Chapter 15 -- Gaining the Presidency

Paul realized that he had a tremendous task ahead of him. He had to set up a national network of supporters to gain the political influence needed. Simultaneously, a political agenda had to be developed, capable of persuading the public to support the abolition of war.

His Concerned Citizens Against War organization was made operational very quickly. The initial group of potential supporters for the Warless World 2000 campaign was identified. An information network was developed. The message of the New Abolition of War was spread by conventional printed, and the newer electronic technologies.

The War Abolition Center started to develop audio-visual and educational materials for public education. These were disseminated to influence the media and the political leadership of the nation. The Center also worked with universities and other sources of knowledge to develop the feasible programs and actions to abolish war. A major War Abolition conference was also held. The feasibility of abolishing war, and the supporting actions needed were explored. A program was started to secure support for the campaign and its activities from major religious organizations; business trade associations; veterans' organizations; professional societies; trade unions; environmental organizations; and other potential supporters. Organizational support for Warless World 2000 was ratified by having the War Abolition Resolution adopted. As the campaign started to gain momentum, War Abolition rallies were held in Washington, D.C. and other key cities.

Next Paul turned his attention to the development of a pragmatic political agenda in support of the New Abolition campaign. It was very important to select the right title to this new national agenda. Already both major political parties very making feeble efforts to capitalize on the resentment of the American voter. Such fuzzy creations as the New Paradigm emerged, to drop quickly into obscurity. Paul knew that the ultimate problem was mismanagement and misleadership. To overcome these problems a total change of mindsets was needed. Problems had to be identified and matched with available resources. Rational efforts to solve the problems could be then developed and implemented. The ultimate result would be a great transformation of attitudes and ways of handling human affairs, both nationally and internationally. Accordingly, the name New Transformation seemed appropriate. This title also fitted into the cycle of the Great Awakenings that characterized American history. The New Transformation was to initiate the spiritual rebirth of America. Such a revitalized nation could then lead all of humanity into the 21st century, to initiate the New Millennium for human progress.

The goals of the Warless World 2000 campaign were appropriate as a starting point:

Paul was able to link the national goals of America to these goals of a world without war. Most of the national problems were linked to excessive defense expenditures, which in turn diverted the resources from solving or alleviating social problems. He identified over sixty major national and world problems, and grouped them into seven categories. These were: Moral Values; Politics; Economics; Society; Cities/Regions; Science: and World. Under each of the major categories there were several problems. For example, the "lack of national goals and purposes" was in the Moral Values Category. Under Politics he included "excessive spending for national defense." The Economics category included the "savings & loan crisis," "lack of good job opportunities" and the "record level national debt." Among the problems of Society Paul identified "inadequate educational system," "decline of the family" and "high rate of crime." It was then possible to describe the magnitude of the problem, consider remedies and their costs, evaluate the alternatives, and select the ultimate affordable combinations of remedial programs.

The New Transformation's purpose was the national revival of America. The final step was to combine the objectives of Warless World 2000 and the part of the New Transformation that dealt with our international relations. This was the function of the Grand Moral Strategy of the United States. The three-fold objectives were: abolishing war, meeting the unmet human needs, and saving the planetary environment. The ultimate purpose was the elimination of the costly political and economic mismanagement of human affairs world-wide. The actualization or implementation was to be the World Development Plan. Economic, social and political development was assumed under the term "Development".

The World Development Plan was intended to function like the Marshall Plan that put Western Europe back on its feet after World War II. The proposed beneficiaries were primarily the Third World countries. But ultimately the benefits of the Plan would also accrue to the industrialized nations.

The Operation of the World Development Plan
 Extracted from New Transformation: Blueprint for Survival

The World Development Plan would start with the concerned citizens expressing their misgivings about the State of the Union through their elected representatives and through the organizations that share their worries.

The Warless World 2000 (Exhibit B) is the long-term -- about ten years -- plan to mobilize these concerned citizens and organizations, to demand from our politicians the leadership and the actions needed to enhance chances of our national and individual survival. Under the widened definition proposed, this would include not just the issue of peace among nations but also the related problems of the world economy and human society.

