By now you all know Sarah Palin's pick: Jakobus Aaluvttem, the Dutch immegrant and gentleman farmer best known for skinning two goats to make parchment for the final draft of the Constitution.
He's an obscure, unconventional choice, but that's exactly the kind of bold, mavricky thing we expect from Sarah.
Who's your favorite Founder?
I'll give you my picks here. They're safe and conventional, I'll admit.
- First Runner Up - James Madison: He was the Architect of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He was Jefferson's confidant. Most importantly though, he'd already introduced and road-tested ideas about Natural Rights and limiting government power in the Virginia Constitution. He wasn't just making this stuff up in Philly.
- Runner Up - Thomas Jefferson: As primary author of the Declaration of Independence and one of the leading intellectual lights of the age, he has to be in the top three. Plus, as ambassador to France he helped confirm the legitimacy of the new nation in the eyes of Europe (and was more discreet about it than Franklin had been). But on my ranking, he just gets edged out by this guy.
- First Place - George Washington: He was the leader of the Continental Army. He was the first President. He rallied the troops before his daring crossing of the Delaware(using the words of that "dirty atheist" Thomas Paine). But that's not why I picked him as #1.
Crossing the Rubicon
I picked Washington as #1 because of the incredibly important example he set. When he resigned his commission in Annapolis on December 23, 1783, he did something almost unprecedented. He gave up power.
Remember that the form of the new government had not been set and there were some Monarchists. It would have been a natural step for Washington to declare himself king. He had the prestige and he had the Continental Army, the only large-scale military force in the country.
He'd already crossed the Delaware. Would it have been so hard for him to cross this Rubicon? Some people think it would have been a slam dunk. He could have crowned himself in a fiat accompli.
I don't think so. After decades of anti-Monarchical rhetoric and 8 years of war in the name of Liberty, I think even Washington would have faced stiff resistance to a new Monarchy. But he could have made a good play for it.
Instead, he resigned his commission and went home.
President For Life
And he didn't walk away from power once. He did it twice.
He could have easily made himself President For Life by just running for a third, fourth and fifth term. But he didn't.
Instead, he stepped down after two terms and once again went home. That set a precedence that has only been violated once and then under the most extraordinary circumstances.
Sarah's Second Choice
After Aaluvttem, Washington was Palin's second choice and for pretty much the same reasons.
Good for her. All those 2012 cram sessions are paying off.