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“Politics, just as economic pursuits, may be a man's avocation or his vocation. One may engage in politics, and hence seek to influence the distribution of power within and between political structures, as an 'occasional' politician… Politics as an avocation is today practiced by all those party agents and heads of voluntary political associations who, as a rule, are politically active only in case of need and for whom politics is, neither materially nor ideally, 'their life' in the first place…
There are two ways of making politics one's vocation: Either one lives 'for' politics or one lives 'off' politics. By no means is this contrast an exclusive one. The rule is, rather, that man does both, at least in thought, and certainly he also does both in practice. He who lives 'for' politics makes politics his life, in an internal sense. Either he enjoys the naked possession of the power he exerts, or he nourishes his inner balance and self-feeling by the consciousness that his life has meaning in the service of a 'cause.' In this internal sense, every sincere man who lives for a cause also lives off this cause. The distinction hence refers to a much more substantial aspect of the matter, namely, to the economic. He who strives to make politics a permanent source of income lives 'off' politics as a vocation, whereas he who does not do this lives 'for' politics. Under the dominance of the private property order, some--if you wish-- very trivial preconditions must exist in order for a person to be able to live 'for' politics in this economic sense. Under normal conditions, the politician must be economically independent of the income politics can bring him. This means, quite simply, that the politician must be wealthy or must have a personal position in life which yields a sufficient income.”German sociologist Max Weber, in his paper Politik als Beruf (Politics as a Vocation), January 1919
Weber summed up everything almost perfectly, and there’s hardly anything more to add, apart from two obvious points:
• A politician with an established career prior to entering the realm of politics, potentially possesses an array of unique skill sets, world views and a sectoral network.
• A career politician meanwhile, has the advantage of an established legislative, executive and community network, as well as a sharpened political sense and an understanding of how to work the system.
So the question is, which of the two would make a better president in real life? Alternatively, should we be looking at a combination of both instead?
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Declared 2012 Democratic Presidential Candidate
Current President of the United States
Barack Obama
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Obama Career
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Obama’s first official job was as a financial writer for a New York-based international consulting
firm, Business International Corporation. He joined the firm soon after graduating from Columbia
University in 1985.
Less than two years later, Obama moved to South Side, Chicago, to take up the position of Director
for the Developing Communities Project in Roseland and Altgeld Gardens in Chicago’s South Side, a
church-based social action group dedicated towards enhancing the living conditions of people in the
outlying neighborhoods. His responsibilities ranged from the mundane, day-to-day support service
(utilities, regulatory, legal, employment), to those involving organizing and developing outreach
and educational programs for the community.
While studying in Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Obama worked as a summer associate
in the law firms of Sidley & Austin and Hopkins & Sutter (now known as Foley & Lardner).
After graduation, he returned to Chicago and practiced civil rights law with Davis, Miner, Barnhill
& Galland. He was attached to the firm from 1992 until 2004. In the same period, he also taught at
the University of Chicago Law School on the subject of constitutional law.
Obama at the University of Chicago
He took his first step into politics by heading the Illinois Project VOTE, a Clinton-campaign
sponsored voter-registration initiative. Under his leadership, the program managed to successfully
register over 150,000 new voters in 1992. His next foray into politics came four years later when he
ran for and won the Illinois 13th District State Senate seat. He repeated the feat in 1998 by
defeating Republican Yesse Yehudah, securing an incredible 89% of the votes in the election.
In 2000, Obama made a step up and attempted to contest the House of Representatives seat of Illinois
District 1. He was, however, soundly beaten in the Democratic primary by the incumbent Bobby Rush,
losing by a huge 30.67 points. Rush has the distinction of being the only candidate to defeat Obama
in an election for public office. Obama remains unfazed and regrouped to defend his State Senate
seat in 2002, winning unopposed.
In 2004, Obama, who has risen to the chairmanship of the Illinois Senate's Public Health and Welfare
Committee, made another attempt for national office. He won the Illinois Senate seat after routing
his Republican challenger, Alan Keyes, in November 2004 by winning 70% of the votes. His victory is
widely credited to an acclaimed keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston that
year. He was sworn as US Senator on January 4, 2005.
Amidst a breakneck senatorial career that saw him either sponsoring or co-sponsoring a total of 627
bills, Senator Obama announced that he was running for president of the United States on February
10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. Obama was officially unveiled as the Democratic nominee on
August 2008 after a closely fought primary battle with fellow nominee Hillary.
In the 2008 Presidential Election, Obama, with Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate,
comprehensively defeated Republican John McCain by winning 365 electoral votes to his opponent’s
173. Obama was inaugurated as the President of the United States of America on January 20, 2009.
More on Barack Obama
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Declared 2012 Democratic Presidential Candidate
Pro-life Activist
Randall Terry
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Terry Career
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1986-90: Founder and Director of Operation Rescue
More on Randall Terry
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