On Choosing a President

My husband and I were watching our DVD collection of The West Wing. We just love it. Thoughtful. Thought provoking. Human. Full of big ideas. A peek into what it might be like to make policies and decisions that affect a nation.

Last night we watched the episode Twenty Hours in America. Three of the president's top advisers are on the campaign trail with the president, and miss the motorcade. They need to find their own way back to D.C. Along the trail, they get a bigger view of America by being out of the beltway and having interactions with rank-and-file Americans.

As they enter the District, 20 hours later, and walk toward the white house, Toby opines:

If our jobs teach us anything it's that we don't know what the next President's gonna face.

If we choose someone with vision, someone with guts, someone with gravitas who's connected to other people's lives and cares about making them better, if we choose someone to inspire us, then we'll be able to face what comes our way and achieve things we can't imagine yet.

Instead of telling people who's most qualified, instead of telling people who's got the better ideas, let's make it obvious.

Indeed.