McCarthy's 15 Commandments

To commemorate the life of Eugene McCarthy, who died on Saturday, The New Republic has freed from the archives one of the 32 articles that McCarthy wrote for the periodical. In "The 15 Commandments", McCarthy lists the rules citizens should follow when considering their votes for president. My favorite is the tenth, which is a "who not to vote for" rule:

10. Anyone with incipient signs of demagoguery. There are four key signs of this tendency: First, does the candidate reserve the front seats in the economy-class section of an airplane, thereby positioning himself to greet and be seen by passengers boarding in the back, but also in a position to slip through the curtain to work the first-class section and even be invited by airline personnel to move up? Second, does the candidate now bill himself or herself as, say, William (Bill) or Robert (Bob) or Patrick/ Patricia (Pat)? Third, does the candidate, known previously as John III or IV, drop the III or IV for the campaign, thus in effect repudiating father, grandfather, and possibly great grandfather? Fourth, is the candidate heavily into physical fitness (e,g., jogging), to the point that he reports his time for the mile or two-mile run, or for longer distances? These actions are marginally acceptable in campaigns for governor, but not for the presidency or even the Senate.

I'm not sure that there's anyone left to vote for after all the rules are applied, certainly not in the last few elections. In fact, the "no governors or vice-presidents" rules alone would have eliminated every presidential election winner since Johnson. Now, I could do without Reagan or W, but I'd certainly miss Bill. Still, the article is worth a gander, if only to read the description of the difference between driving cattle and hogs.