The New Transformation would function similarly to the New Deal. The basic premise is that our national and world problems are piling up to a crisis situation, comparable to the Great Depression that was emerging before 1929. But whereas the problems of 1920s were primarily that of the economy, today's potential catastrophes also include the danger of wars and major environmental disasters. The magnitude and potential costs are so high that prevention becomes an absolute necessity. Fortunately, we also have the intellectual resources to forecast these dangers, and propose the remedies needed. The United States also has the unique advantage -- for the first time in human history -- that a great military and economic power can credibly advocate the abolition of organized warfare. This moral component can be combined with the substantial economic, human, financial and other types of resources possessed by us and our allies to develop the programs and policies we need for survival and continued prosperity.

The American electorate will have its opportunity to influence its political leadership as early as 1992 in the directions proposed by the New Transformation. The new ideas of the Soviet leadership for restructuring its society -- and our own thinking about the Soviet Union and our place in the world -- should be most helpful in moving us away from the failed policies of the past.

A president and Congress elected with a mandate for change then could initiate the World Development Plan as the nation's Grand Moral Strategy. The successful execution of this new initiative not only would lessen the danger of future wars and violence, but would also provide the resources needed to implement the other elements of the New Transformation -- the programs needed to repair the damage to our economy and society.

New policies and programs for economic development, democratization, decolonization and de-armament would control our relationships with the Soviet Union and China, and with the developing nations. We would reciprocate for the gradual but substantial reduction of armaments with equally substantial assistance for economic, political and social development. It is absolutely essential to eliminate both economic and cultural oppression if we are to eliminate organized warfare and violence -- which are frequently the last remedy of the oppressed.

The Department of Peace is the only new government department proposed for the implementation of the World Development Plan. Strictly speaking, existing government organizations (e.g., the State Department) could handle the programs and policies of our new peace strategy. A major purpose of a separate Department of Peace would be to give a powerful signal to the world that we are indeed serious about peace, and that a radically different approach is being implemented by the United States.

To ensure our physical security we would have to balance our desire for peace with sufficient military capabilities to deter those who misconstrue our peaceful intentions as weakness. A New Model Military System is proposed, which would provide a method of gradually de-escalating our destructive capacities, matching similar actions of the Soviet Union and other adversaries.

As part of our new peace strategy, we would try to stop the development of new destructive armaments. In their place, we could fund research to start the development of non-lethal, incapacitating weapons. It would then be possible to separate functionally our military capabilities. Our armed forces would consist of a gradually diminishing Strategic & Offensive Force and a non-threatening Territorial Defense Force.

With the development of the tactics and strategy for conducting non-lethal warfare, part of our armed forces would be converted to a Non-Lethal Force. And finally, under the Department of Peace, we would have the Peace Force, which would use only the non-violent methods of persuasion, conciliation and mediation of differences.

As our World Development Plan became operational, we would expect the Soviet Union and others to join us in our quest for world peace. As they match our strategy of de-armament, more and more of our resources would move away from the nuclear weapons of our strategic force toward the non-lethal forces. If the instinct for human survival is powerful enough, the highly lethal institutions of organized warfare will gradually disappear. Meanwhile, our physical security is not endangered by unilateral disarmament, world government and other unrealistic measures proposed.

Two new types of world organizations round out the World Development Plan. Economic and political cooperation among nations within certain geographical areas would help reduce tensions and frictions. The United States would actively support the formation of Peace Confederations, through which nations and countries voluntarily would give up part of their sovereignty in exchange for economic development and the reduction of the danger of war and violence. The European Economic Community (EEC) is an operating model for this concept.

After about a decade of successful initiation and operation of the World Development Plan, humanity would be ready for setting up a World Authority. The following paragraphs explain the reason for this organizational component of the system.

Interactions with the International System. In the World Development Plan only a small role is assigned to the United Nations -- the organization established after World War II for the specific purpose of preventing wars and aggression. The reason is quite simple. The U.N. became so politicised and voting power became so undemocratic that no major country would entrust its security to that body. While the U.N. has a valuable role as a forum for discussing problems, and in sometimes providing peacekeeping forces, there is no useful mechanism within the organization to perform executive functions.

