The Challenge
By PatRacimora on August 1, 2008 at 8:45 PM in Barack Obama, John McCain, Presidential Candidates, Qualifications
Dang! I know I have to vote for one of the two presumptive nominees. But, never has my choice been so difficult. Both candidates give me great pause for concern, and I feel like the DNC has abandoned the party I signed up for years ago.
So, while I was moaning and groaning about having no one I wanted to vote for–unless, of course, the Super Delegates see the light and put Hillary in the race–a very, very wise friend asked me this question:
Forget all about Obama and McCain for a minute. Pretend neither exists. Instead ask yourself what are the 6 most important personal characteristics you would want in a President. Then see what sifts itself out.
Coming up with 6 characteristics was unexpectedly easy. It was refreshing, actually, to focus on a set of ideals instead of identified individuals. But, applying the exercise back to the candidates proved to be more painful than I could have ever imagined.
What would your characteristic choices be? What do you find out about yourself and your choice?
And, where is Hillary Clinton when we need her so badly?
How about NOT A RACIST added to the list
Great job Pat! Both the art and article.
I appreciate your thought provoking posts.
Oblowme has not one characteristic needed for POTUS.
Not being patriotic is a deal killer.
Not only do I believe that Oblowme should have no job with the government -
I think Oblowme should be in a cell with homey
Tony “The Fixer” Rezko and his covictions for
16 counts of public corruption.
That’s a subset of integrity.
How about NOT A SEXIST added to the list. geezzz
just a minute sweetie.. Obama will let you know your place in this party
I apologize for my flipness from the start, but my chief “characteristic” in a candidate right now is that they are not Obama.
Empathy! Intelligence! Courage, Integrity, Patriotism, Experienced.
And Hillary has been thrown under the bus by the DNC.
Becuse what is important to them is
Money!
Lack of experience (the better to control the candidate.)
Greed
Ability to lie at the drop of a hat
Lots of skeletons in the closet (the better to control the candidate)
Complete lack of knowledge on the issues that matter to the average American (more jobs for “expert team of advisors)
I pick Hillary! Still! NOBAMA!
Right on every count!
I don’t know what will happen with Hllary. I do know that McCain’s campaign is beginning to be helpful in delineating that empty suit->Chicago thug.
God knows I don’t want to vote for McCain, BUT I absolutely can’t vote for Obama.
Thank heaven for sites like this. I read the morning MSM papers and can’t wait to get online for the real news.
Obama is creepier than even I imagined. And again, listening to/reading Ludacris, I had no idea whites were so hated. Race relations will never be the same, thanks to the DNC and Obama.
PUMA
I agree! I was quite shocked to learn how much hatred there is from blacks towards whites(Thank you Rev Wright & congregation).Having friends and family of assorted mixed races I never experienced any racial divisiveness.Yeah…I’m shocked…and bummed.
She’s still there, waiting for the same miracle we all are. Visualize, visualize- the super delegates having this same thought and reaching the same conclusion. I don’t worry about how it will happen, I just visualize the outcome.
down 9 points in 5 days. obama can’t withstand ridicule. mccain shows how it’s done.
http://londonamerican01.blogspot.com/2008/08/one-cant-withstand-ridicule.html
Thanks for your link! I liked your post.
“US spending our dollars overseas rather than in our schools”
No, Most of this money goes to American suppliers of goods and services, it keeps a lot of pworking here. So stop using childish arguments.
Sorry, this was meant for ‘Ever Vigilant’ bellow.
I love that ad! I think if JM and the RNc just pummel him with criticizing ads, he’ll eventually pout, cry, and have a temper tantrum like the 2 year old he is!
Here is my idea for an RNC ad. Obama as Harry Potter, Sure he has special powers (John McCain can wink), but does he really know how and when to use them? Show Harry Potter when he tried using a wand for the first time. Then JM again looking afraid and he says, you’d better hope so.
Funny you should mention two year olds, I was wondering the other day if Obama jumps up and down (has a temper tantrum) when he has a bad day, cries and says they “don’t like me Michelle.” She says “now tsk tsk Barry it will be okay, we don’t like you either!”
I would give McCain Patriotic, Accomplished and Experienced with no hesitation. I would give McCain Courageous with a slight wince. When it comes to Integrity and Trustworthy, he loses.
