I am announcing my candidacy for Vice President.
It wasn't always my intention, but since the Republican National Convention, it has become glaringly obvious that I am the right person for this job. Allow me to expound.
- I am a woman. I don't know why that by itself matters, but hoo boy, does it ever.
- Honor runs in my blood. I come from a long line of naval officers. Both my grandfathers were Captains, and my father was a Commander. And all were at Pearl Harbor when we got hit. We have lots of black and white photos of my forbears in uniform, which should drive home the fact of my honor if my telling you isn't enough.
- I have extensive foreign policy as I have vacationed in Mexico and Canada.
- But my qualifications don't end there. I have had a passport since I was 6 months old, and I have lived in Italy, Iran and Greece. I have also traveled to France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Holland, England, Ireland, and Nicaragua.
- I have met foreign dignitaries like the Ambassador to Greece and the Prime Minister of Estonia (Please note: this is a small country bordering Russia, which we may be called upon to defend).
- I have met and conversed with important American leaders like Nancy Pelosi. And when I was a kid, my church choir sang for Ronald Reagan.
- I attended both college and graduate school, and even studied abroad at Cambridge (that's the Ivy League of Europe), which more than qualifies me, since the going requirement is having attended 5 schools in 6 years.
- I am by nature humble, so I wasn't going to bring this up. But since one of you asked, yes, I possess the hotness factor. I was a cheerleader and I was voted Homecoming Queen my senior year of high school.
But you know what? Having written all this, and listed my obvious qualifications for this very important job, I realize there is one essential I just don't have. In fact, it was the writing of this list that helped me see it.
Readiness. That essential quality of non-blinkabilty. Because you see, when I was asked to be the # 2, I admit it, I paused. I thought "Really, you want me?" And then I paused some more. I thought about all the people more qualified than me. I thought about my surface understanding of important issues, places and players on the world stage. I considered the dire nature of the world today: our country in two wars, our economy crumbling, our international reputation squandered, our honor sullied by torture and unconstitutional law-bending. And I knew, without question, that despite all my qualifications, I don't have that readiness that a job so serious requires. You see, the truth is, I blinked.