The World Authority proposed would supplement the operations of the U.N. by performing impartial conflict prevention, mediation and resolution functions. The World Authority's effectiveness would be based on its nature as a service organization. It would coordinate the operations of other existing world organizations (such as U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, World Health Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Universal Postal Union, etc.). It also would perform new functions in the areas of world economic development (providing new international monetary and communications systems, for example), environmental preservation, disaster relief and reconciling differences that could lead to violence. However, its authority would be based entirely on moral forces, and therefore would present no threat to existing nation states. Activities of common interest to humanity would be entrusted to it, while the individual countries would still be responsible, as much as they want to, for their own affairs.
Substitutes for Organized Warfare and Violence. It is widely recognized that many national elites can give up their force-based power only if they are offered comparably valuable substitutes. The proposed system of world peace recognizes this basic principle. Once again, the solutions are available.

The Principle of Mutual Advantage. As early as the 17th century the Dutch legal scholar Hugo Grotius recognized the need to tame the international anarchy and violence then raging through Central Europe during the Thirty Years' War. In his renowned On the Laws of War and Peace he set forth the "principle of mutual advantage," to replace war as the means of resolving differences among nations. Economic assistance and the opportunity to participate in profitable trade in exchange for relinquishing military power will be major benefits of mutual advantage. Others may include technology transfer, repairing national and global environmental damage and help in solving social problems.

Setting Goals for Mankind. More and more, the countries of the world are beginning to think about the future. Especially among the industrialized nations studies have been published with the focus of the year 2000 or beyond. The World Authority would take leadership in developing similar future-oriented goals and plans for humanity and the Earth as a whole. Using the best intellectual resources available, goals could be established for global security, food and nourishment, energy and resources, economic development and continued social and political evolution.

Creating the "Moral Equivalent of War." An important role of the World Authority would be creating and managing the substitutes for organized warfare and violence. One major need would be to channel human energies that are expended today in preparing for or conducting warlike activities. For example, a volunteer "World Service Corps" could be established, which would engage in such activities as disaster and famine relief, planting of forests, reclaiming deserts, managing wildlife and other activities that would benefit collective humanity. Since most countries would still want to maintain at least a vestigial military force, parts of its duties could include participation in similar projects.

Study and Manage Global Problems. There are many problems or conditions that threaten or weaken the chances for human survival. Such major dangers as environmental damage, overpopulation and political or economic mismanagement could be studied, understood and remedied. Identifying and solving/ameliorating the global problems would be handled on a consensus basis among nations, under the guidance of widely accepted global goals, with resources provided under the principle of mutual advantage.

Peaceful Competition Among Nations. World peace would mark the end of competition in arms races and other forms of violence. However, nations could still engage in peaceful commercial, intellectual and cultural competition. For example, sports could serve as a means of releasing energies and frustrations of daily existence.


Paul succeeded in putting his war abolition infrastructure in place. He then started an education campaign to persuade his fellow citizens that major changes are needed to overcome political mismanagement and the misleaders who were leading the nation to ruin. His ideas and principles started to attract numerous followers. He sensed that gradually public opinion was turning in his direction. His slogan "Abolish War by 2000" struck a chord with those who felt that a new age was dawning on humanity as the 21st century approached.

The publicity gained through his activities also helped Paul in developing the details of the New Transformation agenda. Think tanks, professional societies, non-profit organizations and scholars were glad to provide information, ideas and expertise in the various problem areas. There was a tremendous amount of knowledge available about problems and possible solutions. It was the lack of political will and determination that created the mess in Washington, in the country and in the world.

The tools to select the best alternatives also were on hand. The well established field of public policy analysis was available to evaluate the various alternatives, so that the right decisions could be reached. Using policy analysis it was possible to systematically identify a set of goals to be achieved, the alternatives for achieving them, the relationships between goals and alternatives, and finally a method of ranking and selecting the best solutions. To Paul it seemed a case of criminal negligence that recent presidents failed to use the readily available knowledge to give the nation the best government possible. The colossal mismanagement of America started to unravel the social fabric of the nation.

But Paul also knew that the best ideas in the world will not do much good without the right people to implement them. Accordingly he started to search for the presidential candidate most likely to accomplish the New Transformation. He knew that the prospective candidate had to be from the Democratic Party. While the Democrats safely controlled Congress, they lost the presidential elections five out of the last six times. Their liberal philosophy became discredited due to excessive catering to special interests. But the Republican alternatives did not turn out any better. The many social and economic problems of the nation became compounded by the deficits that resulted from the tax cuts and the huge military expenditures. The Republican presidents became the mismanagers and misleaders of America. The Democratic Party was capable of developing the progressive policies that were needed under the New Transformation.

