My Platonic Candidate for President

[bklyncowgirl]

Here is my formula for a winning candidate. This list of traits is not in order of importance--except for the first three--which I think are musts. I'm also sure that I've left some things out--it's early in the morning and I'm doing this because I couldn't sleep.


He/She has an enthusiasm for Democracy, the Consititution and a joyous vision of what this country can be.

He/She has a gift for communicating in such a way as to make complex issues simple and a reputation for meaning what he/she says.

He/She has shown over the years a creative approach to problem solving and has a record of achievement in a variety of areas.

He/She is an economic populist, a consistent and vocal critic of trade agreements and tax policies that encourage companies to go offshore and an advocate for a higher minimum wage and workers rights throughout the world as well as at home. He/She seeks to make it easy for companies to do the right thing and make it difficult and expensive to do the wrong thing.

He/She proposes education policies that will bring up education standards, help school districts meet those standards and help students achieve thier educational and career dreams.

He/She advocates a strong but intelligent and consistent foreign/defense policy. It's a plus if He/She actually served his/her country in the military, particularly in time of war or had a valid excuse for not doing so.

He/She proposes hea
lth insurance policies that are effective, easily explained and cannot be easily caricatured by the opposition. A record of having actually done something on this or any issue is a big plus.

He/She puts a high priority on balancing the budget and creating an effective government that uses taxpayers money wisely.

He/She has a record of support for the environment and has practical short term as well as long ideas on how to transition to sustainable energy.

He/She stands for equal rights for all people regardless of race, sex, age or sexual preference.

He/She puts an emphasis on reducing abortions by preventing unwanted pregnancies but is opposed to tampering with Roe V Wade. Ability to speak with some authority on this issue is a big plus.

He/She is a person who walks the walk on family values and morality and can speak with some degree of personal authority on matters of faith and moral choices.

He/She lives a modest (preferably rural) lifestyle and does not seem too far removed from the concerns of the average person or better yet actually comes from a working class background.


The sad thing is, of course, that this dream candidate does not exist. I can see some bits and pieces of real political leaders here (some more than others)

[SilverSeraphim]

1. Keep this handy

Always good to have a list of qualifications around when the applicants come knockin on the door...

[tedoll78]

2. I have a dorkier process for choosing a candidate.

Round One: Supreme Court Nominees

The Supreme Court is my pet issue, since it really isn't one single issue. If an issue is controversial - if an issue could possibly end-up before a judge - it will find its way to the court system. Democrats and Republicans are both very quick to jump to court challenges when nasty laws are passed, or when certain executive orders are issued, or when certain asshole election offcials make totally unfair decisions. With the Supreme Court on our side, we have The Final Word on 99% of the issues - a GREAT insurance policy for when the GOP comes back into power.
So Round One is pretty much an elimination round. I require that a candidate do at least one thing from this list:
1) state that he/she has a litmus test for judges
2) states that Ginsburg/Stevens/Souter/Breyer is his/her favorite judge
3) bashes Thomas, Scalia, or Rehnquist
4) explicitly bashes the crumbling wall between church & state in context of a Supreme Court discussion

If a candidate fails to do one of these things, he/she is eliminated.
If the candidate does one or more of those things, he/she passes to the next round.

===============================================================

Round Two: Electoral Map Math

In this round, I turn to the electoral map hanging on my office wall. I look at where each remaining candidate is from, and whether or not he/she would succeed in turning-out or tilting a particular demographic in our favor. Obviously, candidates from Do-Able Red States or Weak Blue States have an advantage in this round. For a candidate to win this round, he/she must convince me that:
1) he/she can hold-onto the 264EVs of states won by Kerry & Gore;
2) he/she has a pretty good chance at flipping one or more Red States by virtue of home state status or higher demographic turnout.

Basically, it's all about getting to 270EVs in Round Two. I weigh the Red State Conversion Evidence and then rank my top three candidates, in order of my perception of their ability to flip Red States. As the candidates drop from the race, I move down the list.

Pretty simple. It might not be for everyone..

[Eurobabe]

3. We HAD a candidate like this in the primaries

but the media SLAUGHTERED him, because of a couple of newbie mis-steps and because he wasn't BLUE enough for some in the Democratic party.

BTW, this man's favorite philosopher (when asked Aristotle or Plato?) IS Plato.

[tedoll78]

4. :-)

We're on the same page for 2008.

Clark's Arkansas + the Kerry/Gore Blue States = 270EVs.

Just a thought..

[bklyncowgirl]

5. Forgot to mention a willingness to go for the jugular when necessary

My candidate has to be capable of playing on the same field with the Republicans.

[Larry in KC]

6. Wes Clark is that man

When asked by a fellow veteran what he'd do if they questioned his patriotism like they did McCain's in 2000, he said, "I'll beat the shit out of 'em!" On the air, CSPAN. And you've seen some samples of it if you've watched him, smacking down faux reporters and others who try to distort his message.

We were terribly unwise not to nominate Clark in 2004.

We would be FOOLS not to run him in 2008.

In all seriousness, he is a national treasure.

[Name removed]

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