The presidency is not an entry level job. He has some good ideas but we need someone who will actually accomplish things in office. We just elected someone with no experience, lets not make the same mistake twice. No more businessmen in the Whitehouse.

If these statements reflect your thoughts on Andrew Yang then this this dairy is for you.

First of all, these are all reasonable reactions. In fact, I would argue that it’s irrational not to look at Andrew Yang with skepticism, especially initially. That was my reaction too, and so I hope to help you understand how someone who thought the same thing now has a different perspective on the topic.

My own change came from watching many hours of long-form interviews, but rather than expect you to do that I’ll do my best to distill the conclusions here. If you’re new to Yang’s platform and don’t know why someone would support him in the first place, think it’s just about free money, or see him as a gimmick or a single-issue candidate, please check this out first.

To start, we’ll look into one of our big default assumptions.

What makes someone qualified to be president?

Legally there are two requirements: A candidate must be over the age of 35 and a natural born citizen, but traditionally he or she also needed to be a high-level elected official.

This additional qualification is smart. It’s evidence of the qualities we care most about: effective leadership, good decision making, a proven track record, and the knowledge necessary to operate the levers of power to get things done for the American people. This traditional qualification is, and will remain, an important proxy for the things we care about.

That said, as I’m sure we all know from George Bush, Paul Ryan, and Mitch McConnell, that qualification is no guarantee of those qualities and can even hint at some qualities we don’t want: a willingness to engage in quid-pro-quo deals with special interests, a tendency to take positions based on what is popular instead of what is true, and a worldview formed from excessive interaction with others in the insular Washington bubble. We saw the impact of this during the Mark Zuckerberg congressional hearing, where many of the question illustrated a lack of knowledge about not only technology, but even the regulatory frameworks that the elected officials were responsible for writing and debating.

Another important factor to consider is, as every former president will attest, no experience can prepare someone for being president. Being a successful Governor or Senator can indicate the qualities a good president needs, and is extremely useful for that purpose, but the job of POTUS is fundamentally different from both.

Our traditional qualifications exist for a very important reason, but ultimately what makes someone qualified to be president is that they’d be an effective president.

Andrew Yang, an effective president?

In the last 7 months, Andrew Yang has gone from “longer than a long shot” with near 0% name recognition to one of 8 candidates to make the November debates, eclipsing senators, governors, and the mayor of New York with relative ease. Last quarter he raised $10 Million all from small donors, an almost 300% increase from last quarter accomplished with very little media coverage.

That shouldn’t be possible, so how did it happen?

Yang consistently showed effective leadership, good decision making, represented his platform well across dozens hours of in-depth long-form interviews, he worked incredibly hard, and had the knowledge necessary to work past the barriers presented by limited media coverage and a lack of name recognition.

This mirrors his time as founder and chief executive of the non-profit Venture For America, where he was named a Champion of Change by President Obama due to VFA’s positive impact.

I can hear you thinking:

“Ok, so what? That wont help him push bills though congress, it won’t help him navigate the Washington bureaucracy, and it says nothing about his ability to do any of the roles specific to the presidency.”

If that’s what you were thinking, it’s a great point, so lets look into it.

Passing Legislation

Getting legislation passed is all about building consensus around a vision, first within the party and then among independents.

Democratic Party Support

Rather than a Trumpian approach of putting himself at odds with the establishment, Yang hopes to work with it, while curtailing only the worst excesses. Yang has said that if nominated he intends on picking a female VP with extensive political connections to help with this. Not only will building relationships with the establishment help him build support for his proposals, it will help him navigate the bureaucracy that plays a key part in getting things done in Washington. He is not running to tear everything down, but to make lives better for everyone, and he knows that means compromise.

We should also take note of what would have to have happen for him to win: UBI would have become a major topic of discussion that galvanized support to his cause. If he were to win, it would be due to a successful national referendum on his central proposal that would provide the popular mandate necessary to justify support for his proposal in the legislature.

Support among independents

Yang also has proven his ability to build bipartisan consensus. Take one look at the “Yang Gang” and you’ll find tens of thousands of progressives, independents, non-voters, and remarkably considering his progressive platform, even some former Trump supporters. Recent polling also shows that Yang has nearly double the support among African American voters than white voters.

Yang is already growing the Democratic party, a skill that will be indispensable for advancing a progressive agenda.

Importantly, Yang only needs 51% to pass UBI. If Yang were to to be elected president on UBI, passing UBI would likely be one of the easiest things he would do as president.

We should also consider the impact that a $1000/month dividend would have when directly deposited into the accounts of those skeptical of the Democratic party. It’s one thing to provide services for “those other people”, it’s a entirely different to see the benefits of a Democratic administration directly in your bank account every month. The dividend in Alaska, a deep red state, has been popular for over 35 years. There is good reason to think that UBI, and therefore a Yang presidency, would not only make the country stronger, it would make the Democratic party stronger too.

A unique vision

Even if this makes him qualified, it doesn’t make him the most qualified.

This is correct, everything written above does not make Yang the most qualified to be president.

What makes him most qualified is his unparalleled understanding of how government operates, how business operates, human psychology, and how deeply interrelated they all are. It is his compassion, understanding, and vision. This is not something that can be gleamed in one or two paragraphs or even one or two articles, and skepticism about this is the most rational reaction so rather than try to convince you, I sincerely implore you to watch a long-form interview to see for yourself.

You will find someone compassionate, intelligent, pragmatic, and wise. Someone that I believe would be best suited leading rather than following.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Yang has all the qualities necessary to make a great president. His election would make his central proposal easy to pass, and once passed, would make action on all other important topics easier. Andrew Yang does not want to lead as a president intent on tearing everything down but as an effective president, one who can inspire constituents around a bold vision as well as compromise to get things done.