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To the Journal editor:
Official presidential eligibility requirements: You need to be 35 years of age and a natural-born U.S. citizen.
Prior to 1970, "Democrat" and "Republican" party bosses would meet in private and use un-official eligibility requirements to filter out "un-qualified" presidential candidates. In 1970, "McGovern-Fraser Commission" nomination reform removed backroom politics ... a good thing for democracy. The only problem was these un-official eligibility requirements were removed without addressing the important role they played in selecting qualified candidates.
Only five presidents have been elected without previously holding elected public office: Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, and Donald Trump. Taylor, Grant and Eisenhower led U.S. forces. Hoover had been appointed to United States Secretary of Commerce. Trump had business experience.
Since 1970, the following is a short list of presidential primary candidates, with no prior elected office experience, we filtered out: Pat Buchanan, Wesley Clark, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Steve Forbes, Jesse Jackson, Marianne Williamson, Ross Perot, Pat Robertson, Al Sharpton, John Wolfe and Andrew Yang.
Is it time we update Presidential eligibility requirements? Should we add job competency and experience requirements to help filter out unqualified candidates from applying? Most of us have pursued private sector jobs where specific experience was required before we were allowed to apply, why shouldn't this philosophy be applied to the Presidency?
Being smart, popular, over 35, and a natural-born U.S. citizen is just not enough. Would you hire a brain surgeon who has no experience in the construction trades to build your dream house? You and I also know job experience alone is not a guarantee our house to be built to our specifications either, our contractor must also have high moral standards.
Until we demand presidential eligibility requirements be updated, anyone will be allowed to throw their hat into the ring. Therefore, it is up to us to extensively interview primary candidates for job experience, knowledge, and moral character strengths before you and I allow them to run for President. We didn't ask for this extra job burden, it was dropped on us in 1970. I just pray we have the time, energy, and independence to choose wisely.
History has documented the enormous stress placed on Democracies around the world when un-qualified or immoral individuals are elected to the highest office in the land.