Paul understood that the election of 1992 was going to be a watershed event. Political mismanagement could not be tolerated much longer. The American economy, and the society supported by it, faced many serious problems during the coming years. The integration of Europe into an Economic Community was developing another serious world trade competitor. Japan continued to develop new markets for its products. The world was threatened by new wars and violence as crumbling political structures were nourished by an uncontrolled arms trade.

While Paul was concerned, he was also comforted by past history. The Republic was confronted with major crises before, such as the threatened dissolution of the Union in 1860 and the Great Depression in the 1930s. In both cases the federal government prevailed. The Civil War was successfully conducted by Abraham Lincoln and his administration. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal restored the economy of the nation. Paul could look with confidence to the future. He expected the emergence of the hidden intellectual and moral resources of the United States The essential ingredient to success was presidential leadership.

Opinion surveys, focus group interviews, reports by concerned organizations, the printed and video media, all recognized the extent and seriousness of our situation. The task of the concerned citizens of the Republic was to convert the election of 1992 into a "referendum for the future." Paul and his supporters had to supply the nation's political leaders with the motivation and desire to support the changes we needed in our national policies and programs.

A competent presidency had to start with new ideas to overcome the past mismanagement in our government. Many of the existing policies were bringing America to the brink of economic decline, and moral and financial bankruptcy. Using our intellectual and moral resources the New Transformation had to be developed, to become the basis of our moral, social and economic renewal.

The end of the political mismanagement, and the basis of presidential competence was the U.S. Grand Moral Strategy, to enable the Chief Executive to conduct the foreign policy of the Republic with confidence. This national strategy was based on the abolition of war. This in turn enabled the implementation of the World Development Program, to assist the Third World in economic development, democratization, decolonization and de-armament. This required that the United States should take on the key role of leadership for world economic and political development. This national goal was required to avert a potential disaster through future wars. It also provided a rallying cause to overcome the fragmentation of society that was becoming a threat to American democracy.

With this solid ideological foundation presidential competence became achievable. It became feasible to develop a sound set of policies, carefully thought out to optimize United States and world economic, political and social development. This also enabled the rallying of popular support behind the new congressional legislation needed for proper implementation.

It was possible to develop the special qualities of the competent presidential candidate. He needed the wisdom to realize that the United States and the rest of the world community were in serious trouble and danger because of past mismanagement, bad policies and uncontrolled technological, social and political forces. He had to possess the vision to recognize that America and much of the international community was ready for major changes to ensure physical survival (reducing the threats of war, hunger and environmental damage) and political existence (reducing threats to social institutions, economies and values). Most importantly, he needed the will (based on determination and moral courage) to effect the major structural and political changes required to restore national and world stability and progress.

Presidential leadership was the intangible factor in achieving a competent presidency. Here again the New Transformation became the foundation for leadership. There had to be the will to achieve success. A capability for change and innovation had be cultivated. The public had to be convinced that positive results could be achieved in solving or preventing problems. A highly competent presidential staff had be assembled, capable of the pragmatic use of knowledge and information in the policy planning and implementation process. There had to be foresight capability as well, to be able to avert future problems. And finally, a strong emphasis on moral values had to dominate the outlook of a successful administration.

Paul understood that a successful presidency had to be planned carefully. To correct the past political mismanagement, there had to be the right mixture of planning, organization and management style. Ideally, this had to be assembled prior to the election campaign. This would generate the aura and reality of presidential competence needed to win the election.

The ultimate goal of 1992 presidential election was the development of a transforming leadership and accompanying political realignment. Transforming leadership was needed for the crisis situation America was experiencing. Only transforming leadership had the ability to motivate people to subordinate shorter-term or more specialized interests to the achievement of longer-term or higher-order goals. But the transforming presidential leadership also had to act in a prevention mode.

Because the center piece of the New Transformation was the abolition of war, the presidential candidate had to be somebody special. He had to have impeccable credentials on national security. As president he had to convey strength during the gradual abolition of war, to deter potential aggressors. And he had to be capable to persuade a skeptical electorate that he could reverse the presidential mismanagement that became embedded in the White House.

