Like any other job description, there are required qualifications and desired qualifications. The desirable ones are more likely to be dispensable, most of the required are not. What do you think the qualifications of the next President of the United States should be?
On Tuesday, January 3, 2012, in less than five days, the official count down to electing the next President of the United States begins with the Iowa Primary Election. Do you know what the required qualifications vs. the desirable ones are for the number one job in the world? More importantly, do you have an informed assessment of who among the Republican contenders might best meet them?
As the selection begins in earnest, shouldn’t that be the primary focus? Given the choices, who is the most qualified to hold the office?
Yet, we are presented and caught up in a cacophony of some of the most negative, and distorted messages and media campaigns. In many ways, the public is asked to choose the candidate who appears the least sleazy, racist, or adulterous.
Selecting a President to run the country is not very different than selecting a CEO to run a company. The roles of the Electoral College and the voters are analogous and very similar to the Board of Directors and shareholders. Many of the same qualities sought in the CEO of a multi-billion or multi-trillion dollar company apply to the President of the United States who presides over a multi-trillion dollar government with worldwide influence.
What might some of those qualifications be? And it is important that we distinguish between the required and the desirable.
Your checklist might include the following prerequisites (If the candidate doesn’t meet these basics, can we really expect him to do the job?):
- Knowledgeable and Good Communicator. Which candidate consistently demonstrates that he has a command of the major issues, challenges, and policies decisions facing the country in sufficient enough detail to distinguish between good advice and bad, to provide leadership and direction, and has the communication, negotiation, and consensus-building skills to achieve meaningful outcomes?
- Right Kind of Experience. Which candidate has the best career experience to select the right cabinet or management team to grapple with some of the most complex issues facing our time within our borders and globally? A couple of examples readily come to mind: Which candidate will likely make policy decisions that will foster a strong economy that will continue to keep America strong and benefit the greatest number of Americans? Who will be the best man at the table to help mediate the crisis in the Middle East and other troubled spots in the world? Win the war on terrorism?
- Visionary and Good Stewardship. Which candidate has the best plan for the country and would make the better steward of taxpayers’ dollars, making the best decisions today to get the greatest mileage out of available resources? Which can balance decisions in the short and long-term best interest of Americans?
- Inclusive and Compassionate. The President of the country cannot be effective without a good dose of both of these traits when one considers the complexity and diversity of the American landscape. The President must be both an inclusive and compassionate CEO if he is to balance the needs of the rich and the poor, the young and the elderly, the needs of minorities with those of the majority, the privileged, and the disenfranchised in his decision-making. The President must perform the ultimate balancing act, making decisions based upon what is good for America and/or most Americans.
- • Strong Integrity and High Moral Standards. If we have not screened for these traits at this stage of the game and determined which candidates can meet them, then shame on us.
Some desirable qualifications might include, like-ability, good sense of humor, dapper dresser, tall, and handsome. While these may be desirable, are they necessary?
So, given candidates, who has the required qualifications for the job?
At this point, that should be the prevailing question.
In the remaining days before the primary election in Iowa, voters will be bombarded with endless political commercials with claims and counterclaims. Political pollsters, pundits, and partisan spin-doctors will proclaim and posture about what will, should, or need to happen for this or that to be the victor.
Perhaps one of the best things a voter can do during the next few days is to find some quiet time — create his/her own soundproof booth — and, given the candidates, decide who is the most qualified. This would be a good screening process until the final vote in November 2012.
But don’t be beguiled by the apparent grand finale of November 2012.
In truth: It is just the beginning of what this country could or could not become over the next four or eight years.