why am I running?

People who are running for office or contemplating running often have no answer to this potentially heart-stopping question. When you get an answer, it is often vague like ‘to help my country’. No, you must have a solid, concrete, powerful reason if you are to have a chance of winning.

In my case, I had a Network moment (this cultural reference usually means nothing to people who are under 40; it has nothing to do with Cisco. It was a defining movie of my generation. It starred Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch. He plays a TV news anchor who gets fed up with the lying and hypocrisy, and has a nervous breakdown while on the air. He advises: get up out of your chair, go to the window, stick your head out and shout: I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore).

The federal deficit is now $1.5 TRILLION. Wha? To me, a budget deficit of $200 billion is being spendthrift. But: trillion?? C’mon: the federal gov’t receives $2 trillion in taxes every year; surely this is enough to run the machinery, and still have a little leftover to pay off a bit of the national debt?

I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!