An interesting thing is happening with this round of Presidential elections, but it’s something that’s been growing in Congress as well. The candidates aren’t acting like leaders. And the congresspeople aren’t acting like, well, congress.

You may ask why I say this. It’s simple, really. Presidents lead. That is their purpose. They may try to bend to the will of the people somewhat, but they do what’s right, or try to. It wasn’t Congress that signed the Emancipation Proclamation, or who ordered the US Military to protect the racial integration in an elementary school as the state governor tried to block it with the National Guard. Nor was it Congress who ordered the invasion of Afghanistan, or for that matter Iraq. Say what you like about President George W. Bush, and believe me, I myself could say a lot, but he is a strong leader.

Likewise with Congress – a ruling body intended to reflect the views of its constituents. Certainly to do what’s right – that’s why we don’t vote everything by popular vote – but also to follow their constituents’ will. Congressmen are not supposed to, say, earmark $223 million of federal funds for a bridge to an island of 50 people (that’s $4.5 million each, if you’re counting) that don’t want it. Thank you Senator Ted Stevens (he makes such a great example of someone who should be impeached, yet when he threatened to quit Congress if funds were diverted from said widely hailed “bridge to nowhere” for hurricane Katrina relief efforts, they tweaked the wording so he’d stay – that’s another post).

Now, a final word on the Presidential candidates running for next fall. I can’t blame them for not acting like strong leaders. This country is afraid of strong leaders right now (or so they think), because look what happened last time we elected one. We wound up in a war we probably can’t win, meanwhile stem cell research programs were set back years.

The fact is, the country isn’t afraid of strong leaders. If a single candidate could take hold and rally the United States behind a cause, or even just an opinion, they would win by a landslide. Hell, if a candidate could just decide what the hell they believe and stand for, they could probably win because right now America needs someone to believe in.