A new beginning

Some two hundred years ago, America's founders endowed our nation with one of the greatest privileges on the planet -- the ability to choose our own destiny by electing one person to be chief executive, commander in chief of the armed forces and head of state.

Tomorrow, the process of choosing our next President begins in Iowa. It's a process that's quintessentially American. In a state that epitomizes Middle America, people of all walks of life will gather to caucus. They'll meet in all sorts of places, from schools to churches to living rooms. They'll hear speeches from campaign surrogates, and they'll discuss the merits of the candidates. And, at the end, they'll cast their votes (in some cases, voting with their feet by standing in one corner of the room or another in support of their favorite candidate).

Then, just a few days later, the process will move to New Hampshire with the first in the nation primary. And, from there, it will continue for several months as thousands of convention delegates are chosen and a nominee is picked.

To the people who will begin this process, the people to whom an anxious nation looks for early signs of a front-runner, we have a request.

Please pick someone good.

There is much riding on the 2012 presidential election. The next president must do something to fix the economy and get people back to work. He or she must bridge the partisan divide in Washington and find ways to get spending under control and tame the federal debt. Our next president must renew America's strong position in foreign affairs and mend fences with old friends overseas.

In other words, the next president must be a strong leader.

So, we humbly ask the people of Iowa and New Hampshire to step back and consider their choices wisely. We're not asking them to pick anyone in particular (even though we have our choice in mind). We will leave the choice up to them, as is the process. But, we do ask them to pick a nominee who will be up to the challenge. We ask them to look at experience, and records, and positions on all of the issues and to pick someone who will lead us wisely.

Most of all, pick someone who will beat Barack Obama in November and lead America back to greatness.

Please. Pick us a winner.