Where's My Candidate?

Note: In August of 2021, I looked at this essay again for the first time in a number of years. It still rings true as a description of my political desires. The years since I first posted it in 2016 have done nothing to make me believe the faults in our system which spurred me to write this have in any way lessened.

MRP, 11/6/16

In the great 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins, young Jane and Michael Banks, dismayed at their recent string of sub-par nannies, present to their parents a list of simple qualities they want to see in the next candidate for the position.

As we approach the 2016 Presidential Election, I find myself depressed at the quality of the candidates we’re confronted with (yes, including the third-party nominees).

So, since it worked for Jane and Michael (they got Mary Poppins, didn’t they?), I herewith present a list of qualities I would very much like to see in a candidate.

I want integrity. Now, this doesn’t mean I expect any politician to never shade the truth or otherwise obfuscate when asked a question that for whatever reason makes them uncomfortable. That’s not a question of integrity to me – that’s a matter of political survival (or so it would seem). I’m not saying I wouldn’t prefer someone who didn’t do that…just that it isn’t a prerequisite. Integrity is something deeper, something more profoundly descriptive of an individual’s character. I want someone who doesn’t knowingly, with malice aforethought, lie (more later on what lying is, and what it isn’t).

I want humility. But let’s be honest – no one gets up in the morning, looks in a mirror and thinks he or she should be president without already having a bit of an ego. So, within that context, I’d settle for a lack of obvious arrogance. I want someone who doesn’t act as if the gods have conspired to bring him or her to this moment in time, and that to refuse their call would selfishly deny the country their greatness. Is that to much to ask?

I want intelligence and a curious mind. I want, in a word, an intellectual. I know that in some corners that’s more of an epithet these days, but a reflexive distaste for intellectualism by many is one of the causes of our many current ills. I want someone who isn’t afraid to change his or her mind, for fear of being accused of flip-flopping, when presented with a convincing argument or new facts. It’s a sign of wisdom and of maturity, not vacillation.

I want a leader with vision; someone who inspires what Lincoln called the "better angels of our nature" instead of appealing to our basest fears, resentments and insecurities.

I want someone who doesn’t give me a laundry list of promises about taxes, health care, trade, defense, foreign policy, and so forth. I want someone who tells me what their principles are, and who is smart enough to know that once they get behind that desk they’ll get a whole new understanding of what is, and what is not possible.

If I could find this candidate, or someone close, I’d be happy. I don’t care about their sex, their race, their religion (or lack thereof), their party, their sexual orientation or their ethnicity. I don’t even have to agree with everything they say or think. The foregoing qualities would assure me that regardless of what their specific plans might be, they would be a worthy and admirable Commander-In-Chief.

And beyond all this, I want a press corps and a public that understands that there aren’t always two valid sides to every issue. I want people to understand that while “I never had sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky” was a lie, “read my lips: no new taxes” and “you can keep your plan” were not. I want an electorate that comprehends that every mistake or misjudgment is not a sign of venality or corruption. I want my fellow citizens to acknowledge that each and every one of us is imperfect, and it is impossible to find among our number a perfect candidate.

I also want everyone to come to terms with the fact that whichever president of the past represents their ideal – Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, FDR, Reagan, or whomever – it is very likely that none of them could get elected today for a variety of reasons having nothing to do with them, and everything to do with us. This country needs to understand that until we accept these facts, it will be hard to get a President who can inspire us, who can unite us, and who can lead us.