The Sherman Pledge is a statement made by someone being considered for political office that they have no intention of running and will avoid it. It originated from General William Tecumseh Sherman’s declaration in 1884. Many politicians have used variations of the pledge, including Al Gore and Michael Bloomberg. President Lyndon Johnson and Vice President Dick Cheney also made similar pledges.
The Sherman pledge, Shermanesque speech, or Sherman speech is a statement by someone being considered for political office that they have no intention of running for political office and will do everything in their power to avoid running. In other words, they’ll be running for the hills rather than the office. The declaration is derived from General William Tecumseh Sherman, one of the great figures of the American Civil War, who declared his intention not to accept any nominations for the presidency in 1884. His pledge, which was later referred to as the Sherman Pledge is as follows: If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve.”
Since Sherman’s initial pledge, there have been many proposed candidates who have invoked similar pledges, declaring their intention not to seek re-election or attempt to convince anyone who could nominate them for office that they weren’t interested. Perhaps one of the most frustrating of these, especially for Democrats in the United States, is Al Gore’s lack of commitment, but also his lack of action in running for president. He’s never actually made a commitment to Sherman, but many are frustrated with his lack of interest in running. Many Democrats felt, however, especially with Gore’s growing popularity and his recent Nobel Peace Prize win, that he would be the better candidate for president. Reporters have repeatedly tried to determine whether he will declare the possibility of running for office in the future or make a Shermanesque speech.
Sometimes politicians use a version of the Sherman Pledge to determine how disappointed people would be if they didn’t run, thus voiding the pledge. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg adopted a variant of the Sherman Pledge in late 2007. On the other hand, news broke in early 2008 that Bloomberg had conducted private polls to determine whether a run for president made sense.
Versions of Sherman’s pledge have been spoken and understood by a variety of people. President Lyndon Johnson has vowed not to seek a second term as president, and Vice President Dick Cheney has pledged not to run for president in 2008. As an incumbent vice president, Cheney would normally have been the natural choice to run for president in 2008 for the Republican Party. The Sherman Pledge of him was an almost direct quotation from General Sherman’s statement.
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