Senator Clinton would get Integrity, Experienced, Accomplished, Courageous with bravado. Trustworthy with the acknowledgment that she’s a politician.
Obama is an anti-Patriot, has Accomplished absolutely nothing in his life as far as I can tell, has ZERO Integrity on any issue and takes no responsibility for his actions or associations, is totally un-Trustworthy, has no experience in any type of full-time paid job, and is a total Coward.
The DNC, Brazile,Howard Dean,Ted Kennedy, and especially Pelosi, never liked Hillary or Bill. They just put up w/them but resented their popularity and political base. Pelosi saw herself having lots of more power if Obama was elected, excuse me…,selected. They have their puppet now.
ya … a loser puppet. LOL… what good is that?
The DNC, Brazile, Howard Dean, Ted (Chappaquidick) Kennedy, and especially Pelosi are
the “elitist” operatives of the party. They never liked the working class stiffs.
They see them as a group that needs to be protected, not empowered.
Sure Ted Kennedy put up an all nighter for the minimum wage, but he would never
let himself be seen with the working class folk. He will never meet with them.
It is that touch that the party lost in the 1970’s. The party was overtaken by the
so-called latte liberal crowd who believe that they know what is best for all,
and they want to keep it that way.
When the day is done, Brazille, Dean, Kennedy, and Pelosi are a great part of
why the party loses elections.
Let’s not forget Kerry as one of those who resented the Clintons’ popularity and successes.
I have always thought that this kind of reaction to the Clintons was rooted in bigotry against Americans who did not come from the coasts (Chicago excepted since it is a big city) - they are seen as usurpers if they dare to move ahead of the elite like Kerry.
1) Self-knowledge; aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses.
2) Cares about people. Values people over money/connections. Wants the job because she really can advance the people’s agenda, not for egotist purposes.
3) High Integrity/core values/comfortable in one’s own skin.
4) Intelligence/political wisdom based on real experience. A hard worker who is willing to put the time and effort into learning the job of politics.
5) High self-esteem based on past accomplishments
6) Innate, as well as developed and hard-won abilities.
Not Obama.
I like this list CB!
Off topic - The death of journalism.
CNN Adds Video of Riots in Budapest to Report of Riots in Belgrade
That will be the question without Sen Clinton what do you do? As for the hate towards whites by some African Americans, what would you expect? With more than half the whites in America represented by the Republican party and the like, with Presidents that belonged to the Klan, with inner cities in the US looking like warzones and the US spending our dollars overseas rather than in our schools, you wonder why? And if you think you are worried now, go ahead and vote for 4 more years of Rovian politics!!! America is on the precipice and the GOP is not going to change direction in the least and we will fall over the cliff.
It’s the Rovian politics of the DNC we’re worried about.
And BO’s designs on expanding the imperial/fascist presidency established by GWB.
Truthful and honest; possessed of integrity; able to take responsibility and be accountable for actions taken; able to admit fault and make course corrections; an unwillingness to PANDER or try to have it both ways; SINCERITY…did I say sincerity? Yes, a double dose of that, please.
Oh, and INTELLIGENCE…not glibness, not an ability to parrot words from a teleprompter, but an ability to think, to express oneself clearly and take into account silly little factors like HISTORY in order to provide a complete and nuanced reply…
Say, did I say INTELLIGENCE? I did, and it bears repeating. But that’s not enough–judgment and experience are vital, too.
Yep, EXPERIENCE. Anyone without it IS presumptuous. And presumptuous is not a synonym for UPPITY–it’s a synonym for big brass ones, a lotta nerve, and not in a good way, chutzpah. This isn’t an “Earn as You Learn” gig–it’s “THE JOB”–not just for the US, but for the ENTIRE WORLD. And some assclown with 144 steady working days in the US Senate, preceded by part time jobs as a state legislator and a law lecturer, and before that a lawyer in a law firm helping to slide money to crooks, and before that a glorified social worker, well, that person IS NOT READY for prime time.
Britney Spears is what is called a “singer.” Yet she cannot sing opera. She might be able to, some day, after studying, learning, practicing, and gaining EXPERIENCE (though I think it would be PRESUMPTUOUS of her to try, frankly). But she is NOT READY NOW, and the MET shouldn’t hire her, because she couldn’t do the job…unless she’s going to be selling wine cocktails at intermission.
