Published: November 29, 2006 03:50 pm      

State sees young men 'in a hurry'

EDMOND — Peggy Noonan served as a speechwriter in the Reagan and first Bush administrations and later wrote an account of her experience titled “What I Saw At the Revolution.” Noonan occupied an office in the executive office building that is directly across from the White House. She recounts how individuals who had her office in previous administrations often would return and reminisce fondly about their experiences and the presidents they served.

One elderly individual who came for that purpose advised her he had had her office in the Eisenhower administration, and he had been told by the man who had come to visit him who had the office in the Truman presidency that during the Wilson administration it had been the office of the assistant secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was said to occasionally have been seen looking at the White House.

A somewhat similar phenomena can be observed in the Oklahoma State Capital where elderly men who served in the Oklahoma Legislature in previous decades occasionally can be seen outside of the offices they once occupied. Those visitors also can often be observed with family members in front of the photos of the members of previous Legislatures that adorn the walls of the legislative halls telling their companions about their experiences and the legislators they served with.

A photo taken after the swearing in of the members of the Legislature that will convene in February also may in time serve as a memento of Oklahoma’s legislative history. The photo, which is being circulated throughout the state by Democratic Party activists via e-mail, features four seemingly confident young men under the age of 40 — John Sparks from Norman, Tom Ivestor from Sayre, Sean Burrage from Claremore and Andrew Rice from Oklahoma City, who will serve as Democratic state senators in the upcoming session.

They all succeeded long-serving Democratic state senators who were legislative leaders retired in accordance with the term limitations imposed on Oklahoma legislators. They will bring renewed vigor and enthusiasm to the Senate’s Democratic Caucus.

Rice reports they all share a commitment to increasing all Oklahomans’ access to health care at affordable costs and working to increase wages and bringing well-paying jobs to the state. They also share a commitment to improving all levels of education in Oklahoma.

During their campaigns for office, these individuals made it clear they each have a commitment to policies and programs that will assist middle class and working people in the state. The state Senate they will serve in will be equally divided among Republican and Democratic members and they will have to contend with a Republican-controlled House. Rice said he and his fellow Democratic freshmen will work with any and all parties to enact measures that will improve the lives of the people of Oklahoma.

Author Ted Morgan saw fit to title the first volume of his biography of Winston Churchill “Young Man in a Hurry” in recognition of the passion that Churchill brought to his first years in the British Parliament. Some observers believe in time similar observations may be made about Messrs. Sparks, Ivestor, Burrage and Rice.

Those young men should recall the advice that Churchill gave to young people who were contemplating a career in public office: “You will make all kinds of mistakes, but as long as you are generous and true and also fierce you cannot hurt the world or even seriously distress her.”