Advice for our favorite governors
Over at Bill Richardson for America, I just posted the following comment under What advice do you have for the Governor? The context is the presidential campaign of 2008. This advice would also work for Brian Schweitzer.
Decide if you are going to run for president in 2008.
If the answer is yes, plan to raise serious money every month starting in December. Do this painful chore honestly and carefully. If the answer is no, be thankful you don’t have to do this and can concentrate on other important things.
Lose some weight. It is easy to gain weight during a campaign. This goes for most Americans and most candidates, but Harry Reid and Barack Obama are thin enough already. Look fit, tanned, and relaxed over the holidays.
If you decide to run, throw your hat in the ring fairly early, perhaps in January or February. Those leading the pack right now have the luxury of waiting. Have a gracious exit strategy if your campaign doesn’t take off. Being governor is a lot more fun than being president anyway.
Remember, America is tired of red vs. blue and wants someone who can bridge divides. If you are so fortunate as to be elected, you should govern from the center. This means not only the center of the political spectrum; it means the center of American values. In the cliché it means truth, justice, and the American way. You have to articulate what that means to you in your own words. When America has lost its way at home and in the world, we need to return to the wisdom of the founding fathers and other Americans, great and small, who have preceded us. Study their words of wisdom and weave them into your own story. Have faith, have humility, and be yourself. This is good advice whether you run or not.
Leo Brown | November 11, 2006 | Comment on This Post (3 so far) |
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Comments
Well put. I often wish that he was in his second term so this would seem more feasible. I think though that America would still vote for him.
Posted by: Shane C Mason | Nov 12, 2006 12:32:30 AM
Sign Petitiong to Draft Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal for President in 2008!
go to http://dave4president.com/ and add your name and where you are from in the comments section.
Posted by: Brandon Rosty | Nov 12, 2006 8:09:04 PM
Very well stated. I liked that your writing is values based. How one approaches truth, justice and fairness can tell us a lot about how they will approach specific problems, such as the lack of a fair health care policy. Also, you're advice to story-tell advises the candidate to be real, by telling us a real story and how you learned from this adventure.
Lastly, I would recommend a candidate to be real about their faith, whatever that may be. A spiritual background is a major influence, that guides one through life, were they to be truthful to that faith.
Over the past six years, we have seen what happens when our leaders are not truthful.
Posted by: Frederick Warren | Nov 13, 2006 4:52:34 PM
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(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
