So I'm thinking maybe Scott Walker should be the next president of the United States

I don't even know if he's interested in running. And I realize I'm going against my usual thinking that frowns on making everything that happens in politics about presidential speculation.

But during a week when everyone is talking about Bridgegate and how it may or may not affect Chris Christie's presumed presidential aspirations, I think it's worth exploring the question of how and why we decide certain people are presidential timber. I've been intrigued by Scott Walker since he was first elected governor of Wisconsin in 2010. I watched as he took on public employee unions over the extent of their collective bargaining power, and had the courage to see that fight through even when it meant multiple court battles and a recall election. I've watched as he's not only balanced Wisconsin's budget but also cut taxes multiple times in the past year alone - culminating with his proposal during last night's State of the State address to give Wisconsin taxpayers another $500 million in tax relief.

---

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

That would mark the third round of tax cuts for the governor and GOP lawmakers in the past year, with Walker touting the total reductions since he took office at around $2 billion.Part of that total included tax cuts that were approved before the governor took office but which took effect after his inauguration. "When I travel the state, people don't tell me that they want to keep sending more money to Madison," Walker said. "They don't tell me that taxes are too low or even that taxes are just right. Overwhelmingly, people across the state tell me that one of the best ways to fuel the economic recovery is to reduce their tax burden." With newly hired workers beside him at the podium in the Assembly, Walker gave a nearly hour-long speech, easily his longest address as governor. He said his "blueprint for prosperity" would trim property and income taxes by $504 million over the next 18 months and put more than $100 million more into the state's rainy-day fund.

This is not to suggest that everything is perfect in Wisconsin. His critics on the Democrat side of the aisle say Wisconsin is stuck at 37th in the nation in private-sector jobs, although in fairness to Walker these rankings are usually influenced more than anything else by long-term economic conditions that no one governor's policies are going to change all that much. What he has done is managed Wisconsin state government extremely well. He's gotten costs under control that previous governor's simply took for granted could never be brought under control. He's returned excess revenue to taxpayers. He's focused on growth instead of higher tax rates to fund government. He believes private-sector prosperity is what will allow state government to be effective, not the other way around. But in addition to being for the right things, one of the most impressive things about Walker is that he fights. He is not intimidated by unions and the media screeching at him that he can't do what he knows he needs to do. There are a lot of people being discussed as possible presidential candidates who take the right positions on issues. But it's one thing to take a position. It's another thing to demonstrate the governing skill to turn those positions into actual functioning policies, and Walker has proven very adept at doing that in Wisconsin. I realize there will be the usual hand-wringing about whether he can raise money, whether he knows enough about foreign policy, whether he is too closely associated with the Tea Party, etc. What I can tell you is that some of the nation's best presidents had been governors - who by the very nature of that job came into the presidency with no foreign policy experience. With a smart, capable person, it really doesn't matter because he knows what he believes at his core about America's place in the world and he surrounds himself with experienced people who help to fill in the details. This column should not be read as an endorsement of Scott Walker for president. It is way too early to write something like that, and there might be other candidates who come along later on that I like better, and I don't even know if Walker wants to run. Besides, who gives a crap about an "endorsement" by me? What this column is, however, is my telling you that when I look at Scott Walker, I see a person who demonstrates the skills we would want to see in a president who could govern the nation effectively. If we're going to be talking about Chris Christie, who is thought to have some upsides but obviously also has a lot of drawbacks, then we certainly should be talking about Scott Walker. And at least at this moment, we are.