Heroes and History

Just saw a news feature on President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was the president when your Wizer was young. They say that a person's perspective on history generally dates to when they were born.

So, let's see. There was Eisenhower, then Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHWBush, Clinton, GWBush, and now the 44th POTUS, Barack Obama. Eleven presidents since I was born. That means I have experienced 25% of the presidents in our nation's history. A great many "baby boomers" have too.

I think that qualifies us, and especially me to comment on the state of the presidency.

When we were kids, we were told that the country was founded by a number of bright men whose lives and times we were encouraged to celebrate. We were taught that there was this succession of heroes traceable to our country's sacred founding. They were the presidents.

Every school room had a poster with the first 36 presidents on it. Listed in chronological order, and numbered 1-36. The universe started with George Washington, and included other famous Americans one right after another, with Abe Lincoln somewhere there in the middle, and still other guys for whom the stories were written.

At the time of the first 36, these men were all presented as heroes. Andrew Jackson. Calvin Coolidge. Teddy Roosevelt. They carved faces in the mountains for them. Put their likenesses on pieces of paper we were all meant to carry around. In my grade school, each of the presidents, in turn, were featured on a cafeteria milk carton. Collectors items. We learned about Tippecanoe, Millard Fillmore, and John Quincy Adams. I remember when JFK showed up on the carton. This was a real live president. What an impressive guy he must be to merit association with the rest of these heroes, I thought. This was 1962, he was our current president, and we got to see him all the time on the news.

In a short while, some sniper decided that JFK should no longer be president (or even alive for that matter). This had devastation written all over it. How can someone so important, the present successor to George Washington, be snuffed out like an extra in a bad western movie? Presidents were human? News seemed to travel faster all of a sudden. We weren't learning things from the milk cartons, any more.

We were hearing about it from Walter Cronkite and Chet Huntley now. We weren't seeing things through the dusty lens of history any more. We were seeing them through a grainy live picture tube, and the newscasters were providing the color commentary. Welcome to the brave new world.

It was no longer possible to hide who the president was, or what he did, or really even present him in a different light. We now get to examine our heroes in real time, and decide for ourselves whether we have a leader, or we don't.

Funny thing is, with all the talent in this country, we seldom get the leadership we should expect. Out of the last 11, only one gets into the top ten. That's right, the Gipper, the last president to acknowledge that government is the problem is the only one in our lifetime to merit an honorable mention, ...and he finishes 10th. 11 of the 44, and we get one passable president.

How did this happen? Could it be because we let two political organizations control who gets presented in the championship round? Since Reagan, here's what the elections looked like:

1988
GHW Bush (who had supposedly embraced voodoo economics by then)
vs.
Michael Dukakis (the one candidate that could make GHWB appear bright)

1992
GHW Bush (Revving up the desert storm machine)
vs
Ross Perot (This is all crazier than I am.)
vs
Bill Clinton (the democrat antidote to Gary Hart - can we find another Jimmy Carter?)

1996
Bob Dole (Tax cuts will fix everything)
vs
Bill Clinton (What? I gave you welfare reform! What else do you want?)
vs
Ross Perot (Still crazy after four more years)

2000
Al Gore (If I was worth a damn, I would have been president in 1992)
vs. Not Al Gore (whew, that was close)

2004
John Kerry (This country is not elite eastern liberal enough)
vs. Not John Kerry (whew, that was close)

2008
Barry Obama (change is necessary)
vs
John McCain (I see your random draw, and raise you a wounded ex-POW)

2012
Barry Obama (change is risky)
vs
Mitt Romney (If you like your Obamacare you can keep your Obamacare)

Were these choices really the carefully made choices? Really America? We just couldn't find anyone more qualified in each of these job hires? I think our executive search method is deeply flawed, and now that we are down to two democrats and a socialist, I know it's broken.

Do yourself and the rest of us a favor. Don't play along. We haven't had a decent pick since Reagan. We need someone in the top 10 once again. We're not going to get it this time, but that doesn't mean we have to vote for what we are going to get. This time, vote for someone else. At least vote for someone you like. Write in someone you think could do the job instead. Mike Rowe. Curt Schilling. If you want a billionaire, write in Buffett for heaven's sake. At least he isn't going to look like a mistake on the milk carton.

Then, we can begin to break the stranglehold these two self serving parties have on our elected leadership. It's a perfect time to break from this system, and begin to exercise our choice in a more meaningful way. Vote for Pedro if you must, but please, please, do not endorse these clowns.
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As an aside, I don't know how the Libertarian Party convention is going to go next weekend in Orlando; but I am rooting for Austin Petersen.  If he makes it through that gathering, he will likely get my vote.