Can we talk?

An Open Letter to a Presidential Candidate

Dear Presidential Candidate:
    Regardless of your party affiliation, you should be aware of what we expect from our president.
    First, we hold our leaders up to a higher moral standard than the general populace. That means no lying, no cheating, no deceptions, no cover-ups, no sexual flings on the side, no dirty jokes, no filthy language, no temperamental outbursts. What you did before, what you may do afterward might be overlooked. But in the four to eight years you occupy the White House, we expect you to restrain from self-indulgences and resist temptations.
    Yes, great power or wealth or fame or success brings greater temptation. Many men and women of good moral character have failed to pass the test at the pinnacle of their success. Entertainers, preachers and evangelists, and politicians and generals have erased a lifetime of good deeds and accomplishments when new temptations came their way. So steel yourself up now to keep a clean house and practice only the highest values for these few years. We still try to hold the ideal that this is the highest office in the land, and that only a man or a woman worthy of our respect on a personal level would occupy that office regardless of politics. Don’t abuse our trust or destroy our respect; it is a treasure entrusted into your hands.
      Second, we want you to take seriously the concerns of private citizens, not just big business or the lobbyists. Our concerns are for our families’ safety, our health, our jobs, and our environment. You have rich friends and rich campaign contributors. Their interests frequently contradict the interests of the working classes. Don’t overlook us and our struggles in your efforts to please your friends and thank your contributors.
    Don’t disappoint us. Don’t make us more cynical than we already are. We want a leader who exemplifies all that is best in America. We need a leader who is burdened for the people, a leader who never forgets he is responsible for and to the common masses.                             
                Sincerely,
                                                 
                An American Citizen