A Political Asset?

In politics these days, image is everything. But "Spin Control 101" has yet to appear in Harvard's course catalogue. So what's an alumnus with political aspirations to do?

On the one hand, being affiliated with an institution that is reputedly elitist, exclusive, ultra-liberal and an integral part of the Eastern establishment could prevent a candidate from ingratiating himself with the masses.

On the other hand, having attended the world's premier university is a significant achievement and might help establish legitimacy in the eyes of voters.

"The Harvard name is equivalent to George W. Bush's cowboy boots," says Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles. "That is, the school's moniker is doffed or donned according to whether the candidate wants to appear folksy or polished."

Sorry; I Went to Harvard

The question of whether to trumpet or downplay one's Harvard ties when running for office comes up "all the time," according to Professor Philip R. Sharp of the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Mickey Edwards, who represented Oklahoma in Congress for 16 years and now teaches a course on election strategies and organization at the Kennedy School, repeated his advice to Harvard students eyeing a run.

"I would certainly not make a big thing [out of having attended the University], and I'd hope that voters never noticed it," Edwards said.

"Voters want to know you're from their environment, that you're one of them and didn't go off to be an elitist," he explained.

Friends from Harvard might comprise a formidable network for fundraising and advising, but in cultivating school ties, a candidate must take care not to appear aloof to the voters at home.

James A. Barnes, a political correspondent for the National Journal magazine in Washington, articulated this potential pitfall.

"There's an important and powerful network that you're exposed to when you've gone to Harvard," Barnes said. "[But] populism is probably better in campaigning than claiming oneself to be a product of the establishment."

"Harvard is considered part of the elite establishment; quite often people think it's out of touch with the views and experiences of most Americans," Barnes added.

Classmates vs. Neighbors

Illustrating the need to connect with constituents, Edwards offered the example of David Boren, a Yale graduate and Rhodes Scholar who attended the University of Oklahoma's law school before winning a seat on the United States Senate.

But aspirants cultivating an "everyman" image must avoid appearing too much like the guy next store.

George F. Will, a syndicated columnist who has taught as a visiting lecturer in the Government Department, suggested another dimension to the challenge of a candidate from Harvard.

"Although Americans say they want average guys, they really don't," Will said. "Voters want superior people with the common touch. No one really wants to be governed by his next-door neighbor."

Will cited the example of former President Jimmy Carter, who appealed to citizens as a down-home, peanut farmer. But while Carter certainly emphasized his agrarian roots, he was also known as a nuclear engineer and graduate of the elite Naval Academy.

Vice President Al Gore Jr. '69 appears to be employing a modified version of Carter's approach. Eager to reminisce about his days as a farmer in Tennessee, Gore has been noticeably reticent about his prep school and Harvard education.

Brains and Bucks

Whether a candidate flaunts or hides his Harvard credentials in public, the Harvard connection can provide a major boost to a campaign operation behind the scenes.

Rep. James H. Maloney III '70 (D-Conn.), who was elected in 1996, confirmed that a University network exists, at least in national politics.

Once a year, Maloney said, Harvard graduates serving in Congress are invited to a cocktail reception in Washington.

David Broder, a political analyst and senior Washington Post correspondent, suggested that the network extends beyond Washington and includes not only office-holders but also advisers and strategists.

"Gore has a big Harvard network, starting with Elaine Kamarck at the Kennedy School," Broder said.

Kamarck, a KSG lecturer in public policy, played a leading role in the vice president's "Reinventing Government Initiative," launched during President Clinton's first term. She is now a senior domestic policy adviser to the Gore campaign.

Broder offered a caveat to candidates who rely on Cambridge academics, recalling how former President George Bush successfully attacked his Democratic opponent, former Massachusetts Governor Michael S. Dukakis, in the 1988 race.

Bush criticized Dukakis, who earned his law degree at Harvard, for having a "Harvard, boutique approach to public policy."

But today, even the leading Republican presidential contender, Texas Governor George W. Bush, a Yale College graduate, has assembled a team of Harvard-trained advisers.

According to Barnes, these alumni play an important behind-the-scenes role for Bush, who also holds a graduate degree from Harvard Business School (HBS).

Barnes counted Alan B. Hubbard, who met Bush at HBS and is now a wealthy entrepreneur in Indianapolis; Lawrence Lindsay, a former Harvard economics professor; and Bob Zoellick, who holds dual graduate degrees from the University, among Bush's top advisers.

