It appears that the candidates for President have now been narrowed down to four. On the Republican side we have Senator Ted Cruz who is hanging in there with hopes of taking on the front runner, businessman and TV personality, Donald Trump. Ohio Governor John Kasich is, by most accounts, merely a hopeful in the true sense of the word.
On the Democrat side we have former Secretary of State, senator and First Lady Hillary Clinton and her self-avowed socialist opponent Senator Bernie Sanders. How this all plays out over the next few weeks and months is up to prediction and conjecture but in the end it will likely be two of these candidates for us to vote yea or nay.
I keep waiting for someone to ride up on their white horse to save us from our future. I picture a knight in shining armor, waiting in the wings to step into the race and speak to the public with common sense, decorum, honesty and the ability to unite a very divided citizenry.
While I’m waiting and hoping, I might as well throw a unicorn into the fairy tale. A viable, reasonable candidate who is supported by people from many viewpoints seems just about as unlikely.
In this day and age of us versus them, misinformation on the 24/7 news and information highway and a country at war within itself, I’m holding out for a candidate we could all get behind.
I wish that the candidate would be honest. Really honest. No canned speeches or talking points. No sound bites spoken through the filter of speechwriters and campaign strategists. I wish the candidate would speak freely on the issues that face our country. In speaking freely, we would be able to get to know and trust the person and, perhaps put our faith in his or her ability to lead us.
I want a candidate who takes a stand and remembers the positions and statements that he or she has made in the past. While it is human nature to sometimes change our minds, I wish the candidate who changes his or her position would share with us what life experience or exposure to different viewpoints resulted in the new opinion. Otherwise we are left thinking the flip-flop candidate is just telling us what we want to hear or what he or she believes will get votes. That doesn’t instill trust.
I wish we had a candidate who is respectful of others, doesn’t put others down in attempt to elevate himself or herself and who doesn’t get frustrated with answering questions. I hope the candidate doesn’t have handlers who do the same. You are going to be our leader, we have to get to know you so we can trust you.
I wouldn’t mind if the candidate had made some mistakes in the past. Good leaders are people who learn from their mistakes. Our vetting process and the opposition’s desire to dig up scandal and missteps has meant that most of today’s candidates are robots that have little in common with the common man or woman. Any candidate whose mistakes hurt others or hurt our country would respectfully step aside and understand that not learning from your mistakes means you shouldn’t hold elected office.
I wish we had a candidate who understood that elected office is about serving the public not the public serving the candidate, his or her wallet or fulfilling the need to have power over others. The best candidate would be one who isn’t looking to make politics a lifelong profession.
I wish we had a candidate who understands the economy and business and opportunity and that wasting money or using money to buy influence or power is corrupt. I wish we had a candidate who understood that our money is not his or her money and that “free” doesn’t do much for either incentive or people understanding the value of whatever it is.
I wish we had a candidate who was as frugal with our money as he or she is with her own.
I wish we had a candidate who understood the concept of personal accountability.
I wish we had a candidate who understood the balance between the government supporting people and programs to help those who can’t help themselves and fostering dependency on programs that never get reviewed for efficacy.
I wish we had a candidate who understood that the decisions of leaders past have created inequality, inequity and intolerance which will impact his or her decisions today.
I wish we had a candidate who knows that we have to fix what is wrong within our borders first before we can look to help others.
I wish we had a candidate who is moral and just.
If only we had a candidate who was strong enough to protect us from the people who seek to do us harm and who want to destroy the freedoms that make us Americans. If only we had a candidate who understands that with strength must also come kindness.
I wish for a candidate who understood and respected the vision that our founding Fathers and Mothers had for these United States. Government of the people, by the people and for the people — not a self-feeding bureaucracy that has become an industry in and of itself. Governments that are overblown and inefficient and that serve themselves before the people are not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind.
As I close my eyes and toss my penny into the wishing well, I will wish for a presidential candidate that we can all vote to support.
