POLITICO Arena: Walter Russell Mead's response to 'Open Mic Presidents Day EditionEvan Bayh's shockerPlus, the Biden-Cheney debate'

POLITICO Arena: Walter Russell Mead's response to 'Open Mic Presidents Day EditionEvan Bayh's shockerPlus, the Biden-Cheney debate'

Walter Russell Mead Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy, CFR :

The best qualified person "living or dead" to be the next senator from New York is of course Jesus Christ. There is some dispute about whether he's living or dead (I go with the former) but either way there's nobody in history as qualified.

First, he could balance the budget. He fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and a couple of fish; think what he could do with all the money the federal government takes in.


Second, he healed the sick and raised the dead. The first talent would pretty much take care of our health care reform issues and the cost of Medicare; the second would keep him in office forever as every election day the dead would rise up and go to the polls.


Third, he could clean up New York politics. "Go and sin no more," he said to the woman caught in the act of adultery. I can think of several New York politicians who should do both. Not only that; that trick he did with the Gadarene swine (he drove the demons out of a madman into a herd of pigs; the pigs then ran into a lake and drowned) would work wonders in Albany.


Fourth, he'd destroy Harold Ford in the primary. "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's," he said. In other words, pay taxes to New York if you want to run in New York.


Fifth, he'd deal with the lobbyists. He drove the moneychangers from the Temple; think what he'd do on K Street.


Sixth, he can win. He's a practicing Jew with crossover appeal to the black community and would carry the Catholics as well. Wall Street and Mayor Bloomberg would have problems with him (that 'eye of the needle' comment will haunt him when he's fundraising) and he'd need a good handler to keep him from saying the wrong thing to the wrong people, but if he can keep his temper under control I think he wins in a walk.