April 5, 2010 8:32 AM
David Petraeus for President?
From the UK Telegraph - which has become a better source of news about our country than the ABC/CBS/NBS/NYT/WaPo/government media complex:David Petraeus for President: Run General, run
With many voters yearning for an outsider, and military officers looked up to, General David Petraeus could be a powerful presidential candidate and a potentially accomplished President.
General David Petraeus Photo: APAmericans have never been so disgusted with their politicians. More than three-quarters of Americans disapprove of Congress. President Barack Obama's favourability ratings have slumped to below 50 per cent and he is no longer trusted or believed by many who voted for him.
Republicans are faring little better and the growth of the Tea Party movement reflects the widespread disgust with Washington and the political class. Incumbents across the board are vulnerable in November's mid-term elections.
Many voters yearn for an outsider, someone with authenticity, integrity and proven accomplishment. Someone who has not spent their life plotting how to ascend the greasy pole, adjusting every utterance for maximum political advantage.
In this toxic climate, perhaps the only public institution that has increased in prestige in recent years is the American military. Its officers are looked upon, as General George Patton once noted, as "the modern representatives of the demi-gods and heroes of antiquity".
Where better to look for Obama's successor, therefore, than in the uniformed ranks? Not since 1952, when a certain Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War, was elected President, have the chances of a military man winning the White House been more propitious.
Within those ranks, no one stands out like General David Petraeus, head of United States Central Command, leader of 230,000 troops and commander of United States forces in two wars. Having masterminded the Iraq surge, the stunning military gambit that seized victory from the jaws of defeat, he is now directing an equally daunting undertaking in Afghanistan.
Read more at UK Telegraph.
One thing is for sure: the best qualification for a future president would be not wanting to be president. Our Founding Fathers originally intended elected office to be a calling, a sacrifice of one's personal ambitions in order to serve their country for a while.
Today we have the repulsive spectacle of career politicians and narcissists greedy for power/glory/fame/money/status trashing the Constitution, seizing ever greater power and demanding ever more and more for themselves.
Maybe this would be refreshing change - to have someone with a demonstrated ability to lead without the need for self-aggrandizement.
Will be watching this with interest.
Posted in 2010 elections, Obama Nation | Permalink
Comments
In our church, individuals are "called" to voluntary positions. Lobbying or asking for such positions is discouraged, and it's often joked amongst members that if a person aspires to be a Bishop or that last one that should be called to the position. So I completely identify with the idea that being POTUS should be a "calling" and and not aspired to. Because then self-interests get in the way and that's when disastrous decisions will be made. Good post!
Posted by: Loralee | April 5, 2010 10:32 PM
