2024-11-08 Mr. Smith

I have zero interest into going into detail as to why. But recently I had reason to reflect and think about what my ideal candidate for President would be. If I could create a tulpa by speaking them into existence, here they are.

He is very down-to-earth. And also quite funny and affable. I think he comes from the Midwest, he has that sort of charm. He is young, late 30s early 40s at most. He should be traditionally handsome, in like a James Stewart or Fred MacMurray way. He's quite well fit and tall. He has a deep booming voice, also we're going to bring the beard back to the oval office for the first time in like a century. I'd give him a small physical flaw, though. Perhaps he has a chipped front tooth or some such. Something that humanizes him and brings him down to our level. We'll call him John Smith ^[1] for the sake of argument.

Mr. Smith's background is a poorer family. Farmers in the midwest. I'm gonna say Iowa specifically for reasons that are clear to those that understand. Though he also has family that works in the auto industry in the rust belt. So he can talk to those sensibilities. When asked if he's religious he says he was raised Christian though he doesn't go to church too often. He likes going for the Holidays though to see family. Though he admits Halloween is his favorite holiday. We swiftly move along and do not examine his position on religion any closer.

Actually, when the primary happens I want the Democrats to go full smoke-filled room and prop him up, running a couple nobody goons that make him look great and sail to an easy win. Anyone else that tries running that looks like they have a chance get death threats. I think he either did sports or was perhaps in the military for a period. Afterward he went into some local politics. He comes out of nowhere, though. At no point does he give the impression of having been in the establishment for a time. Perhaps he was a Congressman that flipped a red district for the first time in some long while.

One of the most important things about him is he does not mince words. He swears. Not in a vulgar way that would offend Karen from Nebraska but in a normal everyday way that you would speak with a friend. He speaks plainly as a man of the land. He says it's crap that we don't have healthcare. How's middle class or poor folks supposed to put food on their table when they can't afford to get their kids into preschool? He talks about the economy a lot. It's the first thing he talks about in most conversations. He quotes FDR a lot, though he doesn't draw attention to it. He just puts that out there for anyone who is listening that has ears.

We're going for masculine ideal here. I think he's straight in the Marlon Brando in his prime way. A real man's man.

His big plan is called the Good Deal. He was going to call it the New Deal but heard that was already taken. (The press exhale air out of their noses and give a small smirk at the joke) It's called the Good Deal because he's given it a good deal of thought and because he wants to be totally honest and straightforward with Americans. And it's just a plain good deal that anyone can understand.

The first big focus of the Good Deal is fixing the economy as stated previously. We're gonna bring that damn inflation down. Because he knows that it's what everyday Americans care about most. How could they not? They see it on the price sticker every week at the grocery store. Also tax cuts across the board for the majority of Americans. We are going to to raise taxes on the billionaires as well as start taxing unrealized gains and bring them back into the fold of American society. At no point are those last two ideas stated in any way. It is there in the details but "raise taxes" literally never leaves anyone in the admin's mouths. It is strictly advertised as a big tax cut.

His second aspect of the Good Deal is a big reintroduction of the Civilian Conservation Corps. "A job for every American, if they want it." We've let our infrastructure degrade to a ridiculous degree. And we've got good Americans without jobs, who've been passed over through no fault of their own as times have changed. They were lied to and told their industries would take care of them. But that's ok because we've got good honest work for them that will pay well and needs doing. Whether you live in the biggest cities we've got or you're out in the boonies, America needs your help. The CCC is gonna be brought back in a big way. We're fixing roads, we're building parks, we've got training for people if they wanna do more technical stuff. Working on public utilities and such. You can take that to the bank. That's good training that'll help you wherever you decide to go with your life. Or even if you wanna stay with the CCC. We'll always have you. And our retirement benefits are good. We'll also be building up community centers, especially in areas that don't have them. They aren't completely run by the CCC, or rather aren't entirely intended for them. Rather, they are for that community's benefit. Whatever that community needs. The idea is to reconnect individual communities with the larger whole of America. To make us feel like we're all working towards a common cause again. But also to act as an outreach program. getting people in the CCC involved in their local politics. Trying to replace some of the old dinosaurs. So we can actually get things done.

I have a number of reasons that I want the CCC to come back in this way. Young American men are in crisis. It would be great if they could stop being so fucking hysterical, but it's become entirely clear that that isn't possible. And they are near single-handedly destroying the country. Either by action or inaction. So, the CCC. Let's talk about the real point of it. I want there to be a very clear A to B to C pathway. I want young men to feel welcome to the CCC. That it's a great path they could take with their lives. Where they'll serve their local community while also being prepared to better serve their local region. The idea is that for the younger men, their job will be focused more on the traditional idea. More nature-focused. Building trails and such. Bridges. That sort of thing. But as they get older, I want them to be able to get training in the various trades. (The intent is also to bring older men into the fold at that stage.) And then as they get even older they become leaders that help and train younger men. I should point out, while this is all pretty male-focused, the whole thing will be open to women. It's just there's a very clear problem happening and it ain't women. I want young people to feel needed and important. And another aspect of this is that I and Mr. Smith both love infrastructure so building an infrastructure around improving your infrastructure is a win-win in our books.

Also Mr. Smith wants NASA to be way bigger than it is. We're going to Mars and it's gonna be within his terms (he will be getting two).

Something else I think Mr. Smith will do is bring back the Fireside Chat of FDR. He wants to talk to every American individually. So he's bringing back the Fireside Chat in the form of a weekly podcast. He and his VP will, just for 30 or so minutes a week, do a "shoot-the-shit" formatted podcast with each other. Where they talk about what's going on in their lives. Stuff that's going on in the White House. When they're running into issues with Congress. The intent is to directly talk about what they're accomplishing but in a very casual setting. With the occasional "Hey listener, if you're in {Red State}, give your Congressman a call, we need help passing {whatever} that's meant to help your community." I want there to be clear action items. They occasionally will bring on other guests from the cabinet. But it's primarily in the genre of the "two dudes talking" podcast. It's not exactly comedy, but there is a lot of joking and banter. It's a politics podcast done by the heads of the Executive branch of the government that doesn't talk about politics.

They will also sometimes do more themed episodes that are visual. The White House cook teaching them how to make something around Thanksgiving time. The President showing off his classic car he's been working on in the driveway. The Pres and VP bringing on an American survivalist to teach them how to survive in the wilderness (camera view expands to reveal the men squatting on the White House lawn, a car drives by). The Pres brings on someone from the American Heart Association to coach his normally bookish VP on how to stay fit in the gym (everyone is still wearing their suits). The Pres loves it and has a gym bro sort of energy teasing his VP but rooting him on. I want them both to exude a positive masculinity vibe.

I should also say now, his VP I think will be a black man. Mr. VP is college-educated. I don't really care what specifically he did but Mr. Smith occasionally self-deprecatingly jokes that Mr. VP is the real brains behind the operation because he's got a degree and Mr. Smith doesn't. It's only a joke though, you can see that Mr. Smith is not some himbo, he is whip-smart. He's just almost always casual except when pomp and circumstance is required. I want that to be very clear, he ain't stupid at all. Just approachable and friendly.

So that's my ideal candidate. I want him to focus big on his domestic agenda. Not in an isolationist way but more just so that, for example on Fireside Chat, he can constantly talk about how much they're getting done even when there's zero movement in Congress. I want every American to feel like they personally know Mr. Smith. Perhaps in a savior way to the left and in a respectful neighborly way to the right. Almost as though you could see yourself having a beer with him...