Is The Office Of U.S. President For Sale ?

(The image to the left is from the inimitable DonkeyHotey.)

Here's a scary thought for America -- Donald Trump is considering a run for the presidency of this country. He hasn't made up his mind yet, but a recent trip to Iowa to speak to conservatives shows he is seriously considering running.

But even scarier than the thought of Trump as a candidate, is that he seems to think he can be successful without the financial support of the citizens. In an interview with Jon Karl of ABC News, Trump suggested that he is willing to self-fund his own candidacy. Here is what was said:

KARL: If you were to run for president, how much would you be willing to spend?

TRUMP: If I made a decision, I'd spend a lot.

KARL: A modern presidential campaign would be half a billion dollars.

TRUMP: It could.

KARL: That much?

TRUMP: If I did it, I would spend whatever it took.

Is this what we really want in the United States? Do we want a person to be able to buy the highest office in the country? Wouldn't that just take us further down the road toward a time when only the rich can afford to be public servants?

We have gone too far down that road already -- with no limits on campaign funding (through super-PACs) and campaign spending. We don't need more rich people self-funding their own campaigns. What we need is to go to public funding of campaigns, so more working and middle class Americans can afford to become public servants -- the people who understand what life is like in this country for those who are not rich.

We are very close to becoming a plutocracy in this country (rule by the wealthy class) -- and a plutocracy is not the same as a democracy. I don't think the rich should be able to set our policies and make all our rules. Most of them don't understand how hard it can be to actually work for a living. We need a wide range of people from all walks of life to be able to serve in our government (rich and poor, white and minority, men and women, labor and investors, old and young, etc.). That is what democracy is all about.

Frankly, I find it distasteful that any rich man thinks he can buy his way into public office -- especially the presidency.