My pretend presidential candidate

   I want Warren Buffett to be president, even if he isn't a candidate. 

   Buffett, a stocks and bonds guru and the third-richest man in the world, stepped out as a supporter of President Barack Obama in 2008 by donating thousands to his campaign. Unfortunately, he doesn't actually want to be president. Buffett's only political involvement was being the financial adviser to Arnold Schwarzenegger during his 2003 gubernatorial campaign. He may not be seeking presidency, but that doesn't mean I can't fantasize about it. 

   I am a democrat, an Obama supporter and a social liberal, but I'm not the only one who wants Buffett as commander in chief. There's a Facebook group called "Warren Buffett for President of the United States."

   The 81-year-old, whose first wife transformed him from a conservative businessman to an outspoken liberal, once attended a Martin Luther King, Jr. speech and helped change the anti-Semitic laws at the Omaha Country Club in Nebraska. It seems like he was the activist I always wanted to be.

   Buffett continues to help advance the American economy, even in the worst of economic times, by surging money into the stock market by buying shares in Bank of America and other struggling institutions. 

   Buffett's humility is admirable. He lives in his (relatively) small house in Omaha, Neb. despite his fortune and ability to live anywhere in the world. As a disclaimer, my family is from Nebraska and I have strong ties to the city of Omaha, but I find something very modest about a billionaire staying in his hometown and continuing to be a part of the local community.

   Buffett is also a philanthropist in the strongest sense of the word. He is donating 99 percent of his wealth to charity while leaving his family with the remaining one percent. Buffett started donating his billions to former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates' philanthropy, the Gates Foundation, which focuses on bringing health, development and learning to other countries, in 2006.

   I admire his political views and the way he voices them because unlike many politically-minded people, he doesn't just pick one politician and agree with everything they say. Buffett agrees with Obama on tax reform, but he argues against Obama's plan for the health care system. When the tax reform faced Congress, Buffett spoke in favor of taxing the wealthiest one percent of Americans.

   My conservative and liberal friends shake their heads in dismay when I vocally support Buffett because they see him as an old and frugal man, but I stand firmly behind my pretend presidential campaign. He talks about how he isn't any more deserving of good health care or tax benefits than anyone else and his belief that those who take a lot from society should have to give back is really awe-inspiring. 

   Buffett does not intend to run for president, so I will vote for Obama come November and cross my fingers that he wins. I think it is important to find someone you can stand behind and hope that they'll carry us through, and I think Buffett could do that.