Times like this demand that we take a look at how we are doing things, and see if we are doing them the way the original Constitution calls for it to be done.
I mean, how we elect a president. And, no, we aren't doing it the way the founders of our nation set it up. Pick that scroll off the shelf, and read it. It will tell you. It's a good blueprint. Too bad we aren't following it.
It says each state shall appoint electors, none of which shall be elected leaders, themselves, and none of which shall be employed by government. They vote for two candidates, and the top vote-getter becomes president, and the next-highest becomes vice president.
That would defuse politics to a degree. Your vice president might not have the same politics as you, but he would be part of your administration. You'd have to work with him.
Now, there are a couple of things the Constitution doesn't say. It doesn't say anything about political parties. It doesn't say anything about outlawing them, though, so I suppose we might allow them.
And, the Constitution doesn't say anything about just picking from among candidates who run for the office. I have to think back on that first election, when George Washington was elected. Did he "run" for office. Did he even announce he was a candidate? Or, did he more-or-less get drafted.
I suppose, let people announce themselves as candidates, if they will. But, there is nothing in the Constitution that says the Electoral College needs to pick from among them.
It can draft someone. Let the candidates make all their noise, and spend all their money, and then go off and elect someone else.
We think of the elections where we've looked down the list of candidates, and not found a one we would want as our president. The Constitution could fix all that, if we'd just follow it. The electors could mull over who they would pick if they could pick their "dream president." And, they could pick that "dream president," if we'd just do this the way the Constitution proscribes it be done.
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