George Stephanopoulos rose from humble beginnings to a political advisor in the White House for more than five years. It took a lot of thought and many decisions but he proved that with the right moves, you can go places in life. Only through many risks and experiencing new things can a person hope to achieve great things. After serving under a few insignificant congresspeople for a number of years, George was offered to be Dick Gephardt's (the majority leader of the house) floor man in 1988. This endeavor was much different from interning for a few congresspeople, and he reflects: "In my old job with Feighan, our successes had been satisfying but small, like successfully petitioning for the release of a political prisoner. With Gephardt, I would get the chance to help set a national agenda for the Democratic Party, to figure out how to blunt Bush initiatives and force Bush vetoes" (22). The simile that Stephanopoulos makes while comparing the two campaigns stresses the fact that he was able to have a whole other political experience. It also illustrates him slowly climbing the ladder toward higher opportunities. You will not always be given the next step, however. George took a huge risk when he decided to run with the Clinton campaign in the 92 election, he was not expected at all to win the nomination. He talks about his choice in an interesting manner by saying: "That evening I felt pulled in different difections. The idea of Kerrey was still appealing, and I thought he had the better chance to win. But compared to Clinton, the man I had encountered was distant and unfocused. He didn't seem to know what he would do as president, and his team didn't seem as enthusiastic about having me on board. Clinton was more impressive up close, smart and ready" (30). George was going on a big hunch when he eventually decided to go with Clinton because of his charming personality and readiness. This proves that you cannot just wait around for life to hand you upgrades, you have to make them yourself.
Work Cited:
Stephanopoulos, George. All Too Human. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1999.
I couldnt underline "All Too Human" for some reason, and the citing may look wrong but I did it right while writing the post.
2 comments:
I think being in a the whitehouse would be very interesting. I always say I'd never do it but everytime I say I wouldn't I contradict myself and say that maybe I would. The concept of helping steer the country boasts much desire for me especially because every president and representative we've had is some air-head. Also as you've read Campbell life in the white house is extremely demanding. On top of that you never can make up your mind right away. If you're good at your job anyway...
I agree with Justin and in fact I have been inside the white house becasue my aunts freind worked there and let us look around and it was awesome, but thats beside the point. Knowing that I could help control 300 million people or more just by a single decision would really affect me.
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