Let's have a actual scientist as candidate.

[byronius]

11. Well, yeah, totally agree. But.

Josef Mengele

Your post made me really think about it. Scientist, yes, atheist, yes, go on down the list -- but at the top of it must be 'dedicated civil servant', 'emotionally intelligent', and 'honorable'. Wisdom in leadership is not automatically conferred by intelligence or adherence to realism any more than it is conferred by a fat bank account or level of cunning.

It comes down to the hard truths of a nation's population. The US is the most diverse nation on earth, but it suffers from all the standard human plagues, mostly primitive tribalism disguised as common sense. Delusional thinking abounds, if one accepts the polls about common beliefs. Ignorance abounds, because we're all just early-issue human animals. Our representation is tilted by cheating from the Throwbacks, but it's not that far from representative. Leadership, population -- it's close enough to make one worry about survival. These are the days.

I miss Obama's wisdom most of all. He was always thinking, always moving, always growing. He cared, and that is a scientifically provable fact. I sincerely miss that indeed.

Someone who cares.