Jeff Millman: Why Rodin should run for president

Their names are familiar, they're fixtures of Washington establishment, and starting this week, they're running for president. They also personify the problems of the broken Democratic Party they are supposed to rebuild.

Meanwhile, the best candidate for Democratic leadership goes overlooked by the national media, but not by us -- we already call her president.

So what about Judy? I think she should run for president. Here's why:

Judy is a good fundraiser. During her tenure as president, donations to the University have increased by 70 percent. That's in part because Judy sees the green among the red and blue. She relentlessly solicits from loaded alumni and corporations, many of which have a seat for her in their boardrooms.

And fundraising, as Senate candidate Alex Sanders told The New Yorker, is "the chemotherapy of a political campaign. It's painful." This humiliation is why many qualified people are unwilling to run for office. Judy is excellent at something few people are willing to do. Candidates in the close races spend the overwhelming bulk of their time soliciting donations for their campaigns. With the new campaign finance restrictions, these candidates will have to devote even more time to soliciting funds in 2004 because they cannot rely on soft money donations from the national parties.

Judy benefits from her location. By running from Pennsylvania, with the support of a new Democratic governor, Judy would easily carry this swing state and its huge collection of 21 electoral votes. This would allow her to devote more resources to more contested states and challenge President Bush all over the country, not just in traditionally Democratic states.

Judy is loyal to the party, which is essential for drawing the support of Democratic activists who decide primary elections. She is friends with Sen. Hillary Clinton, who probably doesn't have many Republican friends but can stump for Judy. Former President Bill Clinton trusted her with two committee appointments. She served her president by recommending the closing of the 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington to vehicular traffic (What foresight!).

Locally, she served as co-chairwoman of Mayor John Street's transition team, helping him appoint mostly Democrats to government posts. And when she puts her money on the line, it goes to Democrats, including the maximum $1000 this past election to Rep. John Murtha.

Judy's educational experience and psychology training are also unique campaign assets. She can campaign on education. As a participant in the restructuring of some Philadelphia schools, she has provided the micro-solutions that resonate with voters. She can champion a pet issue of better mental health care, for which her scientific experience gives her an aura of authority, similar to what Bill Frist, a heart surgeon, enjoys as a senator. Her doctorate in psychology gives her an advantage in channeling her message to our brains, whether in debates, ads or personal appearances.

And her academic nature draws sharp and reassuring contrast to President Bush, who described himself to Bob Woodward as a "gut player" and said, "I'm the commander.... I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation."

Judy, too, has excellent political instincts. Compare her graceful tact to the blunt tactics of Harvard President Larry Summers. Summers reportedly pressured Harvard's English Department to cancel a lecture by an outspoken critic of Israel and stifled debate on divestment by labeling its proponents "anti-Semitic in their effect if not their intent." While this might be true, it doesn't show the delicacy and perception of Judy's response: "I will not respond to intimidation with more intimidation." If Harvard's political novice could be Treasury secretary, then our Judy can be president.

Most importantly, Judy would be a strong candidate because she has been a shrewd president for Penn. She has clearly articulated an Agenda for Excellence and aggressively implemented it. She remains accountable, demands results from her subordinates and is not afraid to hold their feet to the fire, as she did in dismissing longtime Health System CEO and School of Medicine Dean William Kelley in 2000 for allowing the system to accumulate a deficit of nearly $300 million.

Penn's presidency is good preparation for the real thing. Like the nation's president, Judy must deal with security concerns, and she triumphed in reducing campus violence. As the nation's president must do, she has improved Penn's infrastructure through new buildings and better faculty retention and recruitment. Like the nation's president, Judy works with legislative bodies, such as the University Council and the Ivy League Consortium, which is in many ways similar to an international organization.

And her Wilsonian argument doesn't end there. She's telegenic, she has a history of breaking gender barriers and her nickname "J-Ro" clearly bests the trite "Dubya." Not that she needs a reason -- there can never be too much opposition to President Bush.

Jeff Millman is a senior Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major from Los Angeles, Calif.

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