The American Spectator : John McCain and John Donne

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John McCain and John Donne

By Roger Kaplan on 10.31.08 @ 6:08AM

Perspectives on experience and leadership, with some help from Saul Bellow.

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Neither can we call this a begging of misery, or a borrowing of misery, as though we were not miserable enough of ourselves, but must fetch in more from the next house, in taking upon us the misery of our neighbours.

And continued:

Truly it were an excusable covetousness if we did, for affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath enough of it.

Which provoked a joke about someone in search of trouble and then another one about my father's phenomenal literary memory, then a digression on a recent comment by the prime minister about France -- we were in Paris -- not being in a position to take on "toute la misère du monde," immigrants. Though a Socialist, Michel Rocard's background is such that even at his most technocratic (he is an awful orator) and stupid (as when talking about Israel), he reveals his austere Christian roots. Humor and politics having got their due, the two of them returned to the question we had got on to, whether a man untested by affliction could be trusted to do anything -- anything at all, when you think of it.

Donne was in any case describing man's relationship to God, not defining fitness criteria for this or that job or high office. Affliction is treasure, he says, and No man hath affliction enough that is not matured and ripened by it, and made fit for God by that affliction. Maturity, ripeness -- qualities one wants in the president, on whose decisions the Free World's continued freedom largely depends -- are not necessarily functions of age. But one does see them in the devotion a man gives to his calling. Americans are comparing two senators now and thinking, I should hope, less about what each promises to give us right now and here than about what he has given his country. He is going to have to give more in the years ahead, as we will all.

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About the Author

Roger Kaplan, a Washington-based writer, is again reporting from the French Open in Paris this year.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (3) | Leave a comment

martin| 10.31.08 @ 9:41AM

Thanks to Mr. Kaplan for an unexpected interpretation of the value of character and maturity in today's society as compared to the vision of poet John Donne 400 years ago.

A more obvious but equally useful analogy can be found in the tragic plays of Donne's contemporary Shakespeare, in which the character flaws of the great tragic heroes are clearly revealed early on, to be magnified by circumstances into some of the most powerful dramatic scenes in English language theater.

Unfortunately, we have not been presented with a diligent analysis of one candidate's real or potential flaws as suggested by past actions because of the well documented bias of American media.

I don't worry much about one candidate's motivation for any action he might take as President based on his life. And a 72 year old man with his record has nothing to prove.

On the other hand, we know very little beyond the self-written headlines about Obama's life (sans any accomplishments), presented to the public at a cost of about $600 million.

In the unfortunate absence of more information, there is only one Shakespearean hero who compares to the One. Yes, that young intelligent, urbane, self-absorbed, indecisive, pampered prince who never ran anything in his life. Of course, Obama's top advisors Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will be there to help.

Mickey| 10.31.08 @ 11:30AM

A nice explication of Donne's Devotional. Liberals probably think they've suffered enough affliction just by living with the rest of us and being stuck in America.

gregorbo| 10.31.08 @ 1:56PM

Thank you, Mr. Kaplan, for a lyrical essay. It saddens me deeply that our students (who resemble Barack Obama so very much in this regard) know so little. Donne's sense of affliction and man's connection to man reminds me of Ishmael's darkly more cheerful expression of the same at the beginning of Moby Dick: "Who aint a slave? Tell me that. . . .and so the universal thump is passed around and all hands should rub each others’ shoulder blades, and be content."