidential running mate. [8] He reiterated it when asked if he wanted to be Barack Obama's running mate after Obama had clinched the nomination. [9] David Petraeus quoted Sherman when asked about a presidential bid in 2012. [10] Paul Ryan issued a Shermanesque statement in April 2016 when asked about the possibility of becoming a candidate in a contested convention. [11]

In June 2004, the former Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond said, in response to questions about whether he would seek the leadership again, that "If nominated I'll decline. If drafted I'll defer. And if elected I'll resign." A month later, he changed his mind and stood for the leadership, later becoming the First Minister of Scotland. [12]

Author Stephen King with regard to the 2018 Maine gubernatorial election stated that "if nominated I will not run, and if elected, I will not serve. I think somebody famous said that." [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1804 amendment regulating presidential elections

The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president. It replaced the procedure in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, under which the Electoral College originally functioned. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and was ratified by the requisite three-fourths of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The new rules took effect for the 1804 presidential election and have governed all subsequent presidential elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States presidential election</span> 51st quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1988 United States presidential election was the 51st quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday, November 8, 1988. The Republican nominee, incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, defeated the Democratic nominee, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1904 United States presidential election</span> 30th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1904 United States presidential election was the 30th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 1904. Incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt defeated the conservative Democratic nominee, Alton B. Parker. Roosevelt's victory made him the first president who ascended to the presidency upon the death of his predecessor to win a full term in his own right. This was also the second presidential election in which both major party candidates were registered in the same home state; the others have been in 1860, 1920, 1940, 1944, and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1908 United States presidential election</span> 31st quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 1908 United States presidential election was the 31st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1908. Republican Party nominee William Howard Taft defeated three-time Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan.

The Association of State Green Parties was an organization of state Green Parties in the United States between 1996 and 2001. In 2001, it evolved into the Green Party of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Egypt</span> Head of state and government of Egypt

The president of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointee of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the president is also the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government. The current president is Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has been in office since 8 June 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Hampshire presidential primary</span> First in a process for deciding the general election candidates for each political party

The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest held in the United States every four years as part of the process of choosing the delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions which choose the party nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November. Although only a few delegates are chosen in the New Hampshire primary, its real importance comes from the massive media coverage it receives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic National Convention</span> Nominating meetings of the US Democratic Party

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention. The primary goal of the Democratic National Convention is to officially nominate a candidate for president and vice president, adopt a comprehensive party platform and unify the party. Pledged delegates from all fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the American territories, and superdelegates which are unpledged delegates representing the Democratic establishment, attend the convention and cast their votes to choose the party's presidential candidate. Like the Republican National Convention, the Democratic National Convention marks the formal end of the primary election period and the start of the general election season. Since the 1980s the national conventions have lost most of their importance and become mostly just ceremonial coronation events for the respective candidate, as since the full establishment of primary contests in that time the winning nominees of both parties have always been clear long time before the convention. In 2020, both major parties, and many minor parties, replaced their usual in-person conventions with virtual programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The America First Party was an isolationist political party which was founded on January 10, 1943. Its leader, Gerald L. K. Smith, was the party's presidential candidate in the 1944 U.S. presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States Senate election in New Mexico</span>

The 2008 United States Senate election in New Mexico was held on November 4, 2008 coinciding with the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pete Domenici decided to retire instead of seeking a seventh term. All three of New Mexico's U.S. Representatives retired from the House to run in this election, which was the first open Senate seat in the state since 1972 where Domenici was first elected on this seat. Pearce narrowly defeated Wilson in the Republican primary, but Udall won the general election after an uncontested Democratic primary.

The 1940 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 24 to June 28, 1940. It nominated Wendell Willkie of New York for president and Senator Charles McNary of Oregon for vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1880 Republican National Convention</span> US political convention

The 1880 Republican National Convention convened from June 2 to June 8, 1880, at the Interstate Exposition Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Delegates nominated James A. Garfield of Ohio and Chester A. Arthur of New York as the official Republican Party candidates for president and vice president in the 1880 presidential election.

