Sigh.
Another okay guy turned moron. Maybe we can’t have a decent single president for this diverse a nation anymore. Anyone that hopes to win has to try and cater to everyone. In that process of being what everyone does and does not want them to be, they become someone no one really wants as their president. They can’t have actual creative ideas that cross all sorts of party and conceptual lines because they risk losing votes of some “key demographic”. For example they can’t do stuff that pisses off the folks with big pockets too much, or they lose funding; they can’t be atheists or they will pretty much alienate the entire South.
It gets even worse once some Popular Moron gets elected. They have to keep this false face of the Average American for 4 more years when they go through the reelection cycle.
I think it would be amazingly awesome if someone ran for president on the platform that they wouldn’t run for reelection at the end of their term. They’d have a special contract drawn-up at the outset that bound them to their word. Then they wouldn’t have to bother trying to be someone that they’re not, and just be an awesome “burst” president.
The idea I always come back to when I muse about this is a scene from the movie Dave. The presidential impostor decides to do something with his temporary power, and he balances the hell out of the federal budget. With no pressure from special interests or party ties, he just does whatever he feels is correct.
That’s what I would ideally want in an electable candidate.
I want a hippo for Christmas.