Two words: NOT QUALIFIED. When Obama has fifteen years on the Hill, like JFK, maybe then he might be. But he’s NOT now. And to say he is, is playing the Affirmative Action card, and that’s just bullshit in this particular line of work.
I agree with you except on your mischaracterization of affirmative action. Affirmative action is based on giving equal opportunity to racial/ethnic minorities or underrepresented individuals (like women or poor whites) WHO ARE QUALIFIED. For example, because of affirmative action, there was a concerted effort to hire more women in television–especially in the news media. As a result, their numbers in TV have increased over the years.
Affirmative action does not mean unqualified–it means equal opportunity.
In any case, HRC is more qualified than BO because of her years of experience and the work she has done in the Senate.
You are right Trixta!!
I liked this post! Yes, good judgment–I should have thought of that…
Experience
Reality(as in promises)
Leadership skills
Love of Country
Integrity
Bills they’ve written/sponsored
Ability to compromise/work with other side
Past voting records
Here are mine I came up with 8 things that are important to me. Usually the first thing I do when choosing a candidate is look at any committee they’ve sat on, and the records for that committee. Then I go over to their voting records. That was my first red flag with Obama. I couldn’t find a whole lot on his committee’s. After that I research any bills they’ve written. I don’t worry so much about their past ties as long as they are also not their present ties. Another red flag. I give them the benefit of the doubt that they wised up and cut ties.
This is both Hillary and McCain to me. Hillary being my first choice. McCain being my second. Both have proved through the past and present to be strong on all these things. I have one bill Obama actually worked on for another country. 25 bills that were handed to him by Jones. Yet another red flag. He has no foreign or domestic experience. Another red flag. No military experience, but that doesn’t bother me if they have experience in other area’s. He’s out and out lied in some of his ads. Huge red flag. About his past. The red flags are adding up. The only thing I can put a check mark by for Obama is he has worked across the table…
That was so sound, well done and objective. Now here’s mine:
Looks like Hillary.
Sounds like Hillary.
Acts like Hillary.
Thinks like Hillary.
Stands up like Hillary.
Works butt off like Hillary.
Absolutely perfect qualifications!
I’ll second that!!!
Hillary ‘08!!!
(2nd choice, McCain)
Thanks, btintaos, couldn’t have said it better myself. In fact, I love your whole list.
I liked this list Diana–very thoughtful
for all you people trying to get in to post or even read the comments = keep hitting the close X by the third try it let’s you in.
Microsoft Explorer - how dare you prevent us from reading or blogging at NQ? Who the hell do you think you are? And what the hell is your problem with “Freedom of Speech”? How in the hell are we threatening you and and your shareholders bottom line? Do tell?
We’re ALL EARS!!!!
I downloaded the new update and now I can’t get into any blogs in IE. I get operation aborted. I tried disabling 3rd parties. Emptying Cache. Uninstalling/reinstalling java. Emptying all objects. Resetting internet settings. Lowering security. Ran a virus scan. Also ran lavasoft and spybot. Reset my settings. I finally had to download Firefox. I think I like it better. I know it’s more secure. I thought OK it’s a c-o-n-s-p-i-r-a-c-y. They’ve put something in my browser that keeps me from going to anything anti-Obama. Then I remembered I don’t have any pro-Obama blogs saved to compare and see if the same thing happens, and I wasn’t about to go find one.
tell me more about firefox. i’m willing to go there. i don’t appreciate my freedom’s, which are STILL F ING protected by our Bill of Rigths, to be able to read and speak freely impeded.
therefore, i’m more than willing to dump any for profit browser to go with one that respects our bill of rights! firefox it seems as though i’m your newest customer! and i will invest!
oops I meant “unimpeded” ruh roh
btw, i won’t go there either. good for you for having boundaries.
I have used Firefox for a long time. I have no complaints about it. And of course, the price is right (free).
I downloaded Firefox a long time ago. I simply enjoy my computer more with it.
Every thing is faster easier and less risky. And the little Fox logo is cute.
There’s another windows update that fixes the problem that yesterdays update caused.
The problem was was Site Meter.
