Why hasn't Jay Rockefeller ever run for President?

[Dookus]

He seems to have it all - money, looks, a great American name, articulate.....

How come he's never tried for more than Senator?

[Rowdyboy]

1. I've often wondered the same thing

He's never even been seriously mentioned as a potential candidate or VP. Maybe he's just not interested. He'd certainly be a natural.

[lcordero]

2. dubious family history

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45b/030.html

People have really long memories about the Rockefeller family

[Dookus]

4. I don't think so...

Uncle Nelson did OK for himself.

I really don't think people will blame Jay Rockefeller for the sins of his great-grandfather.

[NewJeffCT]

6. True

Not enough people blamed * for his Grandfather arming the Nazi war machine in the 30s and 40s for him to lose by much...

[Dookus]

9. Nor should they...

can't we judge people on their own accomplishments instead of the actions of their ancestors?

[kskiska]

11. Uncle Nelson was denied the presidency

because he was divorced. Oddly enough, though, just a few years later, Ronnie Raygun, twice-married, was elected by the same party.

Uncle Nelson had his Bill Clinton moments, too, though he wasn't exposed until he died – in the saddle, of a heart attack. The young girl he was with, Megan Marshak, panicked and instead of calling for medical help, called friends, trying to figure out what to do. It wasn't as big a scandal as it would be today, because the family hushed it up and the girl faded into obscurity.

[Dookus]

12. I lived in New York at that time, and well remember it....

the circumstances surrounding Nelson's death were pretty widely known.

It was a scandal, but at that point, the man was dead and left a widow, so there was some decorum about it.

[kskiska]

14. I lived up there then, too

in the Connecticut suburbs. It was a big story in the tabloids, but Happy Rockefeller maintained her dignity and the media wasn't what it is today.

[Dookus]

15. Yup...

times sure have changed, haven't they? I'm not sure we're better off with a ravenous press. It's a tough issue - public figures are "fair game", but it was sorta nice not to have non-relevant personal facts about them raised constantly.

[Punkingal]

3. I have often wondered that, Dookus.

I have always liked him so much. The fact that he went to WV to work when he was very young, on some social program, I think, and fell in love with the people there and wanted to help them is one of the best political stories I have ever heard.

[cryofan]

5. umm...plutocrat Robber Barons are not really "great" for everyday citizens

I saw him on a news shows yesterday. Pretty good guy. But his family history counts him out for me.....

[Dookus]

7. LOL...

His great grandfather was a robber baron, so nothing can redeem Jay? That doesn't make sense to me.

[surfermaw]

8. He is shy

I think part of the reason is he knows memories of his family hurts, and then again I think he is shy, stays behind the scene and helps other candidates.. He may have helped Carter, not sure of that, and probably Bill Clinton

[DU9598]

10. 1992

He was set to run in 1992. At the time Bush was really popular and Sen. Harkin was fond of saying that he was so excited that an Iowa farm boy could run with the likes of King George Herbert Walker Bush and a Rockefeller. Sen. Rockefeller apparently said those words made him shy away from a run. It was more than likely Bush's then-popularity.

[kskiska]

13. Rockefeller's wife, Sharon, was a twin

She's a daughter of Illinois Senator Charles Percy. An intruder killed her sister Valerie when they were teenagers in 1966. I don't think the case was ever solved.