Student warns against ‘average Joe’ leaders

Guest columnist Nick Cooper

Throughout the course of this presidential election year, the Republican campaign message has been simple: “Vote for me, because I can relate to you personally, because I am like you, the average American.” I understand that it would be impossible to find this exact dialogue in any sound bite from both Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. However, the Republicans have implied this message through countless tactics. Early in the campaign, McCain labeled himself as the average candidate, the maverick, the independent minded, especially in his avid use of the town hall format for the majority of his speeches. His running mate, Palin, took the message even further by referring to herself as a, “PTA Member”, “Hockey Mom”, and who could forget, “Pit-bull with Lipstick”.

This type of rhetoric coming from already charming candidates seems to be the perfect recipe to swoon voters toward the Republican Party. “Forget the economy, forget the war, forget health care and human rights. That candidate is like me, so I’m gonna vote for them.” Well, me being the argumentative person that I am would have to ask that voter, “Do you think you could be president?”

I could receive all types of answers to a question like that. But from my own personal experiences I found that most people do not think that they could be president. In fact, if given the opportunity, most Americans would likely reject a responsibility of such significance. And who can blame them? Let’s face it, the President of the United States could possibly be the most difficult position to fill in the world. Not only does the president literally work many 24 hour days, but also needs to have a wide range of knowledge including but not limited to complex economic theory and Palestinian-Israeli history. Call me an elitist, but I do not believe that the average American can handle that type of work. And I would not want to vote for someone like myself either. A high school senior with about 12 years of grade school and political experience limited to two years of class treasurer is not exactly what our country needs for leadership at this critical hour.

I am going to make a challenge to all the voters out there reading this column. Do not simply choose a candidate because you can relate to him/her, or because you think that candidate is most like you. Instead, vote for the candidate that is better than you. Vote for the candidate that is more intelligent, more experienced, and more ready to lead this country. What the McCain campaign is trying to do to the average American is not only dishonest but also unfair. Enticing voters into choosing familiar comfortable candidates was the same Republican strategy used in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. And based on the current president’s approval ratings, few people would be willing to fall for the same campaign tactic a third time. Take a step outside of your comfort zone and vote for someone more able to accept the presidency than you are. If you make this brave decision and take on this challenge, I guarantee the only thing that may be hurt by this action is your ego.