John Delaney, first to step up

One of the truly unique benefits of living in Iowa is to meet and greet people committed enough to want to be president.

In 2019 known and unknown candidates have started to visit Iowa for their audition. For Iowans it is truly a privilege, and one that we take seriously, learning about every candidate and judging his or her appeal.

One candidate deserves a positive shout out. That man, former Maryland Congressman John Delaney, realized after six months that Donald Trump was not capable of growing into the responsibilities of the presidency. The self-centered candidate had become America's self-centered President. Delaney knew what a real president should be, and declared his candidacy in 2017. Since then, he has made many visits to Iowa.

Lessons learned from his time in government and in business convinced Delaney that ignoring a problem never fixes anything and usually allows it to grow into a larger and more costly problem to fix later. Partisanship only drives people further apart at someone's expense. Neither Democrats, nor Republicans have a lock on wisdom. When either party just plays to their base, the country remains divided and is poorer for it.

We need a leader who will look long term for the best solutions - not the cheapest, not the quickest, not in appearance only, and, definitely, not to foster winners and losers.

This St. Patrick's Day, remember Delaney, a president for the whole country.

Bob Hamill

Cedar Rapids