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After what we have experienced recently I assure you America will never again hire anyone who would serve as president into their 80s. No blame can go to the founders of our nation who did not feel that it was necessary to put an age limit on the presidency.
And then we had the “Joe Biden and Donald Trump combo.” By 2028 we would have had 12 consecutive years of total dysfunction, for various reasons, coming out of the Oval Office.
There is virtually no corporation, nor is there any other occupation or career that would allow anyone to work in an official capacity into their 80s. It is simply not wise when we should have the best and brightest and most physically and mentally capable person to govern 330 million Americans.
Trump has repeatedly used a non-verifiable reality – like claiming he has the American people’s support – when poll after poll has his job approval rating on the rapid decline. Only a dismal 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance in office.
Like Michael Jordan in basketball, Biden and Trump in their primes were a far cry from what they are today. Even seeing Jordan play for the Bulls today would be ugly. Obviously, we need leaders in their prime.
Second, prior experience is vital. No one in their right mind would want to be worked on by a heart surgeon who had never done open heart surgery without major oversight, if at all. To have had no prior exposure in the medical field and perform heart surgery? Hell no!
We express frustration over our political system by wanting “outsiders” or even worse someone who has had no prior political experience. It is like being mad over the many deaths in a hospital and responding by getting rid of all the doctors and nurses. That is just as ridiculous as getting someone who has little to no political experience.
Think about it. If you hire a builder with micromanager tendencies to perform medical procedures in a hospital we should not be surprised if the following happens:
1. You will have a new dining area for guests and workers.
2. Your waiting room will be totally remodeled, one floor with new gold trimmings and colors.
3. And of course, one wing of the hospital would be torn down in order to build a children’s only wing for medical care. But unfortunately your death rates would be through the roof.
Rookies. Former President Barack Obama failed to even serve one term in Congress after easily beating a man who weeks prior to the election had lived in “Maryland,” not Illinois. You figure. Yet a “few months” later he would boast that he was ready and qualified to be president.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris held a state attorney general’s position (historically not a preparatory role for national office). She failed to serve even one term in Congress after her landslide Senate election win against token opposition. Almost immediately, she started preparing to run for president. Even when settling for vice president she became one of the least qualified veeps in America’s history.
But wait, current Vice President JD Vance “barely” finished a cup of coffee before he was running for the role. He completed only a third of his Senate term. So we have been pretty much going with the “old” and the “inexperienced” to lead our country, yet we wonder why our current politics have been going off the rails.
By comparison let us look at the politicians before 2008:
– Bill Clinton served 12 years, Ronald Reagan served eight years, and George W. Bush served six years as governors before they became presidents. They therefore knew how to work with the legislative branch.
– Al Gore spent 16 years in Congress before becoming vice president for eight years.
– George H.W. Bush was a congressman, an ambassador, and CIA director, and had eight years of experience as vice president. These roles covered nearly all the bases for domestic and foreign affairs.
– Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman, John Kennedy served for at least 10 years in Congress before elevating to president.
– Nixon had six years in Congress and eight as vice president.
– And, note our vice presidents also usually had at least 10 years of very relevant experience via serving in Congress prior to becoming vice president: Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, Mike Pence, Gerald Ford, Hubert Humphrey, Gore, Johnson, Biden.
Add to all the above, the Trump administration seems to refuse to use all the talents and assets available to it. In some instances it is due to Trump’s inability to cultivate friends and partners. Besides Israel, nobody seems willing to work with Trump or help him, and by extension, America.
Nearly everyone in America would welcome a return to Obama’s previous agreement he forged with Iran. After all, the Strait of Hormuz would be open for commercial traffic and the U.S. would not be spending $1 billion every single day on the war. That is money we do not have, and money that will be added to our growing and unsustainable $39.5 trillion national debt.
Ideally, an American president would lean on the United Nations to show the world’s acceptance of our approach. But Trump has berated and has shown such a lack of respect for that institution it makes it difficult to get “real” help from the U.N. anymore.
The normal hiring evaluations which always included “age” and “experience” (relevant record of achievements) have been hijacked. Yet in nearly all other jobs in America the two would be of grave importance. For about 230 years of our republic it was very important – not so much now. So we should not wonder why the train has derailed.
Improvement is needed. We need to hold elected officials in Congress and the president accountable by “fining” them a significant percentage – 15%-20% of their adjusted gross income – for not doing at least the basics of their job on time, like passing a budget and spending bills separately via regular order.
Today members of Congress have little fear of losing their jobs. Partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts and huge outside “special interest” money (PACs) all but guarantees their re-election. We need to teach these members of Congress how to compromise and work with each other. Making them “pay a fine” for their failures would do the trick.
As for the executive branch, charismatic “smooth talkers” need not apply. Show me your record instead.
Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org