You may have heard that a guy who had never run for office just won the most votes in the first round of Ukraine’s presidential elections. With 30 percent of the vote, Volodymyr Zelenskiy topped the ticket, beating out current President Petro Proshenko as well as the former prime minister. Surprise winner Zelenskiy is, however, not an unknown. He’s a comedian. His current job is portraying the president of Ukraine on TV. Truth is truly stranger than fiction.
Zelenskiy’s primary victory mirrors candidate Donald Trump’s in a couple of interesting ways. Like Zelenskiy, it was Trump’s national TV exposure that helped him stand out in the field of 2016 Republican primary candidates, and later helped catapult him into the White House. And like the newest Ukraine political star, he had no political experience. Both of their victories represent a notable political cultural shift in how voters value a candidate, and more, how candidates tout their credentials. Many potential candidates saw President Trump’s win as an opening and permission to de-emphasize or dismiss certain leadership preparation. “Well, if he can win, so can I,” they say. Welcome to the era of “anyone can run.”
It wasn’t so long ago that voters gave high marks to candidates with resumes touting their work as a city councilor, alderman, state representative, mayor or governor. Not anymore. Political newbies don’t feel constrained by not having that kind of resume. And voters have shown they are not only more than willing to overlook that, but they are also actively pursuing people with no political experience. Bestselling author and former First Lady Michelle Obama has never run for office and has said numerous times that she is not interested in politics — period. That hasn’t stopped eager voters from publicly pleading with her to run for president. In firmly rejecting their pleas, the former first lady has pointed out that American voters are bypassing talented and dedicated individuals who’ve worked hard to represent their local communities in favor of someone who is merely popular or famous.
For sure, there’s no experience and then there’s no experience. I consider candidates like Lori Lightfoot, the newly elected mayor of Chicago, differently because like her, they’ve been working in other public service roles. And there is a conversation to be had about how much governing experience, say, a candidate for president ought to have — but that’s a deeper conversation for another day. In this moment, I just wonder if the "anyone can run" philosophy emboldens egoists who have never considered country first, even as I recognize it may also encourage possibly more interesting people to enter the political arena.
Of course, with some exceptions, our constitution has always made it possible for any ordinary American citizen to run for office. But in fraught times, it might be best to mitigate the risks with the doctor, not the intern. There are real problems to tackle, and I’d prefer some candidates for whom this is not their first time at the rodeo. But I’m only one vote. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenzkiy will have the last laugh if he wins the final election scheduled for later this month. I don’t want popular American comedians to follow suit. I always appreciate a good joke, but I’m finding it hard to laugh right now.
