In presidential politics, many of us seem to be enchanted with pretty faces. As was earlier true with John Kennedy, Gary Hart, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Martin O’Malley, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Andrew Cuomo, Gavin Newsom is the latest “pretty face” in American politics who not so quietly believes his best qualification to become POTUS is his mug. Earlier this week, Newsom, the governor of a state from which people are fleeing as fast as they can, ran an ad in one of the fastest-growing states in the union, Florida. The face that launched a thousand U-Hauls was bad-mouthing the Sunshine state while singing his own praises. Chutzpah is alive and well in Sacramento!

If choosing a president came down to who has the best smile, I would have voted for Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020. I don’t vote, however, based on outward appearance. Even though Biden has a nice smile, he hasn’t given America much to smile about in the last 18 months. I do smile, however, when I recall the gas prices, food prices, and the overall economy during the Trump years. When I recall such things, I slide into Trump nostalgia.

Male presidential candidates are not alone in their narcissism. The de facto Speaker of the House, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, was caught vacationing in Florida at the height of the Wuhan Flu. The congresswoman who will be eligible to be POTUS in 2024 replied defensively:

“If Republicans are mad they can’t date me they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend’s feet,” she tweeted in a sly dig. She added: “Ya creepy weirdos.”

When I think of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and all the other pretty faces hoping to inhabit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, one big question pops into my mind: Do you have a record of positive accomplishments?

Image: The Wicked Queen by Millicent Sowerby (1909).

Both Biden and Carter were famous for their smiles, but what did they ever get done? On the downside, JFK managed to sink his PT boat and sabotaged the Bay of Pigs, but where are his lasting contributions to America?

Hilary Clinton spent much of her 2016 campaign “minimizing” Trump’s accomplishments. Why did she do that? Perhaps because she had nothing to bring to the table except Benghazi and the sale of uranium to Russia.

If we could run our cars and heat our homes using the egos of politicians, America would be energy-independent. Like solar energy and wind power, however, our scientists have not yet figured out how to use political egos as a reliable energy source.

Pretty faces may win student elections and some presidential elections, but in 2024 and beyond, we need people who can do. Biden is now showing us the dangers of people who cannot do.

Ned Cosby’s new novel OUTCRY is a love story exposing the refusal of Christian leaders to discipline clergy who sexually abuse our young people. This fictional work addresses crimes that are all too real. He has also written RECOLLECTIONS FROM MY FATHER’S HOUSE, tracing his own odyssey from 1954 to the present. For more info, visit www.nedcosby.com.