Grant A. Brown is a retired philosopher and home renovator who currently resides in Edmonton, ABWay back in the 1980s when I first started paying attention to American politics, I wondered how they could select a president without knowing (or even wondering) who he would put in his cabinet. It boggled my mind that candidates could campaign for two years without ever saying who they would appoint to key portfolios — even leaving the VP selection to the last minute at the national convention. The American system allows the President to pick virtually anyone, so it is a big unknown. At least in our Westminster system, the leader is constrained in who they can pick for cabinet, so the voter has some idea of who is "on the bench" ready for the coach to put on the ice. You can see if there is any bench strength in the party to draw on. I don't know how much that matters to other voters, but it mattered to me. This Trump win might vindicate my thought that presidential candidates would do well to announce in advance of the election who at least some of their key players on the team would be. Trump's "unity ticket" — Vance, Gabbard, Musk, RFK Jr, Vivek — signalled to voters that Trump maybe wasn't going to be the unhinged wildcard some people feared. And he wasn't going to be a lone wolf surrounded by neophytes like he was for most of his first administration. He was going to appoint credible people to tackle the deep problems in American governance. I attribute Trump's electoral success this time not to any particular policy but to his embrace of the "unity ticket." Let's see if American leadership hopefuls learn a lesson from that and the trend of naming cabinet members early continues in future elections. Grant A. Brown is a retired philosopher and home renovator who currently resides in Edmonton, AB.
Grant A. Brown is a retired philosopher and home renovator who currently resides in Edmonton, ABWay back in the 1980s when I first started paying attention to American politics, I wondered how they could select a president without knowing (or even wondering) who he would put in his cabinet. It boggled my mind that candidates could campaign for two years without ever saying who they would appoint to key portfolios — even leaving the VP selection to the last minute at the national convention. The American system allows the President to pick virtually anyone, so it is a big unknown. At least in our Westminster system, the leader is constrained in who they can pick for cabinet, so the voter has some idea of who is "on the bench" ready for the coach to put on the ice. You can see if there is any bench strength in the party to draw on. I don't know how much that matters to other voters, but it mattered to me. This Trump win might vindicate my thought that presidential candidates would do well to announce in advance of the election who at least some of their key players on the team would be. Trump's "unity ticket" — Vance, Gabbard, Musk, RFK Jr, Vivek — signalled to voters that Trump maybe wasn't going to be the unhinged wildcard some people feared. And he wasn't going to be a lone wolf surrounded by neophytes like he was for most of his first administration. He was going to appoint credible people to tackle the deep problems in American governance. I attribute Trump's electoral success this time not to any particular policy but to his embrace of the "unity ticket." Let's see if American leadership hopefuls learn a lesson from that and the trend of naming cabinet members early continues in future elections. Grant A. Brown is a retired philosopher and home renovator who currently resides in Edmonton, AB.
