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What I don’t expect from my candidate

More often than not, what you hear most this embattled primary season is what everyone expects from their presidential candidate; seldom, if ever, do you hear the other side—what we don’t want in a candidate.

So, to fill that gap, I am pleased to oblige by providing a list of what I don’t want in a presidential candidate.

Let me begin with the easy stuff:

I don’t want a president who invents stories simply to get elected;

I don’t want a president whom you cannot get a straight answer from; who fudges or waffles around the question thinking that their obfuscation settles the matter. It does not;

I don’t want a president who says something he/she does not believe in for the sake of expediency. If my candidate doesn’t believe that Ethanol is a good economic use for corn, I would like him/her to say so…..

I don’t want a president who’ll tell me what I want to hear—whether it’s true or not;

I don’t want a president who edits their own background and includes what’s favorable and omits what’s not;

I also don’t want a whiner, somebody who says that everyone is picking on them; but, at the same time, doesn’t mind jabbing them in the eye when the opportunity presents itself; they are simply slippery advocates of the old ‘double standard’ that would have earned them a bloody nose in the school yard among a jury of their peers;

I don’t want a candidate who parades how many times they go to church. I’ve known to many parasites who can go to church and pray one minute and cut off your testicles the next.

I don’t want anybody in the highest office who isn’t a humanist with all that implies;

Also, I don’t want a president who isn’t an “elitest.” I want somebody who is better than me in mind and spirit running for office; otherwise, I would run. I don’t want a president I can go have a beer with and tell dirty jokes, I want somebody I can look up to and respect;



I don’t want a president who doesn’t get it; who doesn’t understand that the last eight years have been an unparalleled disaster;

I don’t want a president who is afraid to tackle a sacred cow and reveal it for what it is—even though it might cost votes! Their integrity is more important than the votes….;

I happen to believe that to earn my vote, I should respect you for everything you are.

I do not want to support your candidacy if you have a tendency to pander for a vote.

I don’t want to support your candidacy if you are inclined to take cheap shots for advantage.

I won’t support you if you don’t fight fair and square;

I don’t want a candidate who will do anything for a momentary advantage.

I don’t want someone who can’t rise above petty bickering; who can’t set a new tone;.

I don’t want a candidate who can’t attract Independent voters and cross-over voters;.

I don’t want a president I can’t believe in, warts and all;

I don’t want a president who doesn’t inspire HOPE!;

I don’t want a president who doesn’t have the courage and the strength to move us forward after eight years of mental and moral stagnation;

I don’t want a president who can’t or won’t make the effort to bring Americans together so that we can rise again as a world power—recognized and respected for who we are and what we do; not as a keeper of prisoners of war camps, or as a people who indulge in torture!

I don’t want a president who doesn’t have the vision and creativity to understand what this country needs in order to re-emerge as the great nation we are;

I don’t want a president who won’t move heaven and earth to end the war once and for all.

I don’t want a president who doesn’t believe in diplomacy;

I don’t want a president who won't eliminate our dependence on foreign oil;

I don’t want as president someone who doesn’t recognize our need to end global warming in our lifetime or at least mitigate its effects;

I don’t want as a president who isn’t committed to a resurgence of American business and industry;

And I don’t want as president anyone who confuses spirituality with the benefits of science and technology.

I don’t think that is too much to ask from the person willing to take on the top job in the world….

Anyway, it’s my short list.

Les Aaron