Wanted: A President with Character, Vision, Ability to Unify

America is in the process of choosing its next President; Michigan gets to weigh in Feb. 28 after South Carolina Saturday and Florida Jan. 31. Republicans are picking a challenger to President Obama, and the field has narrowed to four. The best leaders are not necessarily the smartest. Although it helps to have to have creative ideas, the one at the top can hire and fire smart people. Politics is a team sport; the leader sets the tone and vision for the team.

Character is paramount. Watergate would never have happened under Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan. If honesty is expected of all who work for an administration, no one would think of wrongdoing. It’s better to be a bridge builder than a wall builder. Dividing people by race, economic status, and religious beliefs should be avoided. In America, both political parties divide to some extent, especially the Democrats. A President should be Uniter-in-Chief, not Divider-in-Chief. Finally, vision is also key. Is America the beacon of hope for the world or just another country? The land of equal opportunity for all, or a land of equal outcomes for all?

Our founders formed this nation on a combination of idealism and a realistic understanding of human nature. The Pilgrims tried collectivism at first and found that people will work harder for their own family than they will for the greater good, however virtuous they might be. If men were angels, there would be no need for government. We need government to restrain our fallen nature and provide for the common good, but we also need to restrain our government, which has grown out of control to the point where we will face a debt crisis rivaling Greece and Italy within ten years if we don’t do something soon.

So who would make the best president? It’s a far more important question than who can defeat Obama, who gets grades of C for Character, F for Unifier and W for Wrong Vision in my book and needs to be fired. His policies are a lot like those of FDR, who prolonged the Great Depression with his Big Government economics. Any of the four could defeat him and will have my vote if they become the nominee.

I wrote the following late last year before Rick Santorum won by 34 votes in Iowa. He knows how to run an efficient grass roots campaign, spending $0.74 for every vote he received in Iowa. He would make the best President, standing head and shoulders above the other three remaining candidates. I voted for Romney in 2008; this time the Republicans have a stronger field. I give Santorum As in all three categories.

Santorum for President

Voters should give Rick Santorum a serious second look. He has the character qualities that will make an excellent president: a moral compass that points due north, foreign policy experience plus the ability to identify friends and adversaries, and the capacity to find common ground while not compromising core convictions.

Santorum is well prepared, with a variety of experience beyond his years in the Congress and Senate. The gracious way he handled callers to Bill Bennett’s Morning in America radio program as Friday guest host speaks to his understanding of people. He is winsome and has none of the baggage that would make it easy for the Obama campaign to marginalize the other Republican candidates.

Santorum is largely unknown because he has been ignored by the mass media. Most of the media leans left and would like to see Obama reelected. Even the conservative pundits are fond of analyzing debate performances while ignoring the substance of the person’s ideas and character.

Michigan just suffered through eight years of a governor who was a skilled debater but did little to help our state economically. She won reelection against a business leader promising we’d be blown away in four years; those words came true in a way she never imagined. Michigan is the only state to lose population in the last census; we are still really hurting. The auto industry’s implosion was not her fault but she could have done a lot more to make Michigan business friendly. Dick Devos was a weak debater but would have made a better governor.

Rick Santorum has all the qualities we want in a President: impeccable character, vision for the future, and solid conservative ideas. He is also a skilled debater, looks good on TV, and relates well to everyday people, a necessity to be elected in today’s world. He has my vote and endorsement.