Stephen Hess, a prominent presidential scholar, is advising New York's Mayor Bloomberg not to enter the 2008 presidential race to the White House. It seems that while Hess easily heaps praise on Bloomberg for his accomplishments and what he might do in the White House, he’s worried about him running. Hess said, “He can’t win, but he could very likely defeat the Democratic nominee.”
Mr. Hess is a political junkie who served in the Eisenhower administration and advised many other politicians along the way. His statement raises a question. Is not the presidential race supposedly open to all qualified individuals to make their best case before the American people, leaving it up to them to decide who the best choice for President is … regardless of who doesn’t win? It seems that his one-sided concern for Democrats is both politically biased and opposed to any legitimate third party candidate for fear it may harm the status quo of the strongly entrenched two-party system. Ross Perot’s weak presidential bid in 1992 nevertheless garnered 19% of the vote. This proved that the American public is very open to consider options other than Republican or Democrat. By the way, most analysts believe Perot’s candidacy stole votes from the Republican slate, not the Democratic one. I’m curious if Mr. Hess prior to 1992 advised Perot not to run for fear of defeating Mr. Bush, the Republican entrant.
I believe many Americans would vote for an overwhelmingly best-qualified candidate regardless of party. Perhaps Mr. Hess, you too should consider supporting a candidate who is best for America … not best for a particular party. I invite Mr. Hess to tell us if our city's Mayor enters the race, who then, in his expert opinion, is the best individual to lead Americans of all parties.
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