The Perot Option

David Brooks wrote a great column the other day. I'm not sure if he is on to something here or not, but it sounds good to me and I think it rings true for alot of people right now. Here's a piece of it.

There is a specter haunting America: the specter of a saner, updated
version of Ross Perot. He is lurking out there, ready to ride the free-floating
anger and distrust of Washington. He is out there now in one of his homes or
private jets, getting madder by the day. He is large of ego, full of money and
cranky in mien.

When he enters the arena, he’ll say that Washingtonians, all of them, are a
bunch of failures. Over the past five years, Washington has tried to reform
Social Security, immigration, health care and energy policy. All of these
efforts have either failed or are close to failure — thousands of people working
millions of hours and in all likelihood producing nothing.

He’ll point out that Washingtonians, all of them, breed selfishness.
Republicans refuse to accept tax increases. Democrats reject spending cuts.
They’ve put the country on a highway to a fiscal crisis, and there are no exit ramps.

When he comes, he’ll present himself warts and all. Yes, I’m an obnoxious
S.O.B., he’ll say. But you need me right now. Yes, I am a blank slate, but
people are so desperate that they’re voting for blank slates. When he comes —
this billionaire Simon Cowell, this political Bobby Knight — he will
change the political landscape, at least for a time.

Its all true. The column appears here. I hope the new saner Ross Perot shows up. I think this hope is what fuels the Tea Party bunch and is the main reason for Sarah Palin's amazing and otherwise unexplained popularity. Whether this candidate shows up or not, I think a fair number of incumbents are running scared. I'ld be for replacing every single incumbent with a perfect stranger.