A resign-to-run law is a law that requires the current holder of an office to resign from that office before they can run for another office. This is distinct from a dual mandate prohibition, where a person has to resign from their old office to assume the new office, rather than to run for the new office. Resign-to-run laws exist in several jurisdictions, including five US states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Republican Party presidential primaries</span> Review of the elections

Voters of the Republican Party elected state delegations to the 2012 Republican National Convention in presidential primaries. The national convention then selected its nominee to run for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election. There were 2,286 delegates chosen, and a candidate needed to accumulate 1,144 delegate votes at the convention to win the nomination. The caucuses allocated delegates to the respective state delegations to the national convention, but the actual election of the delegates were, many times, at a later date. Delegates were elected in different ways that vary from state to state. They could be elected at local conventions, selected from slates submitted by the candidates, selected at committee meetings, or elected directly at the caucuses and primaries.

This is a list of candidates in the 2016 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1940 Democratic Party presidential primaries</span> Selection of the Democratic Party nominee

From March 12 to June 27, 1940, voters of the Democratic Party elected delegates to the 1940 Democratic National Convention through a series of primaries, caucuses, and conventions. Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt was selected as the party's presidential nominee despite not formally declaring a campaign for a third term. Supporters effectively drafted Roosevelt, who was non-committal about seeking re-election, amid rising concerns over war in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Republican Party presidential primaries</span> Selection of Republican US presidential candidate

Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place in many U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories from February 3 to August 11, 2020, to elect most of the 2,550 delegates to send to the Republican National Convention. Delegates to the national convention in other states were elected by the respective state party organizations. The delegates to the national convention voted on the first ballot to select Donald Trump as the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, and selected Mike Pence as the vice-presidential nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Carter 1976 presidential campaign</span> 1976 presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter

The 1976 presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter resulted in the election of Jimmy Carter and his running mate Walter Mondale as president and vice president of the United States, defeating incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford and his running mate Bob Dole. Carter, a Democrat and former governor of Georgia, launched his presidential bid in December 1974, as the Constitution of Georgia barred him from running for a second term as governor. In the wake of the Watergate scandal, the declining popularity of President Ford due to his pardon of Nixon, and the severe recession of 1974–75, many Democrats were sure of victory in the 1976 presidential election. As a result, 17 Democrats ran for their party's nomination in 1976. Carter's opponents mocked his candidacy by saying "Jimmy, who?", for his being relatively unknown outside Georgia. In response, Carter began saying "My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for president." Carter extensively campaigned in the primaries, and in the end received 39.19% of his party's primary votes.

References

  1. ↑ Keyes in Nice Guys Finish Seventh: False Phrases, Spurious Sayings, and Familiar Misquotations, p. 13.
  2. ↑ John F. Marszalek in Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara, California: 2002, ABC-CLIO. ISBN   1-57607-382-3, p. 1769.
  3. ↑ "March 31, 1968: Remarks on Decision not to Seek Re-Election". October 20, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  4. ↑ Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1994). No Ordinary Time. Simon & Schuster. p. 524. ISBN   9780684804484.
  5. ↑ Pusey, Merlo J. (1956). Eisenhower, the President. Macmillan. pp. 1–4.
  6. ↑ Powell, Michael (April 18, 2009). "The Wits of Washington, Amateur Variety". The New York Times . Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Interview of the Vice President by Sean Hannity, The Sean Hannity Show". October 24, 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  8. ↑ Mark Niquette. "Gov. Strickland endorses Hillary Clinton for president". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  9. ↑ The Washington Post : Strickland Takes Himself Out of the Vice Presidential Running Archived May 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Generally Speaking". The New York Times. April 6, 2008.
  11. ↑ Paul Kane (April 12, 2016). "Paul Ryan delivers Shermanesque rejection of running for president". Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Salmond launches leadership bid". BBC . July 15, 2004. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  13. ↑ Christopher Cousins (March 23, 2015). "UPDATE: King continues attack on LePage, says 'I will not run' for governor". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.