Microsoft has nothing to do with it. I would suspect the trolls are spamming the servers with a DOS attack. Apparently it’s another “attack the anti-Obama sites” night at Axelrove HQ…
i appreciate that. hadn’t occured to me that it was an INVASION OF THE YAHOO’S OUT THERE!!!!
what is most disturbing to me is the fact that these Obama pests are willing to behave lower than whale shit to disrupt our freedom of speech!
and we are willing to reduce our expectations, principles, ethics to this level ALL BECAUSE HILLARY WAS STICKING TO THE PARTY MESSAGE!!!
ahhh geez people, give me a break. there’s an old saying in AA that is apropos to this silliness - walk YOUR talk. it’s that simple.
we’re going through nothing compared to what Hillary is going through so dammit stay strong and focused. puhleazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Seriously, though, Firefox is a far superior browser to Internet Explorer. It doesn’t use Active X Controls, which is the main way the lovely folks that write malware use to attack your computer (that’s also why Macintosh computers don’t get viruses). If you don’t have it yet, go to http://www.mozilla.com and download for free. The graphics are better, and there are fewer tracking cookies, etc. to deter your web experience.
If you don’t like Firefox, Apple has released a version of Safari that is compatible with Windows machines.
Well said D2D……. I spent the entire night trying to fix this as well. Use foxfire works fine…….. really pissed me off!!!
We use Firefox. After we upgraded to the new IE, we started having a lot of issues. Then it wouldn’t let us uninstall and go back to IE6, so we found a better alternative.
Thanks. Wasn’t sure what was going on re that abort message. It was fine this afternoon. I finally got in by going to Savage Politics and clicking on their link to NQ. This is ridiculous if it is being done on purpose by some jackass at Microsoft. who do we complain to? Any suggestions?
Ok which is it Micrsoft or the OBOTs being cute? None of my other sites have this problem. Will it go away if it’s the dark side doing this or do I have to do something here. TIA.
Reality-Obama does not have a chance to win, nor should he. He is not qualified and its evident in what he says and does DAILY. Electing a president is not the same as electing an American Idol.
Despite the contempt people have for ordinary law abiding gun loving church going patriotic Americans, the majority of US are not deaf, dumb and blind.
The problem the Dems have is they can not insult blacks who have been strong supporters of the party, by taking away the nomination from Obama. So he will run and lose and will be lucky to avoid a landslide.
Hillary will be ready for 2012. McCain will serve only one term, because he too is flawed, and weak and by then, the country will be tired of 12 years of a Republican president.
Its the House and Senate, Pelosi and Reid, the real jack asses of the Democratic party, who are hurting the country right now.
Your post makes me laugh for whatever reason.
McCain may be a lot of things, but the man isn’t weak. He is flawed, but then so is Hillary and every other candidate that has run for office.
As I’ve stated before, this was the year of the Democrats. If the Democrats get swept from the top of the ticket down, I think it will be a stunning upset in a year the Republicans should’ve had no chance whatsoever.
As for Hillary in 2012, we need to get through this election first. Who knows whether these SD will do anything about the embarassment that is Obama.
Clinton would be the preferred candidate. However, betweem McCain and Obama, the choice is easy - McCain.
thanks andy for the compliment.
no quarter, confluence and justsaynodeal have really been great sources for an expat like me who’s been wondering how someone like obama was able to get as far as he did.
i’m convinced that we are now seeing the oborg’s long-awaited implosion. all mccain has to do is just sit back, let obama hang himself with his own arrogant deeds and then hold him up for the joke he is.
couldn’t happen to a nice guy
As I watch this campaign unfold all I can think of is a line from the movie Tora Tora Tora.
“We have awakened the sleeping giant.”
The total disrespect for the American people by the dnc and obama has awakened a lot of Americans.
This election is not going to be pretty.
COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS
PUMAS AND BUBBAS RULE
downstairs, i was reading a bunch of hooie from you people. what the hell is up with that?
hillary spoke at some gathering and y’all have taken it at face value. good grief, have you ever heard of MESSAGING? All she is doing is what any good party “D” or “R” would do, “stick to the MESSAGE”!
so that being said, you the bloggers, the most informed people in this entire contest KNOW WHAT THE HELL BROKE THIS WEEK THANKS TO TEXASDARLIN, NQ, JUDAH, POLARIK AND TECHDUDE.
Stay focused and vigilant folks. What is ALL of this doom and gloom crap? Get a f … ing grip.
Our job is stay focused on getting her in the nomination battle at the convention. A board member of mine once gave me the wisest of advice which was “never go into meeting w/o knowing your votes are lined up.”
