But We Like Him, Don't We?

A lot of us, including me, have enjoyed spending this week whacking away at Chris Christie. Will Fort Lee-gate (or GWB-gate) be his undoing if he tries to run for President? Depends on the American attention span. But look, he wouldn’t be a contender unless there was something about him we liked. Go on, admit it.

He is perceived as a plain speaker who says what’s on his mind when it needs to be said, even if we don’t like what he says sometimes. The scandal will prove his undoing only if he is shown to be an outright liar – or at the least, a very poor administrator who didn’t know what he should have known (the latter isn’t a deal-breaker by any means: Ronald Reagan?).

President Obama is not perceived as a plain speaker, but as someone who seems to talk out of both sides of his mouth when he feels it necessary, or whose opinions “evolve” when it’s politically convenient. That doesn’t mean he is any worse, though, than recent occupants of the office, or than politicians in general.

But remember Herman Cain? He shot to the top of the Republican heap very quickly, because he had mastered the art of plain speaking. His plans were oversimplifications, though, and his problems with women also undid him. Still, that quality was attractive.

Voters found plain speaking attractive in Harry Truman – in spite of the fact that he approved dropping two atomic bombs on Japan.

If Teddy Roosevelt were a zombie, I would vote for him. He is generally thought of as the plainest of speakers, totally unafraid to stand up to special interests. Walking softly, carrying the big stick. Obviously, he wasn’t as simple as all that. Here’s the guy who became the hero of our national park system, who loved the environment – and also enjoyed hunting. But he was perceived as caring about the average citizen. Who’s the last President to have done that – and meant it?  

Maybe we can get Aaron Sorkin to deisgn us a President. The guy Martin Sheen played in The West Wing wasn’t perfect – but would probably work for me.

Android technology still has a ways to go yet, though, so for the time being, we’re stuck with finding someone who can speak to us. But it’s not just plain words. Believe it or not, dumbing down doesn’t work with the majority of voters. It’s about connecting. Can our system produce someone who really connects with us, even if we disagree sometimes -- someone we TRUST? I haven’t given up on it quite yet. But I think we’re all more than ready. We'll know it when we see it -- and listen when we hear it.

A President's Mission in Life

President Obama left no doubt about his mission after getting into office: it was to do something about reforming healthcare. Exactly how he did it or whether he did it well are debatable, but the bottom line is, he did it.

Presidents who have missions usually accomplish them. With Lincoln it was freeing the slaves; with Teddy Roosevelt it was busting trusts; with FDR it was the New Deal; with Johnson it was the Great Society. It doesn’t mean the missions were always good (war in Iraq) – but they were missions.

I want the next President to make tax reform his mission in life (or at least in office, but life would be better). All these discussions about increasing taxes on the wealthy or continuing tax cuts, capital gains rates, you name it, just take us around in very big circles.

The federal income tax code is 100 years old next year. When it started out, it was probably a good idea in concept, like the plans for a simple new home to support a nuclear family. But almost right away, they started adding wings to accommodate great aunts, and upper stories to take care of cousins. After a while, such structures become ugly and unbalanced. The roof starts to leak, then the rats come, and well, there it goes. The owner keeps making simple repairs to keep up, but eventually loses control.

Taxes are an issue at the very heart of our economic crisis. Some may get angry at Mitt Romney for paying only 13 percent in taxes or squirreling money away in the Cayman Islands, but if what he’s doing is legal, he’s only doing what just about all of us would do if we were in his shoes. It’s not his fault. It’s the system.

The other night, CNN reported that while the IRS collects $1 trillion or so a year in taxes, the loopholes and exemptions total about $1.3 trillion. Bill Clinton talks about arithmetic. There’s Lesson One.

So please, Mr. President, whoever you may be next January, make comprehensive tax reform your mission in life. The code doesn’t have to be complicated. All it really has to be is fair. Just decide for yourself that it’s doable, and take us there. The opponents of healthcare reform will be pussycats compared to who’s going to come after you over this issue. That’s why it has to be your mission.

The Cowboy and the Alien

Some of you have heard me quip that if Rick Perry is the cowboy among the Republican presidential candidates, then Mitt Romney must be the alien. OK, so you get the cowboy part, but why do I think Romney’s an alien?

Just to be clear about this -- a relative and I occasionally bestow this classification on certain people we run across. All of us have encountered at least one. They’re attractive, competent and sensible, but gosh darn it, there’s something missing. What it is, we don’t know – but we know it’s why the individual so designated has trouble connecting with us, or with others. I have no doubt that Mitt Romney is qualified to be President. So why does he make even Republicans uncomfortable? It’s that thing that isn’t there. With McCain they worried that his heart might give out at his age; with Romney, is there a reasonable fear that his batteries may die?

Romney’s a great backup in case nobody else works out for the GOP. But Republicans want desperately for someone else to work out. They’re attracted to Herman Cain. He’s decisive. He has plans to fix things. Some of them make a certain amount of sense. He makes them sound like they make sense. He’s the CEO of a successful company who knows what success is. He’s a leader. That’s what Republicans want. Heck, that’s what the country wants right now.

Just one problem. Cain’s a nut case. Off the scale on some things. Come on – do you really agree with him that Sharia law is going to take over our judicial system? What about his statement that he won’t have a Muslim in his cabinet, or appoint one to a federal judgeship?

Which brings us back to the alien. I’d have a really hard time voting for an alien, but as long as we’re in the sci-fi/horror genre, I’d easily vote for a zombie if his name were Teddy Roosevelt.

That’s what’s really missing.