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By Sarah Hogue 
The 'dark horse' presidential candidate is given the ability to be completely straight forward and honest with the American people unlike most mainstream presidential hopefuls. As a result, the 'dark horse' has proven to be successful in the past because of this appeal to the average American citizen.
The American people have had an infatuation with the 'dark horse' candidate since the ratification of the Constitution. In total, there have been eight 'dark horse' presidential candidates that were eventually elected into office. Among these included James Garfield, Warren Harding, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, James Knox Polk, and Abraham Lincoln.
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"Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich may be
farthest apart on the spectrum of politics, but they truly are not so different." |
In the year 1860, when parties were divided regarding the issue of states rights' among other things, a 'dark horse' candidate was selected by the Republican Party to run for the office of President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln then won the general election and made his mark as one of the most famous dark horse candidates as President of the United States. As a 'dark horse,' Honest Abe was able to be truthful with the American people regarding his views with very little political pressure and correctness. Although he eventually did win with only forty percent of the vote, he was able to share his honest opinion and be straight forward with the people during his campaign as well as in office. He was beloved as a President and held this nation together during one of its darkest times.
Just a little before Lincoln's time, James Knox Polk, the candidate with which the term 'dark horse' originated, was also given the ability to speak his mind about the issues at hand during a presidential race. As a result, another great President in American history was elected into office. During his entire four years as President, Polk took less than a week of vacation and annexed more land for the United States than any other President, including Thomas Jefferson.
As can be seen from these examples, there is a significant pattern that a dark horse presidential candidate seems to follow in comparison to a more mainstream presidential candidate. President Lincoln and President Polk answered questions honestly about how they saw the issues, with very little political pressure, merely because they weren't expected to win. Similarly, in the 2008 presidential race, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich also have this same privilege. Kucinich and Paul can speak their minds and share their opinions with the American people because they can get away with it. They are considered to be the extremists of the presidential hopefuls and thus, their words are not under the constant scrutiny that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney experience.
Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich may be farthest apart on the spectrum of politics, but they truly are not so different. Both of these candidates see injustices being implemented in our country and around the world and they attempt to mend it in the best way they know how to do it. These resulting policies from each candidate, however, may differ greatly as Paul wants to see a future where government has little involvement with the everyday lives of its' citizens and Kucinich wants more government involvement in environmental protection issues and health care issues--two sides of the coin.
During every presidential debate, there are few hopefuls that answer questions directly. However, there are a few who do, and of these few, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich answer their questions directly and with conviction while others must play the political game and side step the question at hand. The appeal of the 'dark horse' candidate is because of this allowed honesty with the American people. A paraphrase of Joe Biden is that at the end of the day, the American people only care about their own trouble such as how the mortgage will be paid. Something that Mr. Biden did not say, but needed to add was that most Americans simply want a leader to answer them honestly without fear of politics getting in the way. This is why history has shown that the 'dark horse' appeals to the American voters.
References:
"The Dark Horse." 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_horse
"James K. Polk." 2007. http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jp11.html
"Abraham Lincoln." 2007. http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html
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