The Flight 1549 Election (Or Why Democrats Should Draft Sully For 2020)

It was 10 years ago today, January 15, 2009, that America and the whole world rejoiced over The Miracle on the Hudson. Upon discovering total engine failure shortly after taking off from LaGuardia Airport aboard US Airways Flight 1549, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger made a daring crash landing on the Hudson River without losing a single passenger or crew member - 155 people in all. Sully became a symbol of bravery, calmness, duty and modesty endearing himself to a large cross section of Americans and remains a universally beloved figure.

Apart from an attempt by Republicans to get him to run for Congress in the 2010 mid-term elections, Sullenberger eschewed politics until last fall when he felt compelled to write an op-ed for The Washington Post to comment upon our sorry state of affairs leading up to the 2018 mid-term elections. Sully did not mention President Trump by name, but it was clear he was contrasting himself with the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue:

I am often told how calm I sounded speaking to passengers, crew and air traffic control during the emergency. In every situation, but especially challenging ones, a leader sets the tone and must create an environment in which all can do their best. You get what you project. Whether it is calm and confidence — or fear, anger and hatred — people will respond in kind. Courage can be contagious.

Today, tragically, too many people in power are projecting the worst. Many are cowardly, complicit enablers, acting against the interests of the United States, our allies and democracy; encouraging extremists at home and emboldening our adversaries abroad; and threatening the livability of our planet. Many do not respect the offices they hold; they lack — or disregard — a basic knowledge of history, science and leadership; and they act impulsively, worsening a toxic political environment.

Sully further added:

After Flight 1549, I realized that because of the sudden worldwide fame, I had been given a greater voice. I knew I could not walk away but had an obligation to use this bully pulpit for good and as an advocate for the safety of the traveling public. I feel that I now have yet another mission, as a defender of our democracy.

We cannot wait for someone to save us. We must do it ourselves.

In a subsequent interview with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC, Sully was explicitly critical of Trump. "I don't think he's either capable or willing to change," Sully told O'Donnell, "I think he is remarkably incurious and doesn't value learning." Sully also defined what it means to be a leader:

"I learned that a leader leads from the front," said Sullenberger, "A leader should be the first to face the threat and the last to safety, not the reverse."

Simply put, Sully is everything President Trump isn't. As such, I think the Democratic Party would be wise to nominate Sully to take on Trump in 2020.

In his infamous essay "The Flight 93 Election" which appeared in The Claremont Review of Books, Michael Anton (a.k.a. Publius Decius Mus) asserted:

2016 is the Flight 93 election: charge the cockpit or you die. You may die anyway. You—or the leader of your party—may make it into the cockpit and not know how to fly or land the plane. There are no guarantees.

Except one: if you don’t try, death is certain. To compound the metaphor: a Hillary Clinton presidency is Russian Roulette with a semi-auto. With Trump, at least you can spin the cylinder and take your chances.

Well, the American electorate spun the cylinder, took it chances and we know now that Trump not only cannot fly the plane, but isn't willing to learn how. Anyone who might have helped him to navigate the plane (i.e. James Mattis, John Kelly and H.R. McMaster) have been unceremoniously ejected from the cockpit. We are headed for a crash landing and the results won't be good for the country or the rest of the world and impact will be felt well into the 21st Century.

Democrats may prefer to nominate Joe Biden, Beto O'Rourke, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders or even Julian Castro. But Sully's appeal to the public transcends politics. While Sully has no experience as an elected official he has proven he can handle a crisis and, boy, are we in a crisis now. His character is unimpeachable. The same cannot be said for President Trump. It also cannot be said of numerous elected officials on both sides of the aisle.

We know that Sully will remain steady in matters of life and death. It is also reasonable to say that Sully would not take to Twitter to praise our enemies while trashing our allies and our institutions or do anything to denigrate (or should I say sully) the office of President of the United States. A Sullenberger presidency would restore dignity to the White House and to the country and be a sign of reassurance all over the world. President Sully might very well be downright boring, but right now boring is just what we need.

If Republicans viewed the 2016 election as the Flight 93 Election then Democrats could turn the 2020 election into the Flight 1549 Election. This is provided that Democrats are willing to take a leap of faith in order for the country to make a safe landing.