by Jonathan Bernstein
I'm making a list of ideas that reporters and political junkies pine for, but actually make no sense. Seth Masket is on it:
Personally, I'd add to this the idea of a truly nonpartisan leader who can lead a state to greatness because he's not wedded to a party. Also, the idea of a Unity presidential ticket that finds the least exciting ideas of both political parties and pairs up people like Lowell Weicker and Dick Lamm to advance them.
Several readers suggested variations of those ideas, which by the way are discussed in this book. One particularly creative reader had a longer list than me...here's a taste:
1) Presidency decided by House of Representatives after no one gets an electoral majority, due to third party winning electoral votes or electoral tie
(2) Third party gets enough seats in the House to hold the balance of power in the election of the Speaker
(3) Amendment to the constitution produced by constitutional convention as described in Article V
(4) New state added to the union or State divided into two states with consent of state and Congress, as described in Constitution, article 4
Wait -- I like that last one! I don't think that would necessarily be a bad idea. The other three, though, and the Mr. Smith scenarios that Seth discusses...yeah, they fit this category nicely.