Perfect?

So much of what we seek in a candidate (whether for President or for at-large council member, mayor or governor) is unattainable. Men or women for whom we have given "all" in support would be from bizarro-world if they gave us exactly the votes and policy prescriptions we prefer.

All we can hope for is that the character of "our" candidate is sufficient to produce the results we seek.

Which brings us to this apropos posting on the Internets pipes:

Who's your perfect candidate

As an aside, I think that even if one of us were the incumbent, we would disappoint ourselves, finding reasons to discover fault with a vote or to be disturbed by a trend in performance.

I believe that is a strength in both our system and in our personal characters. If the man or woman you most strongly believe in (as a candidate) ever becomes the "perfect" officeholder, it's time to reconsider your standards.

I have a favorite candidate in the 2008 elections who, from time to time, expresses campaign themes that cause me to shudder.

I'm not proposing that anyone compromise their principles when choosing a candidate. But to expect the "perfect" and ideal candidate/officeholder is unrealistic. I don't think we would actually want that candidate to win. In fact, if we ourselves were that candidate/officeholder, we would be wise to question our support if EVERY vote went precisely the way we wanted it.