Mike Metroulas: What Exactly Are the Qualifications for Being President?

Palin represents an ideal that all Americans should aspire to
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Big Jounalism's Mike Metroulas keeps an eye on the leftist website Huffington Post so we don't have to shower quite so often. In one recent HuffPo piece that caught his attention, Barbara Walters asked Oprah if Sarah Palin is qualified to be president, a question Oprah declines to answer:

Walters takes this as a “no” from Oprah. The Oprah has spoken.

I’m not exactly sure that Oprah is the person to ask regarding anyone’s qualifications to be president. She broke out of her apolitical shell to endorse Barack Obama, a man with very few qualifications. The one thing he is supposed to be is something really special … “the One” as Oprah called him. That may or may not be true, but does being “special” qualify one to be president?

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Some would reject wholly that the president needs to be “special.” There can be “special” presidents, yes, but that status is only earned after actually achieving something special in office, not beforehand based upon trendy sentiment. Palin is considered “special” also, but this does not qualify her to be president. However, Palin is “special” is a way different than Obama: she is not part of the American political elite. Palin the outsider understands that in America, politicians should be servants of the people, not “special”, like kings and queens, or in present-day America, vapid celebrities better known for their brand than their accomplishments.

Obama can light up a room with his smile and rhetoric. So can Palin. Palin will dust a caribou from 150 yards. Obama boasts a J.D. from Harvard Law. Palin has a Bachelor’s degree and successfully juggles 5 kids and a busy lifestyle. Obama is in the most demanding job on earth. Inspiration, adventure, education, and practical knowledge are very essential things for human beings. These accomplishments all qualify for our attention.

The media’s general disdain for the organic Palin and fawning over the academic Obama has really created quite a backlash. We pedestrian Americans with everyday educations and experience start suspecting they don’t feel too highly of us. The thing about Palin is that she is college educated and she does all those primitive activities scorned by the elite. Palin represents an ideal that all Americans, not just women, should aspire to: self-sufficiency based partly on education but mostly on plain old pragmatism. They are both worthy.

For the benefit of America, the presidency of the early 21st century America should be dominated by people who most express the general ideals of American libertarianism and promote content of their character over identity politics, no matter with which of the two major parties they are aligned. The person right now who best fits that description and is poised to ride that wave is Sarah Palin.

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- JP