Ben Stein in 2008

"Maybe it's a woman, or a black man after all..." - Neil Young, Looking For A Leader

...And maybe it IS.

However, it will be a conservative Republican in each case, long before it will EVER be a liberal Democrat.

While our nation and its voters have long since progressed beyond the racialism and sexism that would see a black or female candidate for President automatically deemed unqualified for the office by most people, such candidates are still regarded as unqualified in most eyes when you simply add the words "liberal Democrat" to the equation.

There's a feminist group called the White House Project that is trying to get a woman elected President. Unfortunately, since they will only consider a liberal Democrat (they refuse to consider a candidate of any other political stripe -- not even a conservative Democrat like former Congresswomen Marilyn Lloyd and Beverly Byron), they might as well be trying to win the Presidency for a dead person. Their chances are nil, and will remain nil until they broaden their horizon and open their minds to at least considering a candidate who doesn't make even Hillary Rodham Clinton look moderate by comparison.

I'm firmly convinced that in every single category other than the white Christian male, the trail will ultimately be blazed by a conservative Republican. Black, woman, Hispanic, Jewish -- every one of these groups can see a President elected in this lifetime. But the first in each case will be a conservative Republican, and until each group's trail has been blazed by such a candidate, there is absolutely NO hope of a liberal Democrat from the group getting into the White House.

Which brings us to Mr. Stein, commercial pitchman, actor, comedian and erstwhile game-show host. This is the Ben Stein everybody knows. But he's also an economist and a lawyer, and has worked in the White House under Nixon and Ford (as a speechwriter, if memory serves).

He's intelligent and likable, and I believe he'll make a great President. I say this as a conservative Democrat.

Ben Stein could ease us into the era of the Presidential trailblazers: America's first Jewish President.

So, to sum it all up: forget Hillary. Forget Barack. Forget every liberal Democrat in each of these "identity groups" until a conservative Republican has blazed the trail. Because whenever you add "liberal Democrat" to any of these identities, the result is UNELECTABLE.

End of story.



Coming Soon: Right* Fixes for New York City's Ecology.

* Right as in Right-Wing...