Johnson on Franklin

"One of the delights of studying American history in the 18th century is that this remarkable polymath, visionary, down-to-earth jack-of-all-trades pops up everywhere.  There were few contemporary pies into which he did not insert a self-seeking finger.  We know a lot about him because he wrote on the best of all autobiographies."  p. 134  Paul Johnson, A History of the American People

Now we have the opposite problem to the one that face us relative to Pocahontas.  Instead of knowing little about her, we know lots about him and his views of himself.  Nonetheless, we don't know everything.  His autobiography, like all examples of the genre, is crafted (perhaps composed as a page of type) to reveal his life as he wants to to be understood.  If it  is also a sort of self-help book, advise for the young American, the book and its author suggest that self-interest and public good can be coordinate goals.  However, he also models a life that is segmented: first the period of direct involvement in his business, then the period of public service. This echoed in my car as I listened to an interview with businesswoman Meg Whitman, a candidate for governor of California.  She has been CEO of e-bay but not politically active.  What, I wondered, would Franklin say about this preparation for government leadership?