Established political party seeking applicants for Leader of the Western World. Need to be 35 years of age and a United States citizen. Should be of moral character, relatively scandal-free, able to read teleprompter, and give a nifty salute. Must live in designated housing, good starting salary and benefits. Use of helicopter, airplane and weekend resort included. Apply to Republican National Committee, Washington DC.
The Presidential election is November 2012. The county will decide to renew the contract of the current occupant or give a 4 year deal to someone new. Seems like a pretty choice job. Should be lots of serious applicants.
Over the weekend, Mitch Daniels, a popular and serious Governor of Indiana, decided not to apply for the job. He cited extreme reluctance of his family to undergo the interview process. It appears there were perhaps some issues between him and his wife that were not worth being inspected by tabloid journalism. I do not blame the Governor. I respect his decision. However, it is a loss. The national debate would have been better with Mitch Daniels in the race. He has a decisive and defined view on the role of government and the current financial mess brewed in Washington. Sorry to see him drop out even before he began.
So, now what? Who wants the job? There are still viable applicants-three former Republican Governors have applied. A few others are sending in applications. There may be more. Of course, it is not the quantity of applicant that matters. It is the quality. It remains to be seen on that score. We hardly know any of them. What I hope is that the country gets a real choice and most likely it will.
Some out there have been grousing that many of the applicants are late to the game. However, I am not one who believes that running for President is a 2-year full time task. Somewhere about 45 percent of the voters want to renew the contract of the current occupant no matter what and about the same number wants to put in someone new. The rest of the voters will make up their mind sometime probably a year from now. Lots can happen between now and then. So. Let the process continue and not worry about the news cycle today. And as for, Governor Daniels, I wish him peace of mind with his decision.
Jack O. Nutter is a Washington DC attorney and a principal
in the consulting firm Nutter & Harris, specializing in political
and strategic advice with notable experience in tax, energy,
environmental and climate issues.
Mitch is too short but anything is better than the current guy. Plus that wife may be wacky.
Posted by: beekeeper | 05/23/2011 at 01:46 PM