Warts and all
Ken Odor
Apr 17, 2008

The John Adams miniseries on HBO should serve as a reminder to us to judge the current candidates on their records, their positions on policy and their personal histories, not just their appearance or rhetoric.

In case you’re watching the “John Adams” series on TV:

The most recent episode last Sunday evening was perhaps the hardest to watch, with Adams, the second president of the United States, nearing the end of his single term.

Beset on all sides by factions, he was determined to keep the U.S. out of a war with France, the former ally without which the country would have never achieved independence.

It’s an interesting series, not only because much of it was filmed here in Virginia, some in Mechanicsville.

For some of us, it reminds how much we’ve forgotten about American history from our days in school, assuming we paid attention back then in the first place.

For those concerned about civil liberties and those of us in the press, Sunday’s episode was particularly interesting, as it showed Adams wrestling with the question of whether to sign the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were meant to stifle criticism of the government in that difficult period.

Sign them he did, an act that no president would contemplate doing today, nor would any congress send such bills to a president, one hopes.

Also striking was the recreation of the early days of Washington, D.C. being carved out of the woods on the banks of the Potomac, and the dismal picture it presented as the first president to live there (Adams) and the first lady arrive.

Thomas Jefferson comes off as not quite so grand a figure in the series as we think of him now here in the Old Dominion. Alexander Hamilton, who most historians credit with solving the early financial problems of the country, is portrayed as an egotist, in the latest episode concerned with designing nifty uniforms for the army, of which he was second in command during Adams’ administration.

Maybe it’s useful to see these historic figures portrayed warts and all, so we’ll be reminded that all of them were human, just like us, and just like the three individuals who aspire to the nation’s highest office this November.

And talk about negative campaigning, Hamilton’s pamphlet criticizing Adams (as toothless, for one thing) sure beats any mudslinging heard so far in the current campaign!

Yep, people, just like us.

A little (or a lot) more ambitious, or driven perhaps, but subject to the same weaknesses and faults as the rest of us.

Something to keep in mind when appraising the current crop of candidates.

The John Adams series should serve as a reminder to us to judge the current candidates on their records, their positions on policy and their personal histories, not just their appearance or rhetoric.

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