Who's qualified to be president?

This isn't a posting about Sarah Palin. But, all the talk about who is and who is not qualified to be president got me thinking this week about how student organizations pick their leaders.

Do your group's bylaws dictate who can and cannot run for the top spot? I find many student organizations start thinking about putting these sort of limitations in effect before election season comes in late Fall. We want to make sure we don't leave the organization in the hands of someone who's going to completely screw it up.

Some groups require that all candidates for president must have served in another officer position. Some require that those running for president be at least a junior. Others require a certain grade point average.

Others leave it entirely wide open. The group chooses whomever they think will do the best job regardless of any criteria. So, which is better?

I'm a big fan of the free market deciding. Qualifications for office are certain to come up among those voting when the discussion happens. Should we vote for someone who has a 2.3 over the person with a 3.4? Would someone who chaired a committee be better than this other person we all think is a lot of fun?

If experience is important to people, then their votes will follow the person with the most experience. Others will want change, and they will vote purely on personality over experience. That's the beauty of a democracy. People can vote based on anything they like.

I find that the more you limit people's options on whom they can select, the worse it goes. It might be tempting to lay out a bunch of restrictions on who can run for office, but that means limiting your members' choices at election time. Why do that? An organization is made up of its constituency, and to assume you know "who is qualified" more than the membership paying the dues is arrogant. The best thing for you to do is to make sure that those voting clearly understand the job responsibilities. Then, let them decide who they are going to trust with the position.

Sarah Palin is all the rage in the media again this week, and the focus is on her qualifications. Does being a small town mayor and the governor of Alaska qualify you to be inches from the Oval Office? I have a friend who calls her an "evil joke," completely unqualified. Some other friends find her refreshing because she's so different from all the other candidates.

I suppose the framers of the Constitution could have said that only past Representatives, Senators, or two-term Governors could run for President and Vice President. Nothing was stopping them.

They decided that you had to be 35 years old. After that, they trusted that the people would choose who they really wanted – based on qualifications, or based on personality. The Framers decided to let the people work it out. If you want to base it on your love of youth hockey, then go for it.

If it's good enough for our country, then I suppose it's good enough for your organization. Get rid of the restrictions. Encourage everyone to think about running. It's the sign of a vibrant student organization when you give your members the maximum number of possibilities.