The best man who won’t be president

While reading about Congressman Duncan L. Hunter, I came across a profound quote of his. To preface what he said, let me tell you that this man enlisted in the United States Army in 1969. He served in Vietnam from 1970-71 as a member of the 75th Army Rangers attached to the 173rd Airborne Division, having participated in 24 helicopter assaults. By the time it was all over, first Lt. Duncan L. Hunter had been awarded the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal. About his military service, Mr. Hunter has said, “I didn’t do anything special in the U.S. Army, but I served with very special soldiers I will never forget.”
Nothing special, indeed.
All Duncan Hunter did was put his life on the line for his fellow servicemen as well as his country. All he did was prepare to give the ultimate sacrifice for those he was defending.
But you won’t hear that from Duncan Hunter. He’s a quiet, unassuming and humble individual who is just what we need in the White House.
We don’t need candidates making promises about what they’ll do for us if we vote for them. We don’t need candidates lauding themselves and their accomplishments. Who we need is a person like Duncan Hunter.
Here is a man of integrity and faith. He’s a man of his word; he does what he says he will do. He advocated for and saw to it that 14 miles of border fence between the U.S. and Mexico was erected to discourage illegal immigration.
He lives by his faith and doesn’t flaunt it. As a practicing attorney, he gave free legal services to the working poor in his community.
Duncan Hunter is a combat veteran with a son who has served two tours in Iraq. When he says he supports going to war, I know he does so having put a lot on the line himself already. I am also assured this man knows the stakes and the costs of war. I’m certain that he also knows what it takes to win a war, because if he says we can win, then I can believe him.
Frankly, I want a president who doesn’t “want” the office, but accepts it out of duty and with all humility. In the same way that a soldier doesn’t enlist because he “wants” to go to war, so, too, should a presidential candidate not seek the office because s/he “wants” it. Soldiers serve because they believe it is the right thing to do. As such, a president ought to serve because s/he believes it is the right thing to do.
In my book, a vote for Duncan Hunter is the right thing to do.
Unfortunately, Mr. Hunter is no longer a candidate for president. He dropped out of the race right after the Nevada GOP Caucus on January 19, 2008 because his campaign was running out of money.
The fact that money ultimately determines who can run for president is a low-down dirty shame, especially in the United States of America, whose republican democracy has been a model for the rest of the world to follow.
Because of money, the most capable candidate will not be elected president of the United States. Because of money, the candidate with the most humility and integrity to serve will not be commander-in-chief. Because of money, we have to choose from what is left of the field, rather than the candidate we really need and/or want as president. Because of money, we will never know what good could have come from his service. And because of money, we will have to wait another four years before we get another chance.
Hopefully, the United States of America can last that long.