No Ordinary American, Please

Some people complain about Mitt Romney not really being warm and fuzzy—I’ve actually seen him with his grandchildren, when no cameras were snapping shots, no reporters were jotting notes, and he seemed to me like a wonderful, kind, loving, grandpa with his grandkids fighting over who would get to sit on his lap and play games with him.

But, as “normal” as he is with his family, I don’t want him to be an “ordinary guy.” We have plenty of ordinary guys running the show. I want someone “extraordinary” heading our country. So, when I hear complaints about how he can’t relate to the average American, I say “Good.” He isn’t the average American. And the President of the United States should not be average. He should be so far beyond average that the rest of the world will look at him and know he means business. They will know he represents the greatest country in the world in a manner befitting the greatest country in the world.

I wouldn’t want the average American running our country. Does the average American know much about the national deficit? Looking at the amount of credit card debt most Americans have, I’d say probably not. Does the average American know much about turning around the economy? Looking at the number of people in foreclosure or bankruptcy, I’d say probably not. Does the average American even know much about America’s government and history? When a recent Newsweek poll showed many Americans can’t name the Vice-President, or don’t know what the US fought against in the Cold War, I’d say, probably not.

Our nation is made up of so many wonderful people with varied backgrounds and skill sets and knowledge—it’s part of what makes our nation so outstanding. And our nation is just that—outstanding. But we need an outstanding leader as our President. We need someone who understands our nation and its people, not because he’s one of the “average” citizens, but because he has studied our history and the history of the world and knows what makes a country great, he has practiced good business skills and become monetarily successful himself, he has lead organizations, congregations, his state and turned troubles into triumphs. He has personally tried to become the best he can be and can take our nation in the same direction.

None of us can relate to everything about every person in this country. Most of us hardly know our neighbors beyond the streets on which we live. But we can read about the things that are effecting people all over the U.S. We can research the issues that are challenging our society. We can get involved in our communities. We can write letters to our political leaders to voice our opinions. We can vote. And we can choose an extraordinary leader for our extraordinary nation.