President Search
I was reading this blog entry* about how the author thinks maybe we shouldn't elect another Clinton, because that would mean just too many years with the White House controlled either by a Bush or a Clinton. A good point. He also said this:
Surely, in a country of more than 300 million people we can find someone very qualified to be president who is not named Clinton or Bush.
It struck me, then, as blindingly obvious that the 21st century answer to this problem would be reality program called like America's President Search, 2008!
APS would scour the country with the help of celebrity hosts, setting practical problems to potential candidates and seeing who acquits herself or himself with the least (or most) humiliation. Viewers would exercise their democratic obligations by viewing a majority of episodes and phoning in their votes. Campaign spending would be eliminated, although candidates would likely pick up sponsors whose names would be embroidered on the candidates' red, white, and blue jumpsuits.
I think I'll stop there and leave it to my four readers to imagine for themselves the events and trails that the candidates would face. In fairness, though, I would think that each of the US' 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and Guam, would each get one week of each 52-week season to design and host an event to help week down the field of hopefuls.
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*Robert Guttman, "Do We Really Want Another Clinton or Bush in the White House?", Huffington Post, 22 January 2007.
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I welcome comments -- even dissent -- but I will delete without notice irrelevant, rude, psychotic, or incomprehensible comments, particularly those that I deem homophobic, unless they are amusing. The same goes for commercial comments and trackbacks. Sorry, but it's my blog and my decisions are final.
on Monday, 22 January 2007 at 17.07
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"APS would scour the country with the help of celebrity hosts, setting practical problems to potential candidates and seeing who acquits herself or himself with the least (or most) humiliation. Viewers would exercise their democratic obligations by viewing a majority of episodes and phoning in their votes."
NOW WHY, oh why, is it, when I read this, that the first thing that pops into my mind is the competition for "the Upper Class Twit of the Year award" from Monty Python.
on Monday, 22 January 2007 at 17.41
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OK, this is all in good fun — until some programming genius at Fox or CNN gets hold of it. Heaven help us all if that happens.
Regarding the proposition of just too many years of a Clinton or Bush being president, I've also had that feeling. But on further thought I don't like it, at least not when it comes to Hillary Clinton. (As for Bushes, I'd like to see the Constitution amended to prevent any member of George H.W. Bush's current clan and direct descendents ever holding the office of president or vice president again, ever.)
Hillary, after all, is a Clinton by marriage, so this isn't a matter of inheritance a la Britain's royals. What's more, she's earned her own stripes. I don't think she should be a shoo-in for president because of her name or past first ladyship experience. But her experience as an attorney, Senate staffer, winning and retaining a Senate seat, and her service as the senator of a particularly big, diverse state make her a very credible contender in her own right.
Arbitrarily ruling her out is neither fair nor wise.
on Monday, 22 January 2007 at 18.31
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SW, you have a valid fear, but I'm humbly willing to overlook that and bow to the pressure of inevitability when it comes to popular television culture — provided I get a concept-development fee out it.
on Tuesday, 23 January 2007 at 01.55
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Well, your idea beats most of the reality shows they put on. Better you should profit than the sociopaths behind shows that have dupes and dimwits eating slugs and swimming in cesspools.