No existing science produces perfect presidents.
No number of years spent in politics can guarantee a great leader.
That narrows the options down to charisma and luck.
We've seen the results these combined assets can have with Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelenskyy. Both were entertainers on TV before the gods of chance plucked them out and made them leaders.
The two presidencies have been dramatically opposite and world-shaking.
In Trump's case his luck, partly as a result of Putin's help, gave him the electoral college majority while still losing the popular vote by five million.
That's right. Luck. Neither Trump nor his gaggle of cronies knew what they were doing during the chaotic 2016 campaign.
But there was that charisma thing with Trump. He'd built up a base of loyal followers that tuned into his quasi-reality show The Apprentice for five years.
The character he created on the show, the ultimate deal-making businessman, was a fictional foundation for his campaign.
By taking advantage of people's fears (immigration for example) he forged a home for conspiracy theorists and right-wing zealots who turned out in record numbers to vote.
No need to point out all the corruption that tainted the Trump regime. Or the ongoing coup attempt by Trump and his acolytes currently under investigation in Congress.
It's safe to say the results of electing Trump was, and is still, disastrous.
On the other hand, we have Ukraine's president Zelenskyy, a comedian, who was another TV personality portraying the president of Ukraine.
His defiance and courage in the face of Putin's invasion has inspired the Ukranian people and people throughout the world. His story is ongoing. His legacy being written in real time.
Miami Herald writer Manuel Aguilera wrote a great op ed about Zelenskyy titled - The 'Zelenskyy Method' Will Affect Elections Around the World. Macron already gets it.
"We are in the era of storytelling. Ideas are overvalued, and the thin line that separates right from left is often thin and imperceptible. We need people whom we would trust in our daily lives, to whom we would leave the keys to our house without thinking twice about it," Aquilera wrote.
In both cases, Trump and Zelenskyy's electability was underestimated. Political pundits in both elections felt they lacked any substance.
That leaves us with the question, "What qualifications should a presidential candidate have?"
How can we protect ourselves from electing another Trump? What would it take to get a devoted leader like Zelenskyy? A man of the people.
Should we have a neutral vetting process for presidential wannabees? Should there be certain requirements like believing in science? Or knowledge of the Constitution? Perhaps proof of a moral compass?
Sure, wish I had the answer. What do you think?
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