"Any son of a bitch that thinks he'd like to be President of the United States ought to try being governor of Pennsylvania for a few years," reads a sign about to be hung on the wall of Gov. Richard L. Thornburgh's Kennedy School office.

The new Director of the Institute of Politics (IOP) is sitting behind his desk on a rainy July day, surrounded by boxes that litter his freshly vacuumed office floor. A small bust of Abraham Lincoln and a picture of Dick, as his friends call him, at the Great Wall of China stand out amongst the debris. Worn books on politics such as "All the President's Men," "The Final Days," "The Brethren," and works by Garry Wills and William Safire stare out from the wall behind him.

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But it is the quotation on the plaque which catches the visitor's eye, reflecting the kind of hardnosed attitude, picked up from years of running for and holding elective office, that Thornburgh brings with him to his new job. Thornburgh is first and foremost a politican, and his background in and love for electoral politics was a prime reason why the K-school hired him.

Criticized by some of its own professors forbeing prejudiced towards management andpolicymaking, the K-School hopes that Thornburghwill bring a new emphasis on electoral politics tothe school. But President Bok and K-School DeanGraham Allison may have picked such a dedicatedpolitician that Thornburgh may practice what hewas hired to teach in the upcoming 1988presidential elections.

However, Thornburgh puts aside recent pressreports about his "testing the waters" for apossible 1988 presidential run, to talk about hisgoals at the IOP with gusto.

A branch of the K-School, the IOP bringsfellows to the School and sponsors events andstudy groups which bring politicians, media, andgovernment officials together with students andfaculty. An organization of undergraduates advisesthe IOP and helps plan events and study groups.

In his first official interview since assumingoffice in the beginning of June, Thornburgh agreedthat the School had become too concentrated on managerial issues and was losing sight of the"real world of politics."

"People who develop skill in policymaking andmanagement tend to ignore electoral politics. Thatis a mistake," says Thornburgh. "It violates arule of nature: a stream can't rise any higherthan its source."

Thornburgh also plans to push two other themesat the K-School that draw on his past experiencesin electoral politics. As the governor ofPennsylvania for eight years, Thornburgh has spentmuch of his political life at the state level,which he feels has been neglected by academics andyoung politicians.

"There is too much concentration on Washingtonhere and not enough on the local and state level,"complains Thornburgh. "The Kennedy School mustensure that appropriate emphasis is devoted todeveloping effective participation in state andlocal government."

As governor, Thornburgh has traveledextensively "all over the globe" meeting foreigndignitaries and especially politicians at levelsof government similar to his own. The study ofgovernment, especially at the state and locallevel, can benefit greatly by examining howpoliticians in other countries handle very similarproblems, he says.

"We can profit considerably with interchangebetween politicians in this country and those inother nations," Thornburgh says.

But Thornburgh's first concern is fulfillinghis mandate to engineer a new emphasis onelectoral politics at Harvard. Because he does nothave any direct influence on courses or professorsat the K-School, Thornburgh's first moves will bemade through the the traditional functions of theIOP.

First, Thornburgh plans to bring more electedpoliticians to the K-School as IOP fellows. Hehopes that exposure to these office-holders willturn the minds of students and faculty throughoutHarvard toward electoral politics.