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kevin_standleeWhile relaxing over breakfast this morning, I overheard the folks at the table behind me talking politics. One young woman said, "I don't understand this 'Electoral College' thing. What is it?" One of her companions confidently assured her that it all had to do with the Democratic Superdelegates.
I bit my lip and resisted the urge to break in and correct them.
She then asked, "Has anyone ever been elected President from the private sector? You know, like from a real job?" Again, her companion assured her that only career politicians are allowed to run for President and that you have to be a senator or governor or something like that.
I fantasized about saying, "What about Abraham Lincoln? Yes, he served one term in Congress and campaigned for the US Senate years before being elected President, but his 'real job' was as a lawyer in Illinois." I suspect that anyone who would ask a question like that, however, probably wouldn't consider being a lawyer a "real job" for her purposes.
And all of these people are old enough to vote. I fear for my country sometimes.
I bit my lip and resisted the urge to break in and correct them.
She then asked, "Has anyone ever been elected President from the private sector? You know, like from a real job?" Again, her companion assured her that only career politicians are allowed to run for President and that you have to be a senator or governor or something like that.
I fantasized about saying, "What about Abraham Lincoln? Yes, he served one term in Congress and campaigned for the US Senate years before being elected President, but his 'real job' was as a lawyer in Illinois." I suspect that anyone who would ask a question like that, however, probably wouldn't consider being a lawyer a "real job" for her purposes.
And all of these people are old enough to vote. I fear for my country sometimes.
