My dream presidential candidate would:

1. Be from the so-called “fly over” states. Besides being friendlier, more open and more optimistic than most of the folks on the coast, he or she would also have learned how to deal with an extreme climate (well below zero in the winter and well into the 90s in the summer) from an early age. Think about it, wouldn’t you want a leader who has mastered driving in snow, knows what to do in a tornado and can deal with a heat wave even without AC? Nothing toughens a person like living through 100 plus degree temperature swings in a calendar year.

2. Played a team sport growing up, but also has an individual sport or hobby they’re passionate about now. Participating in the team sport means they know how to work with others, how to accept coaching, how to belong to something bigger than themselves and how to represent someone else, whether it’s their school or a local bar. By participating in an individual sport or hobby, I’d hope my ideal candidate would learn that the buck stops with them and that, as they still participate today, they have an outlet for those times they need to clear their head before making a difficult decision.

3. Attended a large public university. This way, they’d know what it’s like to be a little fish in a big, big pond. They’d get to experience the “joys” of bureaucracy. And, they’d have a slighter better chance to avoid being poisoned by anti-American leftist professors.

4. Worked outside of a traditional office for at least 3 months. They could have worked in a factory, in a hospital, on a road crew. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that they’ve had the American experience that the vast majority of their constituents have had. They need to understand that there’s more to life than the inside of law firms.

5. Express a deep love of nature. To me, one of the things that makes America, America is our wide open spaces. It’s not the space so much as the spirit, but in any case, my ideal candidate should love the outdoors. This isn’t to say that I want a freaky environmentalist. I don’t. You can respect & love nature without worshipping it above humans. On the other hand, you can also place making it easy for businesses above what’s right for the land. I don’t want that either. I want a healthy middle.

6. Be a self-made person. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with being born rich, lots of great leaders were, it’s that if you’re self made, you’re already successful. You’ve already proven you can make good decisions. It’s like betting on the horse with the best past performance: they don’t always win, but the odds are lower.

7. Has some skeletons in the closet. I don’t mean killing someone or being a smack addict, but frankly, I don’t care if my President smoked pot in college. I don’t care they get 5 speeding tickets a year. I really don’t even care if they had a one night stand. I don’t want the person who stayed inside their dorm room and studied all night for President. I don’t want a President who never made a mistake. A good leader should have experience doing something stupid and dealing with the consequences.

8. Still have friends from nearly every era of their life. It’s a pretty good sign when people care enough to stay in touch with you for 20, 30 or even 40 years. People who can do that know how to make and keep a connection. The payoff is that they acquire an extended group that are there when they need them. They can count on their honest advice and firsthand knowledge in countless areas. I want my ideal President to have such a group.

9. Has a passport and isn’t afraid to use it. Hell, maybe it’s just that they have a car or a motorcycle and aren’t afraid to use it. The point is that they’ve traveled. They’ve seen things firsthand. They aren’t shy. They talk to people and see people rather than just read about them.

10. Has experienced evil firsthand. Maybe they were a victim of racism or witnessed a beating or helped liberate people from a tyrant. No matter what happened, the important thing is that it made my ideal President believe in good and evil. There are a million shades of grey, but black & white exist too.