Who should run for office?

Five years or so ago I took on a video project at church where I interviewed our pastor emeritus who had done so much in the 1960s to make our church a vibrant downtown institution.  We thought it a good idea to get his best remembrances on tape for posterity before his stories would be lost in time.  

We engaged a local public access media person who made a living out of recording such things to tape and edit our production.  In the process, I sat with this gentleman in his office/control room for a couple hours over a few visits, approving the final edits.  The product had its flaws, but overall was a credible production that will serve the church archive well.  Before I’d leave the gentleman’s work space, we’d talk about the state of the world and Dayton and wondered just what it would take to make life in our fair city better for the majority who were struggling long before the economic crisis hit in 2007.  

So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when I got a phone call from him a year ago saying he was running for Dayton city commission and could I help him out with a financial gift.  

I felt a little stuck immediately.  I told him I didn’t live in the city, instead holding a residence in a neighboring township.  He said that didn’t make any difference, that I could help his campaign with a cash donation anyway.  He was right.  I could have. 

But something prevented me from doing it.  Trust me, I’ve written a few checks to political candidates over the years, so that didn’t bother me.  If you can’t put your checkbook where your heart is, then, some would say, you really aren’t participating in democracy. 

Back in early September I noticed signs for this candidate popping up along major thoroughfares in the city.  I wondered how he would do in this, his first election.  Then I wondered even more about why I couldn’t support him with a check in the first place.  Another acquaintance is running for re-election to the Dayton school board.  I didn’t write her a check, but if she asked, I’m pretty sure Cindy Lou and I would have agreed.   

So what was it about this media guy I couldn’t support?  I certainly agreed with where his heart was on those occasions we’d talk at his office.   

Through this recent pondering, I’ve clarified for myself that in my heart of hearts I want somebody pretty smart running the government.  It was the same conclusion I reached about George W. Bush.  Not that I could have voted for him anyway due to his conservative politics favoring those who have already made it, but I never felt that being a guy you’d want to have a beer with was cause enough for electing him president.  Did I feel that way about city commission, too?  

The media guy was smart enough, I’d say, though his personality was a little eccentric.  Maybe it was because I felt him pretty common that I couldn’t get on board for his election.  

Then I began to wonder just who should run for office?  

Does somebody need to already have a successful track record in the public domain for me to support her or him?  My friend who’s running for re-election to the school board worked a career as an elementary teacher.  I figure she had what it took to serve on a school board.  While this is only her second election, she has already been selected by her peers to serve as board president.  Obviously, I’m not the only one who thinks she is capable.  

But how I felt about this other guy stuck in my head.  Why wouldn’t he make a good city commissioner, even if I couldn’t vote for him?  It was obvious he cared about the city in which he lived.  What else does it take?  

Then I had thoughts of another guy at church who was encouraging people to run for public office.  If we wanted a progressive Christian voice to be heard in legislative halls, who best to run than a concerned progressive Christian?  Point taken. 

Still, in that heart of hearts of mine, I want somebody smarter than I am running the country.  Maybe not so much the city or a school board, though they’re important, too.  I mean, Herman Cain and Michelle Bachman scare the heck out of me because I don’t feel they are very smart.  Cain is changing his mind every day, it seems, honing his platform as he runs.  He’s currently leading most GOP polls.  And Bachman?  Heavens.  She is the darling of a group of Americans who want to take the country back for white folks who feel they’ve lost their centuries-old hold on American politics.  

Let me say at this point in my deliberations that I do think regular folk should run for office.  In reality, who else is there to do our work as our elected officials? 

Just the same, I still feel it essential that my President should be smarter than I am.  I might not agree with everything Obama has done, but I’ve heard from more than one pundit that he’s ‘the smartest guy in the room’ at meetings.  I’d sure like to think that’s enough to get the People’s work done.

Today’s Elder Idea:  Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.  We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.  We are the change that we seek. 

Barack Obama

5 February 2008