2036 Here I Come

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.

I come here today, without presumption, and in deep reflection to declare my candidacy for the presidency... in 2036. I will be 56 years old. Comfortably mature, but not yet old. The country needs change, and I am just the candidate to bring it.

This journey will be long. It will be tough. Together we can be the change we have been waiting for. Now, granted, this will require a lot of campaigning, fund-raising, and rallies, but what is 28 years here and there? It is important to start early. To fight the good fight. Will you join me?

No? Rats.

Our interminable campaigns are starting to show their folly. It is impossible to know 2 years in advance what the "big issue" will be 2 years hence. It is impossible to have such clairvoyance as to predict the winning issues, the miracle message.

In 1992, Bill Clinton became an official candidate in the fall. In 2008 Hillary Clinton had already been a candidate since 2002. Barack was official in the spring. The folly that follows is absurd.

Hillary was pro-war when pro-war seemed cool. She expected to ride strong national security credentials to the White House in a country that was fervently post 9/11. Rudy Giuliani expected to do much the same.

Meanwhile, the world changed. Barack Obama arose from the dust of Chicago to give hope to a new vision: war was wrong, is wrong, and will remain wrong. After more than a year of campaigning, the Democrats stumbled there way into an Obama candidacy.

Ooops! Imagine our surprise. Success in Iraq now seems probable, making Hillary prescient while Obama's raison d'etre evaporates before his eyes. Meanwhile, the economy supposedly sucks. OK, Obama's reprieve. Nope. It turns out economic woes have much to do with energy prices, and Obama just seems a little behind the curve.

Ergo, John McCain's strength: national security seems to be on the rise. Barack's strength: anti-war seems amiss. John McCain's weakness: the economy seems rather in hand if energy is the issue. Barack's strength becomes fleeting.

Recall that George W. was elected on a domestic agenda in a post-history America flush with cash. He quickly became the national security president we needed. NOTHING in the 2000 campaign would have suggested 9/11, and therefore it was never contested.

The lesson here is simple. The person matters. Trying to lure the public's vote on narrow issues is sure to fail when the campaign stretches to years. BUT, electing a man of experience and character will ensure success in any event. Maybe this year that man was Hillary Clinton, but it sure isn't Barack Obama.

Campaigns are too long. The attempt to pander foolish. The need for leadership enduring.