A More Accurate Definition of "can be"

We in America grow up with numerous cultural fantasies and beliefs. One, heard in many corners these days, is that "Anyone can be president." While reading the comments on a wonderful piece by Dick Cavett on the issue of experience, specifically, Sarah Palin's experience (or lack thereof), I suddenly realized a potentially fatal flaw in the way most people think about the slogan used to encourage women and other minorities: what exactly do we mean by "can be"?

When I say "any book can be read by someone who can read the language of that book", I mean that it is POSSIBLE for a reader to read it. I do not mean that every book has equal interest for the reader.

When I say "any one can be president", I mean that it is POSSIBLE for any one to become president. I mean that the laws and cultural norms of this country no longer automatically prevent women or African-Americans or Asian-Americans or Hispanics from holding office. I mean that these groups have grown numerous enough and politically savvy enough to know how to organize their members sufficiently well to put one into high office.

I DO NOT mean "every person is equally qualified to become president", nor do I mean that "it doesn't take any experience, knowledge, education, or wisdom to become president." Indeed, it occurs to me that some might make this claim precisely to stubbornly imply the addendum "even if I don't have qualifications".

Cognitive accuracy tells us that, regardless of our cultural beliefs about the RIGHTS of people to aspire to great things, presidents face complex issues, with deep and long historical contexts, and they make decisions that affect millions, even billions of people, for a long time in many cases. Having the RIGHT to take that office has little to do with having the SKILLS and EXPERIENCE to take that office. A cognitively accurate view suggests that we would do best to find someone who does not find it dazzling to be invited into the office, but rather to seek someone who has worked hard to study complex subjects, to serve in a variety of roles, to travel around the world, to encounter diverse perspectives, to seek balance and a rational approach, to use critical thinking and a scientific understanding of cause and effect, etc.

So we can define "anyone can be president" as referring to the RIGHT to aspire to the office, but NOT to the equality of all possible candidates. As rational adult humans, with operating executive function, we CAN distinguish between entities, and we CAN value some traits over others. For the best outcome, I recommend looking for political candidates that show some sign of valuing cognitive accuracy.