November/December 2008
Bookshelf
John R. MacArthur ’78 Explains Why You Can’t Be President
By Laura Butchy ’04 Arts
Many who follow American politics consider 2008 an extraordinary year in Presidential politics. This magazine went to print before the result of the general election was known, but the country was set to make history by electing either an African-American President or a female Vice President. To some, the Presidency seemed more accessible than ever before in American history.
Not so, argues John R. MacArthur ’78 in his book, You Can’t Be President: The Outrageous Barriers to Democracy in America (Melville House, $15.95). “The greatest obstacles to popular participation in democracy are the Republican and Democratic parties, even more than money,” MacArthur says. “When the two parties decide they don’t want a newcomer, they join forces to oppose them.”
In the book, MacArthur illustrates his point with the example of the 2006 Ned Lamont/Joseph Lieberman contest for the Connecticut senate. Lamont, a political outsider, was wealthy enough to support his own candidacy and won the primary. Nevertheless, MacArthur details how Democratic Party insiders supported the incumbent Lieberman in his run as an independent rather than the popular Lamont, as well as how the Republican Party shifted its weight to Lieberman in order to keep his pro-war vote in the senate. In the general election, MacArthur documents, Lieberman won, carrying 70 percent of the Republican vote and 33 percent of the Democratic vote.
Filling the book with detailed examples, MacArthur examines the obstacles barring outsiders from running for political office, including the two-party system, the cost of campaigns and the unspoken requirement that candidates be insiders from Ivy League schools.
“I can’t say the system is locked up 100 percent,” MacArthur adds. “People sneak in. Obama reflects real dissatisfaction from most people in the Democratic party, but he is sponsored by the regular Democratic organizations. He is not a guy coming from nowhere, not an amateur.”
John R. MacArthur ’78 In addition to discussing Lamont and the candidacies of Ralph Nader, MacArthur explores local politics. In one chapter, he tells the story of Conni Harding, a resident of Portsmouth, R.I., who led a successful campaign to prevent Target from building a store on her street.
“I put that chapter in deliberately to give people a sense of hope,” MacArthur says. “You don’t have to focus on party politics to be involved. You can, with some initiative and courage, take some control over your town or city. In Portsmouth, the interests of the many overcame the interests of the few.”
The book’s blend of historical analysis and investigative reporting combines MacArthur’s strong backgrounds in both. He grew up in Winnetka, Ill., but was born in New York City. His French mother learned English at Columbia, so the school always held a certain romance for him. Planning to major in history, MacArthur went to campus for an interview and attended a class, which sealed the deal. Recalling his days on Morningside Heights, he remembers the influence of great history teachers Jim Shenton ’49 (also his adviser), Robert Paxton and Peter Onuf.
After MacArthur missed a Spectator recruitment session, arriving late, he was individually inspired to join by managing editor David Smith ’75, now at The New York Times. “It was romantic, the idea of doing good, making trouble for the powerful, doing your constitutional duty and having fun at the same time,” MacArthur says. Spectator quickly took over his life, as he worked his way up to news editor.
After graduation, MacArthur was a reporter in Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Chicago before returning to New York in 1982 as assistant foreign editor at United Press International. After organizing the rescue of Harper’s Magazine with his father through the MacArthur Foundation in 1980, he became its publisher in 1983. In his 25 years leading the publication to numerous awards, MacArthur has continued to write for a variety of newspapers and magazines and has authored two other books.
He has stayed connected to classmates and professors while living in New York City with his wife and two daughters. MacArthur helped with his 25th reunion and was a co-chair of the 2007 John Jay Awards Dinner, which honored five alumni, including Eric Foner ’63, who helped MacArthur with background information for You Can’t Be President.
In the book’s introduction, MacArthur writes that he hopes to contribute to a democratic revival. When asked what it will take to prompt such an awakening, he says, “Part of it is going to be disillusionment: Either (1) McCain wins and people are disillusioned, or (2) Obama wins and people are disappointed when he doesn’t reform Washington, which is highly unlikely, given his record.
“I agree with McCarthy that we need a third party, desperately. Then maybe we could have a fourth and fifth party, too.”