Arguably, the preponderance of Harvard scholars on Bush's team will not hurt the candidate. After all, he also has a raft of advisers from his native Texas and from the conservative Hoover Institute at Stanford University in California.

Will said Bush will not be susceptible to the kind of attacks his father employed against Dukakis because of his solid foundation in the Longhorn State.

"Bush went from Yale to oil exploration in Texas, and before Yale he attended Texas [elementary and secondary] schools," Will said, verifying the frontrunner's local credentials.

The Harvard Lure in Lore

Bush's cross-country odyssey-- from Texas to the Ivy League and back--bears a certain resemblance to the migration of Theodore Roosevelt, Class of 1880, the first Harvard man to win the presidency in this century.

Like Bush, Roosevelt fled from the East after completing his studies.

"Teddy went from Harvard to the badlands; he was a cowboy and a rough rider and a police commissioner," Will said.

"He went out of his way to shed any idea of the effete Easterner," he added.

The next Roosevelt and Harvard alumnus to occupy the Oval Office "was regarded as a traitor to his class," according to Will.

In spite of his patrician background and private-school education, Franklin D. Roosevelt '04, who was also president of The Crimson, had no trouble reaching out to the common man.

Where the Roosevelts risked being branded elitists by going to Harvard, Will said John F. Kennedy '40 derived needed legitimacy from his affiliation with the school.

"His connection to the University gave John Kennedy a certain cache, particularly when he was running for Congress," Will said. "He was able to meld his Brahmin schooling with the ethnic Irish element of his background."

After ascending to the presidency, Kennedy, who was also a Crimson editor, recruited a number of Harvard scholars, notably Warburg Professor of Economics Emeritus John Kenneth Galbraith and Robert S. McNamara, into his administration.

But, according to Will, it was actually President Richard M. Nixon, "with his chronic insecurities and resentments, who did the most to bring professors to power."

Nixon, who did not attend Harvard, had "a kind of a love-hate relationship with the school," Will said.

Pundits, professors and politicians agreed that today, the University's role in the nation's political life is less significant than it was in the late 1960s, when many Americans believed the architects of the Vietnam War came from academe.

A Gown Without a Town?

Even if Harvard no longer looms quite so large on the national stage, it remains a presence locally. Every year, the College graduates hundreds of future office-seekers, many of whom settle permanently in Massachusetts.

Despite Edwards' claim that Harvard is "not a local school, not even for people from Cambridge," Mayor Francis H. Duehay '55, now in his 14th term on the Cambridge City Council and his third term as the city's chief, believes his connection to the University contributed to his political rise.

"I have three degrees from Harvard," Duehay said, "and there are a tremendous number of Harvard affiliates in Cambridge."

Duehay believes he has benefited overall from his alma mater, even though his political opponents have often criticized the school.

"Harvard has been a convenient whipping post for candidates," Duehay said. "They blame it for all the evils of the world."

"Actually, like a lot of big institutions, it has both helped and been responsible for problems in the city," the mayor added.

Similarly, Rep. Barney Frank '61, (D-Mass.), who attended the College and HLS, said his Harvard education has served him well in politics - at least at the local level.

"When I first ran for office, I ran in Back Bay, Beacon Hill," Frank said. "Harvard was highly regarded there, and the fact that I had graduated from there helped a little bit."

But Frank said his academic credentials ceased being relevant to his political career after this first victory.

According to Frank, once a legislator has a record to run on, voters no longer pay attention to where he or she went to school.

Frank's colleague in the House, Connecticut's Maloney, suggested that Harvard degrees attract less notice in the East than they do in other parts of the country.

Still, alumni seeking office outside New England have nonetheless been known to make use of their Harvard ties.

Mel Levine, who graduated from HLS in 1969 and represented California in the U.S. House for five terms, recalled that having gone to Harvard helped him win his first race, a California State Assembly election.

"I ran from a fairly well-educated district, and I felt it was a plus to have had a Harvard education," Levine said.

In 1992, Levine lost the Democratic primary to Barbara Boxer in his first and only bid for the Senate.

"One of the more gratifying parts of my unsuccessful campaign was the huge number of my classmates who contributed," Levine said. "Losing effort though it was, it was not for lack of effort from my HLS classmates."