While I was writing my last article, I touched on an opinion that many people would probably disagree with me on but I feel needs to be considered at the very least.
Running for elected office usually boils down to a popularity contest and I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone say about their chosen politician that they feel like they could really sit down and have a beer with the guy. I’ve said it myself a couple of times, and even now I can recognize when I feel like I could just sit and talk naturally with a man for a while without feeling like I’m just being conversated with because they feel like they have to.
While those warm fuzzy feelings are great, they shouldn’t at all make a politician the main choice. Some of the most personable people in the world can be the most sinister and least genuine. The popular kid in school wasn’t always the one you really wanted to emulate in your personal life.
The question really boils down to the ability to run a nation and define how the world will treat the nation.
Let’s take former President Donald Trump, for instance. Asking the mainstream media about Trump’s personality, you’d hear about his crudeness, his shallow diction, and his over-eagerness to mock, belittle, and anger anyone in his way. Sure enough, back in 2015, I found very little that was redeemable about Trump, as did many Republicans.
It wasn’t until he was president for a time that I, like many, learned a hard lesson; you don’t have the like the guy in office, you just have to like the fruits of his labor. Trump did a great job. Imperfect, to be sure, but a great job nonetheless. Especially when you compare it to the guy the Democrats say is the most personable and grandfatherly type to ever exist in the White House.
I’d rather have mean tweets than poor streets.
Look at it this way; during a time of economic crisis would you want a boss with a charming smile, impeccable dress, and an office that looks like something straight out of a catalog, but has all the strategic know-how and foresight of a lemming? Probably not. You’d take the socially awkward nerd with a huge bald spot on his head and looks like he hasn’t changed anything style-wise since the 1970s. That man’s there to do a job, not charm you into a false sense of security.
Being the President of the United States is one of the biggest jobs there is. He has to be able to juggle a lot of roles all at once. In order to be effective he has to balance an economy, guard a border, and play trader while moving the most incredible military the world’s ever seen against powers that threaten everyone every day. He has to be able to outmaneuver other world leaders while outmaneuvering his political opposites in the United States itself.
These are just some of the things he has to do. It’s no wonder that the job ages you significantly.
But this means that, when push comes to shove, the guy with the easy smile that can make you feel like you’re the only person in a crowded room when he speaks to you needs to be just as heavily scrutinized as the rest, if not more so. He might be able to charm the pants off you, but can he strategize a good plan for energy independence while simultaneously dealing with the encroachment of radicals both without and within? Can he devise a way to keep our border safe while working with the economic hardships of our times?
If all a politician is good for is his charm then you’ll be watching that charm struggle to make excuses for why he sucks at his job for four years.
I’d had enough of that during the Obama era.