CRITERIA/STANDARDS FOR CHOOSING A PRESIDENT

Many believe that politics is stupid because of all of the partisan bickering that goes on.  That may or may not be true, but it’s irrelevant…our President makes decisions that affect not only us, but our children, grandchildren, and many other countries around the world.

Based on the controversy of the previous and upcoming Presidential elections, I developed the following non-partisan criteria for selecting a President.  I came up with them after looking at everyone else’s and concluding that they were inadequate.  My qualifications for doing this are: I followed politics since 1960, my Masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania is in Government Administration, and working for the Federal, State and local governments for 44 years.  My 7  criteria for choosing a President are listed below and are prioritized and listed in the order of their importance (#1 is the most important and #7 the least important).

1. POSITIONS ON ISSUES:  this criterium is by far the most important reason why one should select one presidential candidate over another.

2. EXPERIENCE: there is no job exactly like the presidency but there are some jobs that provide relevant experience.  It’s not a coincidence that seventeen of our U.S. Presidents have been Governors of a State.  Being a Governor provides the best experience for the presidency, however any executive or managerial experience is relevant and useful.  High-level military experience is also good.  Legislative and legal experience is useful but not ideal.  Check out the accomplishments of the candidate.

3. EDUCATION: A masters degree in either Government or Business Administration is probably the most relevant education a President could have.  A law degree is helpful.  Business education is also helpful.

4. OPEN-MINDEDNESS:  In U.S. politics, the politician is either on the left or the right and this ideology can be constraining at times for finding the best solutions to a problem or dilemma, so willingness to “going-across-the-aisle” and being a good listener can be a great asset for a president.

5. INTEGRITY: one of the important qualities but not so common in many politicians.  This is important because the President may ask the Country to go to war or to make some other sacrifice, so we need to be able to trust him or her and not think that whatever is being done is for political purposes.

6. PUBLIC SPEAKING and CHARISMA: for his “bully pulpit” duties, a President would be well-served by being a master of the spoken word, and if he or she is charismatic as well, so much the better.

7. HEALTH (physical & mental): sufficient physical health to travel around the world and throughout the U.S., as well as adequate mental health to make good decisions.

CONCLUSION

You may agree or disagree with my 7 criteria or perhaps you simply may want to add a few more.  Whatever…but it is important to have criteria (or standards) to use, otherwise you’ might do what many people do: vote solely by political party, vote because of something irrelevant like age, gender, physical appearance, ethnicity, race, or emotions. While most elections don’t matter that  much, the 2016 Presidential election was one of the most important in U.S. history, and the 2020 Presidential election was also very important, but in a negative way because it reversed many of the great achievements of former President Trump.  Use my six criteria in checking out the 2024 Presidential candidates.

It used to be relatively easy to carefully consider my aforementioned six criteria in judging presidential candidates.  With today’s partisan media, it’s very difficult to get accurate information, but it can be done with great effort.  The fate of the U.S. depends on it.

 

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