So, You Want To Be President?

By Hank Silverberg

There are now 16 Democrats who want to be President. I could run off a list for you, but that would chase you to that ‘X’ in the upper right- hand corner of your computer screen very quickly, and it may be out of date before this week is over. Instead, I want to share some advice with all those candidates.  No, I have never run a presidential campaign. I’ve covered them, mostly as a local reporter and not as national reporter, the so-called “boys on the bus.” But these days I am more important: I’m a very engaged voter. 

Here is what I would like from the candidates: 

First suggestion: Don’t try to be someone you are not. Be yourself. You can not be all things to all people. 

“You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.’” A. Lincoln, Sept 2, 1858

Lincoln knew that, though he violated it so many times that today with the 24 hour news cycle, he could never get elected.  Some of the current candidates have already forgotten that often used quote and have looked ridiculous as a result.   

Kamala Harris went on a radio talk show in New York and took questions.  Yes, she is in favor of legalizing marijuana for a variety of reasons. Yes, she smoked it and in a flashback to the 1992 campaign of Bill Clinton, yes, she said, she “inhaled.”  Fair enough. But she blew the whole scenario when she talked about using pot in college while listening to Tupac. It didn’t take long for reporters to figure out that the time line was wrong. The music she referred to came out after she was through with college. Those small lies can damage your integrity.

https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Kamala-Harris-says-she-s-smoked-pot-and-inhaled-13607608.php

Then there is Elizabeth Warren. Already under scrutiny for her claims of Native American blood, she turned a live stream on Instagram into a farce when she went off screen to grab a bottle of beer. 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Elizabeth+warren%2c+beer+in+hand&view=detail&mid=EF6CF8A4EBCCE1587670EF6CF8A4EBCCE1587670&FORM=VIRE

Come on, Senator. That was not your thing. You looked very awkward. It showed, badly.  

And just this week, Beto O’Rourke made his long-expected announcement. He had a very effective setting on the same day, a campaign kickoff in a  diner in Iowa. He took questions from the public, including an important one on better Internet access for rural areas. He had a good answer for the most part about the need to get youngsters more access their high school work and the benefits such better access would bring to local businesses. But then he suggested it would also make it easier to “hook-up” on Tinder!  Twenty-somethings might have thought that was cool, but to the rest of us it was a bridge too far.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/434173-orourke-cites-tinder-in-call-for-better-rural-broadband

 My second suggestion to the candidates is to tell the absolute truth.  Avoid even the smallest of lies. You know that’s what the media, and especially our Twitter- happy President, is going to pick up on.  Just ask Senator Warren why the President continues to call her “Pocahontas.” 

 Third Suggestion: Just give us a sense of where you stand on the major issues and your view on what the role of government should be. White Papers and detailed plans will never get any attention in the primaries. The press won't notice and interest groups will pounce on it as "presumptuous" and "uninformed," because you never asked THEM about it. What we really want to know is what your moral compass is-- not your 12-year plan to deal with climate change. We will ask that question once the pack thins.

When you do propose solutions, make them practical, not pie-in-the-sky ideology that will never happen. Bernie Sanders may get a lot of attention for his “free college” proposal, but it will never happen because of the astronomical price tag and everyone knows it. Instead, how about a general plan to cut down the skyrocketing cost of college, including no-interest loans or more income-based tuition assistance? You can add on solid suggestions for reduction or forgiveness of the crippling student loans that are keeping an entire generation in massive debt and holding back the national economy. You can’t buy houses, furniture and cars if you are weighed down by staggering student loans.  

Fourth Suggestion: Make this a high-brow campaign and don’t let the next news cycle control what you say and when you say it. 

Watch how you deal with the main opposition, Donald Trump. Focus on his failed policies, not his flawed personality or questionable mental health. Don’t get in a Twitter war with him. 

There is plenty of material here. Avoid words like "porn star” and “impeachment,” and "collusion" and instead focus on the failed, highly questionable and poorly planned  negotiations with North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un over nuclear weapons.

You can take the high moral ground on border security focusing on better asylum laws, a more clear and quicker way to legally immigrate, and a path to citizenship for the DACA children.

Counter the ridiculous, ineffective and expensive border wall with firm practical ideas for battling human trafficking and drug smuggling, which are a bigger threat to our country than illegal immigrants.  

And finally: establish good, open connections with the media. Have a clear understanding that their role as watchdog will sometimes be in conflict with your actions and words, and that they  

will catch mistakes. That’s their job. Take time to think before you speak and avoid knee-jerk reactions on social media. 

(I'll have some advice for political reporters at a later date.)

It is a year and eight months until America votes again for president. Most of the candidates who have announced so far will be a faded memory by then, except maybe a few who remain in the Senate (six Senators are running). Until then, your job as a candidate is to tell the truth, think before you speak, and remember the world and the voters are watching. 

(An official list of candidates as of 3/16  https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_registered_2020_presidential_candidates

 As for the voters--the engaged part of the neglected 98%: our job is to pick a leader who has our best interests at heart instead of the interests of the 1% who strive to control everything. We need someone who can lead this nation forward with moral and political credibility, instead of backward into darkness.  

   (You suggestions and comments are welcome)

(Signed copies of my book "The Campaign" are available at a reduced price by emailing me at HankSilverberg@gmail.com for details or at retail price at Amazon.com or hanksilverbergbooks.com) 

(Book plot--The Vice-President of the United States is conflicted. She has risen to her current job by jumping on the bandwagon with President Andrew Freeman who is now, waging war against America’s biggest enemy—Iran. 

 Amy Roosevelt must make a decision whether to stay with Freeman or challenge him for the nomination. Though back channels she learns that the President’s health is declining. 

 As Roosevelt ponders her decision, a conservative back bench Congressman from Missouri breaks out of the wanna-bees in the other party and also decides to run. All this plays out as the man known only as Ishmael, continues his campaign of violence.)