Mark Twain Likes to Talk
I came across a quote from Mark Twain today that confused me a little;
"I was a mugwump. We, the mugwumps, a little company made up of the unenslaved of both parties, the very best men to be found in the two great parties-that was our idea of it-voted sixty thousand strong for Mr. Cleveland in New York and elected him. Our principles were high, and very definite. We were not a party; we had no candidates; we had no axes to grind. Our vote laid upon the man we cast it for no obligation of any kind. By our rule we could not ask for office; we could not accept office. When voting, it was our duty to vote for the best man, regardless of his party name. We had no other creed. Vote for the best man-that was creed enough. - Mark Twain’s Autobiography (North American Review, Dec. 21, 1906)"
What I'm really curious about is how they determined who the best man was. Most fit for the job, physically and mentally? Largest breadth of experience? Most able to meet the specific challenges of the day? So many of these definitions of "best" are just a spiral back into personal opinion. It's a very noble goal, trying to vote for the man who'll do the best job, but it seems like an ideal that someone would trot out without realizing how complicated what they were really asking for really was.
"I was a mugwump. We, the mugwumps, a little company made up of the unenslaved of both parties, the very best men to be found in the two great parties-that was our idea of it-voted sixty thousand strong for Mr. Cleveland in New York and elected him. Our principles were high, and very definite. We were not a party; we had no candidates; we had no axes to grind. Our vote laid upon the man we cast it for no obligation of any kind. By our rule we could not ask for office; we could not accept office. When voting, it was our duty to vote for the best man, regardless of his party name. We had no other creed. Vote for the best man-that was creed enough. - Mark Twain’s Autobiography (North American Review, Dec. 21, 1906)"
What I'm really curious about is how they determined who the best man was. Most fit for the job, physically and mentally? Largest breadth of experience? Most able to meet the specific challenges of the day? So many of these definitions of "best" are just a spiral back into personal opinion. It's a very noble goal, trying to vote for the man who'll do the best job, but it seems like an ideal that someone would trot out without realizing how complicated what they were really asking for really was.