Seeking Greatness…

Greetings from the Canadian Rockies. Cindy and I are on our anniversary vacation in Banff, AB. While up here, the primary source of news is the BBC, which provides a very different view on the US (and the world) then our local news stations (or even CNN). This difference got us talking about politics.

I mentioned to Cindy that I felt Obama was going to be an extraordinary president. Perhaps rightfully so, I think she chalked this up to the optimist in me. This led to a further discussion regarding extraordinary presidents and how the last several elections (all of the elections while I have been alive) have been about the choice of the lesser evil. Why aren’t elections about great men or woman and their great ideas? Why does the American public get so turned off to politics and by election day just want one of the corner stones to our government to just be behind us. Shouldn’t we as a society embrace and look forward to the chance to choose our leaders? Shouldn’t this be a time of smart people with good ideas, discussing the merits of their ideaologies? The day before we left for vacation, while watching TV, there were a string of negative ads from both McCain and Obama (though it was very heavily weighted with more ads from McCain, I counted). Is this really what resonates with the American people or is it just “easier” to get votes by scaring people? And if it really is just easier, do we want a President or Vice President who takes the easy way out?

Why do we settle year after year for mediocrity? What happens if we were to change the expectation of politics? I refuse to believe that there are no more “A” candidates out there, only “C”. What happens if we believed students in schools could only do “C” work? It is time for us to expect more, to require more from those who choose to serve at the pleasure of the American public.

So I leave you with this classified:

In search of smart, hard working and dedicated individuals to lead our country. Over 575 positions available. You must be willing to sacrifice you time, but not your ideals. You must be willing to have the difficult conversations and learn from your opponents at the same time. You must be willing to surround yourself with people who are smarter then you are and realize that a decision that comes from group discussion and debate is not a sign a weakness, it is a sign of greatness. Democrats, Republicans, Independents all welcome to apply.