Politics & Power Quote by George Smathers

A politician’s compliment that lands like a slap: Smathers turns the language of democratic choice into a tidy act of exclusion. “You’d have to vote” mimics the voice of the reasonable citizen, as if this is simply what any sane electorate would decide. Then comes the punchline structure: “Jack No. 1.” It’s ranking, but in reverse - a hit list posed as a ballot.

The intent is tactical. Smathers isn’t arguing policy; he’s narrating viability. In American politics, being “presidential” is its own credential, often stronger than experience or ideas. Calling someone “least likely” is a way to drain donors, stall momentum, and invite the press to treat a candidacy as a curiosity rather than a threat. It’s reputational sabotage with a grin.

The subtext is insider baseball: Jack (almost certainly a Kennedyesque figure in that era’s shorthand) is being framed as an upstart or a lightweight, someone whose charm reads as unseriousness to party gatekeepers. Smathers, a Florida power broker and Cold War-era Democrat, came out of a machine politics tradition that prized discipline, hierarchy, and regional alliances. His quip signals who gets to be “credible” and who doesn’t, while pretending the voters are the ones making the call.

Context matters because this is pre-TV-omniscience political culture, where a well-placed line could travel through papers and cocktail circuits as a permission slip: you’re allowed to dismiss this guy. The humor isn’t decorative; it’s the weapon.