In a previous post I said Bill Gates would be a good president because he’s rational, smart, successful, and has a good track record of targeted philanthropy. And he wouldn’t be in it for the money. I soon discovered that Bill Gates is not as beloved as one needs to be to get elected president. And he isn’t interested in the job.
Moving on.
Second choice: Mike Bloomberg, mayor of NYC.
Like Bill Gates, he’s rational, smart, successful, pragmatic, and is already starting his philanthropic organization. Best of all, no one seems to hate him for selling Windows. He’s a highly popular mayor who is regarded as highly competent. And he has the added benefit of not totally ruling out a bid for the Whitehouse.
He’s also right in the middle between being a Democrat and a Republican. He was a lifelong Democrat until he ran for office as a Republican. Both sides could embrace him as one of their own. He’s a Republican in name with Democrat views on social issues. It’s the Arnold Schwarzenneger approach. It works.
And Bloomberg could fund his own campaigns. He’d be beholden to no one.
I’ve often said that a real leader would tackle problems in the order of their logical priority, not the order they appear in NY Times headlines. Bloomberg has gone after smoking in public, and trans fat in restaurants. Smoking and bad diet kill more people than any other cause. That’s a leader.
Could a short, Jewish, highly competent guy get elected president?