Neff Zone Column -- February 2, 2008

Print Edition: February 2, 2008

PICKING PRESIDENT NO EASY TASK

The Super Tuesday primary is front and center this week and depending on how you look at it the race for the Presidential nominations will then become clearer or more muddled. It’s no easy task figuring out which candidate best fits your own personal requirements for the job of President. Just when you think one of these birds is on the right track they do or say something that makes you want to apply your palm to your forehead with great force. Well, as if you’re not already more confused than need be, that new fangled Internet thingy has two interesting sites to visit that supposedly will help you determine your perfect candidate for President.

Select Smart www.selectsmart.com/president/2008.html isn’t like the zillion others that simply ask you to pick a candidate from a list. Select Smart has 26 questions on a range of issues and you may select a position for every issue, or just select those issues important to you. Each requires you to answer in two ways. First, each question presents a multiple choice reaction. Second, once you make your selection you then have the opportunity to move a slider bar that indicates whether that issue is a high or low priority for you.

For example, question eight asks: "What would be your ideal candidate's position on trade issues?" You choose either free trade or fair trade and then move the slider to low if the trade issue is of little priority for you or to high if trade is near the top of your priority list.

When you complete all 26 questions you then submit your results and a listing of 31 candidates appears, each with a percentage next to their name. Candidates with a high score are the ones most in line with your personal views, while a low score indicates candidates with whom you have little in common. The list is even more interesting because it contains candidates who may have already withdrawn from the race, which might make your eventual vote a bit trickier.

Now, a bit on the more philosophical side, another site already assumes the Presidential candidate is chosen and it’s up to you to come up with his platform. The selected candidate is none other than Jesus, which is a mighty fine starting point. The site, Jesus in 2008 www.jesusin2008.com, says: "We have convened our gathering with a Presidential nominee already in place: Jesus – but not Jesus the deity. This is a political convention, after all, not a religious one. Our candidate is Jesus the man, the revolutionary individual who comes to us through history as a model for ethical and moral human behavior – the exemplar whose first instinct in any situation was, simply, to do the right thing. Now, we bring Jesus forward 2,000 years into contemporary America, place him in a leadership role, and ask Americans to decide what his political platform should be in a campaign for the White House."

There are 28 individual platform issues on the site and anyone can read and respond, all are invited to join the discussion. A few rules apply, however: " 1) No miracles. Candidate Jesus does not have the power to turn water into wine, or loaves and fishes into more loaves and fishes as a way of solving the country’s problem. He does have the ability to suggest　turning wind and sunlight into electricity to help deal with the country’s energy crisis – but that’s hardly a miracle.

2) No preaching. Save it for church. This is a political convention, not a religious revival. Delegates are welcome, however, to cite information drawn from the Bible, as well as other sources, to support what they believe Jesus’ position on one issue or another would be. 3) No rude behavior. This includes vulgarity, obscenity, racial or sexist insults, or any other postings that the Convention Manager deems inappropriate.

People are also asked to nominate living Americans as potential Vice Presidential candidates. On November 4, the "ticket" and platform created by this exercise will be placed online and all Americans will be able to cast a ballot for the Democratic, Republican, or Jesus 2008 candidates.

Neither of these web sites offer any official way to influence the actual election, however both are great opportunities to clarify one’s own positions and also serve as meaningful discussion starters. Hopefully, exercises such as these will illustrate that issues can be discussed from multiple angles in a civilized manner and that give and take is a positive thing. Given the rigid positions of politicians these days, perhaps it’s a message that needs to be heard across the land.

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Comments to neffzone@gmail.com. Read Neff Zone columns online at www.neffzone.com/cadillacnews.