My God...We Have Learned Nothing.



My God…We Have Learned Nothing.  I cannot believe what I have been reading in the last couple of weeks.  Many journalists (and I use the term loosely!) have been glancing at Elizabeth Warren as a…wait for it…a presidential candidate.  The logic is that she will be able to run to the left of Hillary Clinton and make a serious run for the Democratic nomination.  Now couple this with the conjecture that Rand Paul could be a serious candidate for the Republican nomination because he appeals to the right wing of the party.  Really? 

Whatever you may think of Obama, his performance and his policies, it is indisputable that he carried one of the lightest resumes in history when he moved into the White House.  And now, serious people are talking about doubling down on that move (how’s that Obama vote working out for ya…change you can believe in?) by giving us a choice between a wannabe Indian chief and a curly headed idealist.  

At the local (county) level of politics in this country, it is common to hear our friends and neighbors moan and groan about the quality of our political candidates.  The logic goes something like…nobody worth having the job will run for the job.  It is true that running for political office has become very expensive and lays one open to unwarranted intrusion and persecution regarding their private lives.  However, a larger explanation for this logic is that we are always looking for the perfect candidate; the one who looks the part and who thinks just like we do.  Good luck with that search!

Instead of Democrats seeing who can out-socialize the others and Republicans seeing who can out-Tea Party the others, it is time to look for people who are serious about wanting to WORK to improve our government, who are reasonable enough to grasp the reality of what is possible and what is impossible, and most importantly, who can demonstrate a record of experience and accomplishment that gives us some tangible hope that they might be somewhat successful at governing.  He was not my favorite cup of tea, but history will show that Mitt Romney was perhaps the most qualified presidential candidate for his time in our history.  We need to vote for our public officials the same way we hire our employees; choose the best qualified from the pool that is available.  The American voting public was blinded by the light, voted for flash instead of substance, and look where that has gotten us.  Unfortunately, we will always have to live with the question…”How would things be different right now with Romney and Ryan in the White House?”