Geez luiz, we’ve only just begun this work SO STAY F ING FOCUSED ON THE WIN!!
We have work to do folks, why would you ever consider giving in or enabling this messed up party structure? HELLO!
Stay focused AND vigilant. Please, I beg you for the sake of our country, the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
check out this MoveOn.org ad which tries to help Obama stave off McCain’s growing support for Offshore drilling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O5fFcM59eY
Now that he’s flipped. I wonder if they’ll pull the ad? lmao
Love the cartoon, Pat!
I’m going to take your challenge, Pat.
1) Political Integrity: My Pres. always considers the gravity of his/her position and convinces me he/she will honestly weigh his/her decisions in favor of what is best for the country.
2)Strength: My Pres. is strong enough to compromise when necessary and strong enough not to compromise on important issues.
3)Intelligence: My Pres. will feel comfortable in any situation with people of different levels of education, able to communicate at whatever level required. Experienced enough to understand the nuance.
4) Introspective: My Pres. will be introspective enough to question himself/herself. “First of all, to thine own self be true>”
5)Compassionate: Genuinely compassionate. Able to feel my pain and the pain of others, to be better able see others as real people in need.
6) Courageous: My Pres. is not afraid, not timid about taking on memebers of congress or leaders of other countries when he/she has to confront them.
I would second your list and add:
7)Dignity: This applies to the candidate, the campaign, and the country. We cannot afford to lose it.
8)Common Sense: Needs to be able to handle themselves instinctively and respond without a script. This includes avoiding political gaffes that will affect our standing in the world.
9)The Ability to Listen and Respond to Constituents: Politicians need to remember that they work for us, not vice-versa.
10)Perseverance: The grit to stick with an important fight through the end, and to do whatever it takes to reach the necessary goal.
11) Global Intelligence: POTUS needs to have a full-time grasp of what is going on in the world at all times and how their actions will affect other nations and people. On the job training is not allowable.
Almost forgot:
Responsibility: The buck stops here.
Great list - especially the comment about “perseverance”; what a great word.
Elise–Nice!!! I especially like “compassionate.”
The Democratic Party leadership can’t back down now. They’ve painted themselves into a corner.
If they don’t continue to support Obama he’ll turn on them and paint them as racist.
They finally realized they need Hillary supporters but the DNC and Obama can’t say that. That’s why they send out surrogates like Gergen. Note the media talking heads are mostly agreeing with him. No attacks against Gergen for his suggestion.
Not so long ago, any suggestion of Hillary as VP was treated with derision.
Note they don’t suggest Obama wooing Hillary supporters. They want her to do the heavy lifting.
Then, as usual, Obama will take all of the credit and none of the blame. Of course if Obama loses anyway, it’ll be Hillary’s fault.
Aren’t we about to see the exit of a President just like that?
To the list of the many great suggestions, I add-
1) capacity for empathy with a feeling conscience.
2) capacity to love - really love.
Well maybe we ought to let Pooplosi know that she will be the first one we vote out when the republicans keep the Presidency!!
Connie,
Poopsi getting tossed out will have nothing to do with the new president. That dummy is there because the Democrats in the House voted her there. They can vote her out of there too I suppose. Of course they’d have to do the koolaid/ipecac purge first.
To those of you having trouble with IE:
Firefox is fine but won’t automatically delete the cookies sites leave behind unless you authorize it to. A pain if you have cookies you want to keep.
Use two browsers (at least) one for your serious business, and one for your surfing.
I use Opera for surfing because you can set it so it accepts cookies only from the site you’re visiting and when you close it, it deletes all new cookies.
Finally, if you are really under attack, use an anonymizer. You can surf and the hackers don’t know where you are to crash your browser or hijack your computer.
A free program (German)will protect you. It’s called JAP. Here’s the link:
http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/index_en.html
Hope it prints.
Good point about the Cookies. It’s the one flaw I’ve noticed with Firefox. I couldn’t think of one.
hope you don’t mind, but shared your tip over at Texasdarlin since that was where I originally posted my IE challenges.
thanks for the tip. i’m not as internet savvy as some around here and look forward to learning more.
Great Pat: Another great cartoon in your long series. I’d like to be able to find all your cartoons on the site, is there a way to do that?
