Monday, January 10, 2011

Larry Ellison for President!

After my last post where I shared my jocular ad running Linus Torvalds for president back in 1999, I've had the weekend to consider our plight at the hands of professional politicians. I'm convinced that legalized cyber privateering can no how, no way come to pass in today's political environment. With that idea in mind, I want to float an off-the-charts-crazy idea: Larry Ellison for just one term as president?

Larry wants to own a professional NBA basketball team in the worst way (see this link).  This is the man who won and who is moving the America's Cup Yacht race to San Francisco. And I'm pretty sure this is a man with whom I'd disagree on most of the moral issues that define a presidential campaign. But doggone it, Larry understands the waging of all-out competitive warfare. And Larry understands how to identify and hire very smart people. Just one problem: the 2013 America's Cup Yacht Race. I don't think the Secret Service would permit a sitting president to race his yacht competitively. Okay, so there are two problems, since they wouldn't take kindly to POTUS going to watch his basketball team play. Unless, in both of the above cases, he were to turn those events (along with the running of Oracle) temporarily and blindly over to trusted managers. Managers like:

  1. Safra Katz and Mark Hurd, who could probably keep Oracle on course.
  2. His championship captain and crew for the America's Cup race.
  3. A tested coach and organization head for a yet-to-be-named NBA team (like Jerry Sloan and Kevin O'Connor, if Larry will commit to my friend Greg Miller to keep the Jazz in Salt Lake City, UT).
Would Larry be a handful for the religious right? Absolutely.

Would Larry drive the ACLU absolutely crazy? Guaranteed.

Would Larry win the cyber war with China, Russia and anyone else who throws down on us? You can take that one to the bank.

I named Larry to head my Cyber Privateer Fantasy League team. But as I play "WHAT IF?" games, it's just possible that America is so totally fed up with professional politicians that there are scenarios where a guy like Larry Ellison might just get himself drafted as the 2012 Republican (populist) nominee to run as President of the United States. Yes, he'd be a RINO (Republican In Name Only), but isn't that what we had with McCain. Or would have with Rudy Giullani?

Consider the possibilities, Larry. Tom Clancy eventually got his fictional Jack Ryan into the White House. Does my own flight of fancy need to remain a fictional scenario? Consider the possibilities.

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Implementation suggestions for THE MORGAN DOCTRINE are most welcome. What are the "Got'chas!"? What questions would some future Cyber Privateering Czar have to answer about this in a Senate confirmation hearing?