Does Bill Clinton have Ben Franklin's mystique?

Benjamin Franklin, whose 300th birthday several weeks ago is prompting exhibits, documentaries and events in Philadelphia and beyond, is such a celebrated national figure because his life was characterized by a quintessentially American combination of substance and style, says Gerald Wilson, history professor at Duke University, Durham, N.C. Franklin embodied the virtues popularly attributed to Americans: the entrepreneurial spirit of a self-made publisher, a pragmatic approach to science that produced the lightning rod and bifocals, and practical wisdom doled out in Poor Richard's Almanac.

"There was a great deal of substance there, but it was also well-packaged," explains Wilson, the senior associate dean of Duke's Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. He points to the writing in Poor Richard's Almanac--"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise"--as an early example of an American style that later would be exemplified through author Mark Twain's wit.

In contrast, Wilson notes that fellow Founding Father John Adams, the nation's second president, was "a man of a lot of substance, but he didn't know how to promote himself and so he doesn't have quite the mystique of Franklin." (Adams, who is due for his 300th birthday in 2035, is left off today's currency, while Franklin's visage graces the $100 bill.)

One contemporary public figure to whom Wilson compares Franklin in some respects is former Pres. Bill Clinton. "They both have a rags-to-riches story and knew how to market themselves. And I believe Clinton will leave a substantial political legacy, as Franklin did. Unfortunately, he also very much had the zipper problem Franklin had," concludes Wilson, alluding to their reputations as ladies' men.

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