As you know, our president is not so popular these days. Most every move he makes is opposed by a majority of Americans.

Well, we deserve this. We the people elected him. Without knowing what he had done on the way up. Or knowing and not caring.

We elected him because he was like a movie star. And we like stars. And we like symbols. It would be nice to think we pay attention to what a candidate has achieved. But we don’t.

If you don’t believe that, here is a test. Take all his achievements up to 2008. Put them in a white skin. Would we have elected him? Take all Hillary’s achievements and failures. Put them into a guy. Would he lead the pack today?

Barrack Obama had achieved precious little. Apart from writing a few books about himself. He had managed no large organization. Except for his campaign. He had avoided legislating. Avoided the wrestling legislators engage in.

Hillary has a better resume. But not to a critical eye. Her record as a legislator is spotty. Her achievements as Secretary of State questionable. Yet there is every chance she will be our next president.

One man high on the list of possible Republican candidates is Dr. Ben Carson. He writes a nice book. Gives a nice speech. Like guess who. He achieved notoriety as a surgeon. He has not dealt with huge budgets. Nor thousands of employees and staff. He has not run any large organization. His qualifications to be our chief executive are as modest as President Obama’s were.

But we don’t care. Too many millions of us don’t. Too many would vote for a corpse. So long as he or she was in our favorite party.

Too many will vote for a black because he is black. And for no other reason. It is time America had a black president, they say. Too many will vote for a woman because she is a she. And because it is time…

Does the candidate have the experiences we need in the White House? We don’t care, they say. As long as the candidate is the right color or sex. Or in the right party.

There are other qualities that make or break a candidate. Hairstyle. Smile. Voice. Weight. Makes a slip or the right joke in a debate. He or she makes us feel good. Or bad. Is attractive or not. Madeline Albright, don’t apply.

Little wow. Truth is, too many millions of us prefer style or symbolism over substance. Too many totally ignore substance.

Hey, Reagan was a movie star. He turned out all right. Yes, but Reagan had run a big and complicated union. Reagan had run our most populous state. He had tangled and compromised with legislators who hated him. These were achievements, experiences. They served him well as President. Obama had no achievements of this nature. The lack of them has come to haunt him.

But we elected him. Because too many millions looked at the vacuum where his achievements should have been. And did not care.

We just like stars. Celebrities. How many are the times when Congress has called upon movie stars for expert testimony. On issues like farming and space exploration. Only because they appeared in movies about these subjects.

An old friend is a big-time headhunter. Wrote a good book – Secrets of a Corporate Headhunter. He found the best candidates for top jobs. He had to be right. Because if they washed out he lost his fee. He told me he dismissed everything candidates promised to do. He ignored plans and ideas they had for the firms. He ignored everything except what candidates had achieved. Those achievements he studied under a microscope.

Too many millions of us ignore achievements. Or lack of achievements. Too many millions are highly prejudiced and uninformed about our candidates. Often, we get what we – or those millions – deserve.

From Tom...as in Morgan.