As for your pillars, I’d add “Understanding”, and in this case it is the understanding of what our population is going through and being able to articulate SOLUTIONS for the issues, not just rattling off the issues as Mr. FeelGood does.
Hillary is the only one that UNDERSTANDS and has solutions. These two MEN can’t be the to choices, it is not too late for Hillary, just have OB drop another 5 points before the convention.
Yes, “understanding.” Thanks JohnnyB!
Another great “toom”
My President must be a patriot first. She/He must place the country and protecting it, as the first order of business, all day everyday. She/He must be a straight talker and willing to put his actions where his mouth is. She/He doesn’t need to pander to other countries, but he/she must be able to be a diplomat when necesary and respect other cultures. He/she must help use our resources to make the world a better place, without hurting our own citizens in the process. Integrity, compassion, strength of conviction but able to admit being wrong, grace under pressure, decisive, willing to listen and learn from those that may know more than he/she does,fair. These are some of the things I look for in a leader of the greatest country in the world. Obama is so far from my idea of a President that I can’t even begin to consider it. Thanks, my 2 cents fwiw.
Pat, thank you for the cartoon that made me stop and think about what is important to me in a President. You have a smart friend.
It is so easy to get influenced by what we see and what we hear that often we forget to think. That is one big reason why advertising that actually does not tell you much works. We also can get so committed to our first impression or choice that we then go on automatic pilot and stop thinking. So thank you for wake up call before it is to late.
I am also thinking about what those in charge of the Democratic Party have done to it. This includes how it chooses delegates, the impact of caucuses where a few speak for thousands, and the attitude of those running the party have toward women.
I may not like what I am thinking, but it is a good thing that I am.
Rich
There is really only one qualification in a Presidential candidate that matters: able to get over 51% of the votes in the electoral college.
Obama lacks PatRacimora’s 6 qualities and he also lacks the important 7th one: able to win in November.
And here is the question that no one seems to be asking: What happens to the Democratic party when Obama loses in the year that Democrats were dead-surefire set to win?
Answer: It is the end of the democratic party as a national party and what little influence they had will be lost.
Not that it matters anyway. Since when did this crew in Congress stand up for a democratic values on our important issues?
Number one characteristic needed to be president…
“An intellectually curious person who thrives on solving problems.”
That is it. Now, think of all the good presidents and see if they fit that characteristic.
Neither Obama nor McCain fit that charateristic….boy are we SCREWED!
PUMA
Yes–I really like that characteristic and the way you described it. Essential!
We,
IMHO, “An intellectually curious person who thrives on solving problems,” has never faced a problem sufficiently serious as to return him to reality. This is a short poem but it says what I want in my President
If…
Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man my son!
That guy… He’s the one I want
Read it again and see the two candidates in your mind’s eye
One of them rings true
Zeke–This was a really interesting application of the poem. I am going to have to study this!
Pat, good post.
I don’t need six, in this case, because my #1 bedrock issue is democracy.
Call me old school, but I like my candidates elected, not selected.
If neither candidate had hijacked votes, this exercise would’ve been very useful.
But as it stands, the choice is not only simple it’s imperative.
You not only don’t reward vote-jackers, you denounce them, hound them, bring them down. Sadly, Bush and Cheney weren’t brought down for their theft, but to me, as a Dem, this is even sadder.
WHOA, Zee! Agreed! I think this is why so many Hillary supporters are so upset. Had someone won in a fair way, then we would probably go along without making so much fuss.
My six essentials:
1. Leadership, demonstrated through experience and accomplishment
2 Ability to make hard decisions
3. Integrity; trustworthiness
4. Demonstrates a love for public service and love of country
5. Empathy
6. Intelligence
I agree. A list of six makes the decision a no-brainer.
HRC
Peggy Sue–Great list, and I like #2 and #4 especially.
The Red Sox ditched Manny; the Dems can still ditch Barry Soetoro!
The #1 qualification for my President is the ability to protect the Constitution.
2. Integrity /Honesty /Intelligence
3. Fidelity. Put the needs and concerns of the citizens of the USA above all
others. America First.
5. Mastery of Political Process
6. Personal and Professional Accomplishment
7. Ability to Empathize and Have Compassion
8. Dignity
9. Ability to Speak Well (Express complex issues without condescending to the
listeners…Bill is the master of this…he meets his audience on their level.
10. Strength and Ability to Withstand the Pr