President has to be more than our pal

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

By HUBERT G. LOCKE
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

On Tuesday -- like millions of other Americans -- I'll cast my ballot for the person I'm convinced is best suited to lead our nation for the next four years. For regular readers of this column, it's no big surprise as to who that will be. But as I vote, I will not only be thinking about the candidates but also about the office of president of the United States. What kind of person ought to be chosen for what few would argue is the most important job in the world?

For my part, I do not want a president who is "just like one of us." Much less do I want a "good ole boy." I want a president who is better than the rest of us -- a lot better, in fact. The president confronts situations, deals with circumstances, faces choices and has to make decisions the rest of us can't begin to fathom. That's not something I want to be taken on by someone who isn't any smarter than I am! It's not a task for "one of us;" it's a job for the brightest, most seasoned, mature mind we can put in the Oval Office.

I also want in the office of the president someone I can look up to and admire, not someone I look at and grimace whenever he opens his mouth. A president who mispronounces the names of foreign countries, their heads of state and who mangles English grammar with regularity is not only a national embarrassment, he is either too indifferent or arrogant to care. Under either circumstance, I expect far more class from the leader of the free world.

I would also like to know that the person who is elected as our nation's leader is capable of recognizing his mistakes and owning up to them. A person who lacks the honesty to admit mistakes will only continue to make them. If that person is president of the United States, his mistakes can have enormous consequences for countless numbers of people -- including fatal consequences. There is nothing strong or resolute or heroic in refusing to admit mistakes. Failure to do so, in fact, is a serious character flaw; the refusal to acknowledge a bad judgment is a sign of stubborn willfulness that can drag our nation into more entanglements of the Iraq variety, to our continuing peril.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/197236_locke29.html

[Danmel]

1. Not my Pal

It amazes me how many people will vote based on who they can have a beer with. I was wathcing CBC news the other day and they interviewed some guy in Wisconsin who said he ws gonna vote for Shrub because "I like chili dogs and he looks like he likes them too". I wanted to rip his throat out!

First of all , NONE OF US is ever havuing a chili dog or beer with any of these guys.

And most importantly, NEVER have a beer with a dry drunk. NEVER. Bush'd just look lustiliy at your brew and start quoting scripture. Not my idea of a good time. I don't drink with people who don't drink!