My ideal candidate...

a series of reflections brought to you by the Freshman Writing Program

By:

Posted: 10/24/08

Sara White
Sophomore, Environmental Engineering
In the United States it seems that one is more likely to idolize a basketball player charged with rape than a presidential candidate. Have we gotten our ethics mixed up, or is it just that we have no reason to look up to our candidates?
It seems as though candidates are all like Barbie dolls: They may come in a different sex or race, but once you examine them for a while you realize they are all made of the same thing.
We need a candidate who does not seek out individual groups in hopes to get their vote. We need someone who can speak to a crowd that consists of different races, age groups and sexes - while at the same time giving each person the feeling that the candidate is speaking to him or her individually. Through this candidate's words, it would be obvious that this he or she would try to protect everyone's freedoms, while at the same time respecting the diversity of this country.
Not only would this candidate want to protect the people in this country, but everything else about this country. He or she would want to look after our land, air and wildlife because that would show that this candidate truly wants to protect the entire country. This country needs a candidate that people can look up to and know that he or she is doing everything possible to improve our country and our relationships with other countries.
We should be able to feel confident that we have a leader that is doing everything he or she can to improve the lives of every single person in this country.

Benjamin Kimble
Sophomore, Business
Most, if not all, of the presidential candidates today are buried up to their chests with wealth. Lobbyists are constantly attempting to sway their views and values by adding more money to each candidate's already excessive money supply.
What if a candidate were to enter the election with no money at all, an "average Joe," if you will? Someone who has grown up without a family of politicians influencing him or her to run for office, or a rich father to bank-roll the candidate in pursuing their dream of running the United States. Imagine a person who has received a state-school education and has played an active part in the community, but sees the small things that need to be changed, as an average American. Say this candidate was sponsored by one benefactor with a great deal of wealth, who has no other reason for supporting the candidate's campaign other than to see that person become president.
If such a candidate ran for president, I would consider him or her the ideal candidate. An average American running for office who has grown up living the problems of our public education system, our taxes, our war in the Middle East, our polluted ecosystem, would put a whole new perspective in the White House. That candidate would obviously have to be hardworking, organized and honest, with a great desire to improve our country economically and in its foreign relations.
Mainly, that person would have an edge over every other candidate because he or she would have not just seen the nation's problems on paper - that candidate would have lived them.

Meaghan Donchak
Sophomore, Communications
My version of the ideal presidential candidate is something of an anomaly. He's strong; not just in appearance, but likewise in manner and voice. He's capable of doing one hundred pushups in a single minute, and of bringing a raging audience to its knees. When he enters a room, he takes control. He begins each day with a healthy job, and always cleans up in time for business. He's clean shaven, bright eyed and well-groomed, with a straight, gray hairstyle resting over his weathered brow. His booming, charismatic stature never falters, even as he shows the world his gentle heart, for he is not afraid to cry. He smiles often, but never too much. He is friendly, yet stern. He has a wife of many years and grown children, all of whom stand by his side, and he by theirs. He stands noticeably tall, and very lean. When he shakes a hand, his grip is always firm, as is his attitude - persistent and unwavering. Every move he makes is graceful and stunning. He is an all-American man, born and raised on hot dogs and baseball, with a love for the oldies and goodies. He's a man's man, of that, there is not question, but he has a softer side for the finer things in life as well.
This guy is inspiring. He's politically savvy, with some conservative views, and he always favors the average Joe. He himself comes from middle class America with experience in struggle and hard times. He's made his way up the political ladder by being a decent, honest politician (as hard as that is to imagine). He's a college man who is very wise in terms of books, life and money. He despises war and greed and has spent a good portion of his life working to give back to the community. His views on the economy would inevitably and somewhat majestically bring the country out of debt. Dealing in international affairs would give him the reputation of being one of the most amicable and caring presidents ever to lead America into repairing ties with foreign nations and aiding victims of natural disaster and genocide.
He'd be a president and a force this country has never seen. He'd be a winner, always. He'd represent change and promise for this nation built on freedom. He'd be everything and more, if he wasn't just a figment conjured by a naive college student's imagination.