"The most significant threat to our national security is our debt," Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, August 27, 2010


Thursday, January 26, 2012

President Petraeus or President Mullen

The purpose of this article is to start the movement toward nominating either Retired General David Howell Patraeus (currently head of the CIA; 59 years old) or Retired Admiral Michael Glenn Mullen (retired in September 2011 as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; 65 years old) as the Republican candidate for President of the United States. We present our case for such action below.

First, we would have no problem with either man running as a Democrat in the November 2012 general election for president. It is just that we have seen/heard/experienced no suggestion or movement from the Democrats toward even considering anyone else except the incumbent to be their candidate. So, we will address the Republicans with the stipulation that we would encourage either man to run as a Democrat, if that is their preference, but we fully understand why that route could be difficult or impossible.

So, our case for either General Petraeus or Admiral Mullen is as follows:

1. The country is wallowing in an undisciplined state of expectation, entitlement and debt. Remedial discipline is required and the best training ground in America today for the concept of discipline and the everyday application of getting the job done with what is available is the military. They have a budget and a task. They don’t have a union. They believe in sacrifice. As a matter of fact, they pride themselves on sacrifice. They are disciplined.

2. We have seen/listened/experienced to the Republican candidates for the presidency. All good people we are sure. But nary a one of them up to the task at hand. Neither is the incumbent.  There is no likelihood of any one of those individuals being able to discipline America to a level of sacrifice, frugality, hard work and law abidance that is required to get our fundamentals back. They simply don’t have it in their experience or training.

3. America needs a proven leader. Someone who will set goals and let the rest of us know what our role is in the new disciplined scheme of things. That is what a military leader does daily; it is what they think about at night and it is what they convey constantly to their command structure. 24/7.

4. For 20 years America has suffered under the leadership of very weak men. Not one of them a disciplined individual. Not one of them was able to set a simple, defined course for the country. Each, in their own way, danced around the issues of the day – massive debt build up because of a suicidal inability to live within our means; routine violations of immigration laws; federal and state financing of irresponsible personal behavior by large segments of the population and a complete bias toward special interest favors and positions over the economic strength of the nation.

5. It makes no difference if we create a great society with more protections for special interests and protected classes of people if we cannot develop, design and manufacture vital products here at home. It makes no difference if every minority; every old person; every handicapped individual and every other citizen with a special need – real or imagined gets their own bureaucrat to look out for them if they cannot find a job. It makes no difference how many unions the country creates to look out for the interests of teachers; of police and firemen; of administrative government employees, if the children are not being successfully educated; the citizens are not being protected and served and the roads and bridges are not being built and public transportation is not running on time.

6. So our task is to find a proven leader; someone who has done the job; who is not so egomaniacal that we cannot foresee what new forms of problems his psyche will bring us and someone who actually demands real respect for the office of president and knows his way around both congress and the halls of foreign power.

7. America needs to focus on outcome and on results. Not on societal causes; not on feel good measures and not on activities and ideas that feed the Hollywood media machine; the Sunday talk shows and appeal to wealthy supporters with personal agendas (Newt Gingrich has a huge problem with this latter issue.)

8. It seems the one thing most Americans agree on is that the best, brightest and most disciplined Americans are those who volunteer for our military services. It is no leap of faith to then look to the best of that group; those who attain positions of responsibility and leadership within the military, to also bring their special talents to our most pressing needs and problems. Yes, we know that Mullen and Petraeus have and are serving but we also know that through their arteries flow the blood of commitment, discipline and service and we need them now more than ever in the top leadership job. We always say go to a busy person; go to a talented proven person to get the job done. America cannot risk the presidency for four more years on a hopeful possibility. We need a leader now.

9. Michael G. Mullen and David H. Petraeus are proven leaders and fully vetted individuals.

10. What happens if both want the job?

We should be so lucky.

1 comment:

James C. Arnold said...

A similar concept worked well for 8 years beginning in 1952