- Pronouns
- He/Him
I promise some day soon I will recreate a graphic more appropriately sized but PhotoBucket is such a pain in the ass, people, and I simply can't be bothered today. I'm far too busy shoveling Ben & Jerry's into my gullet, rewatching 'Definitely, Maybe', and harvesting enough of my own tears to serve as adequate lubrication. Happy Valentine's Day and welcome to the newest 'Wildcard Submission' from the Europeian Citizen!
We once again stand poised for a presidential election. That's right, the standing period will open no more than six days from now. In our last contest, if you could call it that (you can't), it was blatantly obvious that then Vice President Mousebumples was next in line when President Malashaan made it clear he would be a one and done chief executive and not just because she literally was. Well before the election became a priority we knew she was running, we knew she could do the job, and we knew she was the frontrunner. This is not an unfamiliar phenomenon in Europeian presidential politics.
Many presidents have had the obvious next man (or woman) working under them, waiting in the wings as it were. HEM had Lethen, Pope Lexus X had Asianatic, he also had Lethen, then Lethen had Aramor, and so on, and so on. While the electoral math is not always assured for these types of candidates, they're perceived as a natural and more importantly, apparent, successor that is undoubtedly ready for their shot at the Goldenblock.
I would be so bold to assert that no such individual currently resides in Europeia. There are a couple reasons for this, the first being that Mouse has been an unconventional president. There have been three formal addresses this term, none with much in the way of policy or strategy. She's a nuts and bolts kinda' gal. If something needs fixing, fix it, wait for the next thing to fix. This isn't an indictment of that style or method, simply an observation. It can work and in many ways it has. Though it isn't one that lends itself particularly well to imagination or vision, to working under and toward any particular strategy or theme, nor to synergy or adequate direction. My personal viewpoint is one that observes individuals in Cabinet who are perhaps stifled by a style of leadership that strives for an improved, optimized status quo rather than the next great adventure, one that values the concise nature of the bullet point rather than a grand speech, one that emphasizes troubleshooting rather than progress and finally, relies on deferment rather than decisiveness. I expect some to vehemently disagree with this sentiment but I assure you it's not mine alone.
The second reason: opinion on this term will prove to be more divided than previously thought, despite what we've seen in recent polling that focuses more on broad, generalized subjects. As a result there are two, three, maybe more political realities to consider. There will be irreconcilable impressions in stark contrast to at the very least a general consensus that usually follows a presidential term. It follows then that some candidates are going to seem more obvious or qualified than others to different factions, schools of thought, or interest groups. This is always the case to some degree. Here we're experiencing a more extreme (for serious lack of a better term) than what would be considered a normal cycle.
The question we must now ask then is "is this a good thing or a bad thing and why?" It could be either or even both. The true heir apparent can often trigger a dull election which we all agree is no fun for anyone and sometimes can even serve to weaken our political culture. On the other side of the coin, they often prove to be very effective presidents. Sometimes none of those things prove true. We don't have a one size fits all answer to this question as it relies too much of the specificity of circumstances. As such, we can choose to look at the coming uncertainty as an opportunity to hope for robust competition and detailed, thoughtful discussion.
While there is no expectation that we will be in any way surprised by who ends up running, the fact remains that this thing is wide open.
), so it's no secret I like how Mousebumples has conducted her Cabinet. She is Steve-Jobs like in that she has a very good sense of taste and what works, she's able to lick the computer screen and go "hmm, that'll work" or "that won't" --- just from a glance and I think history will be kinder on her, even if some of us aren't now. 
