Laurence Kotlikoff, Boston University economic professor, has decided he wants to run for President. His decision, made in December, led to Kotlikoff formulating his platform, which stays true to his area of expertise. After observing the economic recession characteristic of recent years, he claims that an economist in office will be advantageous to tackling the problems facing Americans and the global economy.
Yet his platform is not only unconventional in its stance, but also in its political allegiance – He is neither a Republican nor a Democrat hopeful. Instead he aims to entertain a third option, a “purple plan” which stands independent of the two major parties. He is currently seeking nomination from Americans Elect, a website which enables voters to choose candidates for nomination independent of the frontrunners. Some of Kotlikoff’s colleagues are supportive of his cause, but in reality there is very little chance he will be a serious threat toward the well-known candidates already in the race.
Will yet another candidate entering into the fray really make a lasting impression? Highly unlikely. A platform based solely on economic expertise isn’t enough to trump competitors with much more political experience and a well-rounded set of policies. Unfortunately, solely economic prowess will not fulfil all the desired criteria we want to see in a future president. A presidential hopeful that veers away from the two main political parties – an often-discussed idea that is attractive on paper – rarely gathers much support in reality. Indulging the notion for a moment, perhaps one could say effective campaigning could help Kotlikoff’s cause. However, he doesn’t want to leave his teaching post at Boston University, an inconvenience that would make a rousing campaign virtually impossible. If candidates can’t dedicate time to enlightening voters to their cause, the campaign will run out of steam quickly – if it had steam to begin with.
Affording almost anyone the opportunity to run for president in America is certainly a romantic thought. In reality, running for office with little backing and a narrow platform will only yield a few minutes of fame brought on by a publicity stunt. An individual being at liberty to campaign or express a wide spectrum of opinions is admirable, but could ultimately prove futile when voters have their final say.
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You have a very qualified, intelligent candidate running from your very own University, and you choose to propagate the two party paradigm? Why don’t you check out his website before you bury him for his “narrow-minded set of policies”? His policies are much more well-rounded than any of the main-stream candidates.
You’re in college! Don’t fall into the lamestream already. Our corrupt two-party system, propagated by MSM, is one of the biggest factors of our self-destruction. At least give the local guy a fair representation. If you can’t, who will? This is a sad, sad state of modern American politics.
This “upstanding young journalist” routine may very well land you where you want to go. But the trade-off is your soul. That place is called the mainstream media. And it sucks the world of innovative thought. On top of it all…what courageous journalism… “Written by editors”