On Straussians and Statesmen (Part 2)

I asked two political philosopher friends about this question last night at dinner.

One suggested that the Straussian emphasis on statesmen is connected to their interest in foundings (as opposed to a sort of Kirkean focus on the continuity of tradition). Statesmen, then, are partially restrained by their historical circumstances, but also free to affect the circumstances.

The other suggested two reasons for the Straussian interest in statesmen. First, the statesman is consistent with Plato's model for politics in The Republic as the way to work within the existing political order without overturning it, but also without conceding to historical forces. Second, there is the separation between the elites and the masses--the statesman appeals to the masses through rhetoric.