Endorsing candidates is not what I normally do; but I do believe that aspirants to the White House should be candid. Ironically Romans running for office wore togas that were “shining white” (candid, in Latin) and such candidates were expected to speak the truth. Better put, people voted for the candidate who they considered to be most truthful.

One idea for this November is to vote for the tallest candidate. Yes, data show that since the coming of television in the late 1950s, the tallest presidential candidate has always won the popular vote. But one could go three ways here: not vote, since the tallest will win anyway; vote for the tallest and be with the winners; or go with apple pie, baseball, parenthood and all we stand for, by voting for the underdog—the shortest. Since the 2008 elections have so many unusual elements, the results may throw historical data into a tailspin.

Another approach is to vote for the one with the most flags on the platform. With ubiquitous television, flags should cover the entire background of the candidate—six to ten large standing flags; three to five huge standing flags; or one flag on the wall so big that all you can see behind the candidate’s head is a few red and white stripes—maybe a few stars off the right ear. Wearing more than one flag lapel pin is tacky, but almost anything on the platform can help.

More seriously, I think we should forget the past clichés such as “he has such high moral values…” (we know what that got us!),  but ask a similar question about each candidate’s advisors. In past elections, that would have saved us from such a mess. What I mean is this: take your most important issues—maybe the war in Iraq, and its twin, the economy; the mortgage crisis, taxes, the environment and so forth. We should not have to chose between a nuclear holocaust and an ecological apocalypse. Don’t listen to what the candidates say—they all have highly paid and talented speech writers; rather find out what the media seldom point out: who are the candidates’ advisors on foreign policy, economic policy, the environment? 

To know the advisor’s names and records and how they think will be the candid test of what the USA will aspire to after 2009.

Henry H. Bucher, Jr.
Adjunct Associate Professor Humanities
Comparative World History / Africa & Middle East
Austin College  # 61626
Sherman, TX 75090-4400
hbucher@austincollege.edu
Fax: 903-868-2783