No more “real guys” for president, please
It looks as though the Democratic nominee will be (or to borrow the language used for John McCain, “the nominee apparent” is,) Barack Obama. After last night’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, his nomination becomes a statistical certainty.
I would like to think, though, that it does not have to do with his “bubba factor.” This is where a presidential candidate tries to woo the public with his ability to act like he’s as drunk and stupid as the rest of us.
This is a trend in political public relations that has taken hold in the last 20 years that I truly wish would go away. It is telling of nothing to know that the President is a “regular guy,” “one of us.” I cannot glean what their take on stem cell research will be, nor can I divine what they will do to create a sane energy policy.
I can, however, understand their willingness to patronize people who make far less money than they do. I can also see how good of actors they can be, and on occasion, find out how much milk is at the store. George Bush Sr. got a lot of heat for not knowing this, but I can’t personally tell you the current street value of milk myself. The only time I see the price is when I’m throwing it into my basket - if it were $2 or $4, I’d still need it for my coffee, so it doesn’t really matter to me.
Presidential candidates - which of course includes Presidents - are not regular guys. They have very specific education and skill sets and talents. If Bill Clinton was really as dopey as his Arkansas hillbilly persona, the peace and prosperity of the 90s just would not have happened. Or could you see Reagan ending a day of renegotiating INF with some bowling and oat sodas? I think not!
We will get better leaders if we stop trying to make them act like us - they aren’t us. The last president who was one of us was Andrew Jackson - and even he wasn’t down at the local watering hole asking the barkeep, “so Sam, what do you think of this nullification business?”
