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I am tired of the media’s focus on the age of our presidential candidates. Instead they should be providing a running list of what they have accomplished and of what mistakes they have made, especially while in office. For example, the failure to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic looms large for me. I am alive and grateful I got COVID this year instead of in 2020.
A president is more like a coach. Voting for a president like hiring a coach. A good coach of a winning sports team can be any age. He/she isn’t expected to be a linebacker, a tennis player, or a gymnast. Their job is to recruit excellent players, form a good team, and lead them towards a series of successful accomplishments. We need to judge presidential candidates on their ability to recruit the best talent they can find, and their ability to lead them effectively.
Finally, we should ask if that team is committed to the fundamental values of the country and the welfare of all Americans, and those wanting to be Americans. Does the team play for those with ideological axes to grind? Is the team financed by folks who are too rich or power hungry to care about things like climate change, structural racism, women’s rights, living wages, monopoly power, the next pandemic, or Russian expansionism?
Jim Owen
Belfast