Our Next President has to Unite Us.

We are in the process of choosing our next president and there are a lot of people who want it to be someone other than Mr. Obama. I count myself in that number. Many of us are frustrated and even angered by what we see happening to our country because of the policies of the current administration. Potential candidates for the Republican nomination include some who are playing to that frustration and anger. To select a standard bearer for the Republican party that is a conservative firebrand might appeal to enough hard core conservatives that he or she could get elected, but it would not solve the problems that our country faces and it would ensure that the electorate would reject him or her in a succeeding round of elections in the same way that liberal firebrands are being rejected at the present time.

Hopefully, we will be intelligent enough to select a candidate that is levelheaded and can appeal to a majority of Americans. Much as I like conservative solutions to many of our most pressing challenges, I do not believe that America is willing to accept them in their most austere form. Compromise is necessary. I am practical enough to recognize that radicals play a useful role in our political system, but I do not believe that they should be given real political power. It is proper that they articulate the "best" solutions on left and right, but never should those solutions actually be implemented. Obama Care is a perfect example of what happens when they are mistakenly made into law.

Hopefully too, we will learn from our Obama mistake and thoroughly vet our future candidates before voting for or against them. It is my belief that, had America seen through the teleprompter and actually understood what Mr. Obama intended when he spoke of "change," we would have stuck with Hillary Clinton. Right now, the public appears to be in love with Donald Trump. The liberals love him because he is the absolutely perfect incarnation of their ideal conservative politician. Saturday Night Live and Mr. Axelrod could not ask for more. Many within the conservative base love Trump because he offers simple solutions to complex problems that simultaneously speak to our frustrations. I have never met Mr. Trump, but my impression is that he is a fairly shallow personality with a penchant for making money in real estate, but without a great deal of experience in much else. He is important only because he understands the frustrations of America - not because he offers real solutions.

I place Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin in the same general category as The Donald although there are some very important differences. These two ladies are not shallow and they do have a proven record of achievement in the political arena. I like what I have heard of their proposed solutions to the very real challenges facing our country. My problem with them is that they are both polarizing figures in the present political landscape. I do not believe that either one of them could defeat President Obama in 2012 nor do I believe that they could govern the country successfully. To elect either one of them would be to relive the Obama nightmare in reverse.

We need a man or woman who can bring us together, not one who will continue to champion the views of half of this nation. I continue to be very interested in Chris Christy despite his refusal to run.