in strong, effective leadership.

Can I do the job? Of course. No question.

The primary responsibility of the President is to direct policy. Which, in its simplest terms, means “I like that”, “I don’t like that”, “a little more of that”, “a little less of that”, and “stop that right now.” The President has, at his disposal, hundreds of permanent career advisors, consultants, lawyers, senators, congressmen, and of course citizens, all eager to help and share their views. It may be lonely at the top in some places, but not in the White House. The daily news shows will let me know their opinions too, I’m sure.

Can I handle the pressure? Yes again. It’s certainly not a cake-walk watching the lunacy from the bottom. In my mind, it should be much less stressful to actually be in charge, to make sure things get done right, to be able to stamp out stupidity instead of suffering from it. I saw a cute cartoon one time a few years back… something like… “Stress: The result of your brain over-riding your body’s desire to strangle the shit out of someone who desperately needs it.”  Well, finally, I’ll be in position to do some neck-wringing. Hence, no stress.

Can I handle Congress? Of course. Career politicians know where the money is: it’s in their office. They will almost literally sell their souls for the votes to stay there. A popular president can hold a 30% or higher margin by campaigning for or against a politician, and is invaluable as a fundraiser. The VP and I just campaign accordingly. It really is that easy. This is exactly what the parties do to their own members. This is exactly why it is so rare for anyone to vote against party lines. This is nothing new. Even without such motivation, there are enough moderate intelligent members from either party who will support our agenda, just because it’s the right thing to do. Proof: Did you see how fast Rumsfeld was given the boot in November 2006? The day after the election. Gone. Not even a kiss goodbye. That is the power of your vote.

Can I handle tough questions, tough problems? I’m not in this to be a career politician. I have no fear of polls. I have no reason lie. I have no reason to cave to lobbying pressure. I am here to make decisions that affect the United States, and the human race,  as a whole. I am not bound by or to anything. I am free to make decisions with “what’s best for all of us” as my goal.

Most problems have simple answers once you figure out how to look at them and find what the important parts really are. Some problems are more interesting, in that they cannot be fixed by just doing one little thing at a time. For instance, if we give everyone free health care, then the health care system is overrun immediately. There simply are not enough doctors. But, if we slowly phase in universal health care, and at the same time begin paying for medical school to bring more new doctors into the system, then everyone ends up happy without a big shock to the system. It just takes a few years to finally get there. Changes must be carefully thought out, planned, and made as painless as possible.

Of course I have a lot to learn. I do not know everything. The fact of the matter is that no one taking the office of President does, and as I have said before, it is more a matter of Policy and Intention that counts. But the simple fact that I learn fast, and really want to dig into the details (the perfectionist in me coming out!) before making important decisions sets me apart from all the others.

Will the power go to your head? For a week or two, yes. And then my wife will beat me, and I’ll get a grip on reality again. There’s just no way I can forget 47 years of being hard-working middle-class. But my wife, Larysa, really will help keep me quite grounded. If you could use your ego deflated a bit... I’ll send her right over!