Fortunately for America, such an ideal candidate did exist. Senator Jim Carey of Wyoming had all the needed credentials. He won the Medal of Honor while fighting in Vietnam, and lost an arm while leading his unit in combat. He was successful in business, and then gained the governorship of his state. The senator had the charisma and ability to reach out and connect with his audience. He was also ready to follow President Kennedy's admonition: "...ask what you can do for your country."

Paul already made contact with the senator's office while doing some lobbying against the genocidal Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. He now had a specific program to be implemented, and the greatest challenge possible to one man. Can the continuing decline of America be halted and reversed? Can war and militarism, which defaced the 20th century and caused the most horrible tragedies, be finally eliminated from the Earth?

This was indeed a challenge that a man with his background and experiences could not reject. Like Paul, he was one of the hundreds of millions of victims of war. Although both of them survived their wars, their experiences left indelible marks on them. For both of them it became an obsession and mission to keep others from the sufferings they had to experience.

The senator was already considered by the media as a dark-horse candidate for 1992. He now found the overriding theme that the American voter would accept as based on reality. The evidence of political and presidential mismanagement was all too obvious. Not even the sharpest public relations charlatans could cover up the true State of the Union. And grave threats to the future loomed on the horizon, unless the misleaders and mismanagers were ousted from power. The senator agreed that the theme of the campaign was to be: correcting the mismanagement of the United States, which was causing the decline of the nation. And since war and militarism were among the biggest causes of mismanagement, that issue had to be addressed as well. The social institution of war, with its increasingly lethal arsenal of weapons, threatened human survival directly. It also diverted scarce resources from economic development. Many incompetent or tyrannical regimes were kept in power through the military, which in turn prevented the emergence of democracy and citizen participation. The institutions of militarism also fostered tribal mentalities that reduced cooperation for common human goals.

The senator's announcement to enter the presidential campaign created a great deal of excitement. The better known contenders were reluctant to enter the race against an incumbent president. The strong message delivered by Sen. Carey on presidential mismanagement and his intention to correct it put the White House immediately on the defensive. The declining condition of the economy and the continued instability in the Middle East and the Soviet Union contributed to the anxiety felt by the public. Thus the senator's message fell on ready ears.

Paul now found himself in the midst of an effort to deliver what he promised. Working with the issues staff he continued to work out the details of the New Transformation. The ideas had to be compiled, methods of implementation had to be considered, costs and benefits had to be allocated. Differences among contending programs had to be adjusted. The entire package of recommended programs had to be related to the federal budget. The cooperation of state and local governments had to be considered as well. As much as possible the private sector was included as the initial providers of resources and services. It was a mighty intellectual effort. But the technologies of computers and communications made the effort feasible. The instant transmission of information and the complex processing succeeded in accomplishing the tasks. The resulting position papers, recommendations, model budgets and other supporting information made the task credible. The media dutifully reported the accomplishments, adding credence to the campaigns promise to manage and lead America properly.

Paul's Warless World 2000 campaign added to the success of both the nomination and the election campaign. Bringing in the gradual abolition of war as a doable alternative created additional excitement to the election year. The public was given new lessons in history. The abolition of slavery, the Great Awakenings of the past, the New Deal were again reported. People were able to make connections between the past and the present. Gradually the voters realized that past administrations fooled them with promises and false expectations. Harsh reality came into sharp focus. The careless mismanagement of the past resulted in such disasters as the huge federal deficit, the savings & loan scandal, a massive but virtually useless military buildup. Our trade competitors -- Japan, Germany and others -- were laughing up their sleeves while America was gearing up against a wildly overestimated Soviet threat. The endless litany of problems finally entered into the consciousness of the least interested voter. But the promise of restoring what was lost and salvaging what was the best gave hope in the New Transformation.

The promise of a winner -- after the loss of so many elections -- did wonders to the campaign. Campaign funding was forthcoming in huge amounts. The media, as usual, was critical. But gradually the sincerity of the effort to correct the mismanagement and misleadership convinced even the most skeptical reporters. Against this the incumbent president's campaign -- as usual highly dependent on symbolism and sound bites -- started to lose credibility.

As the primary season started, Sen. Carey moved triumphantly from state to state. His convincing message and the sincerity of its delivery came over perfectly to the voters. Here was no empty figurehead mouthing what his handlers told him to do. He and his staff could supply convincing reasons for actions and programs proposed. The theme of his campaign was so compelling that even the gradual introduction of abolishing war did not create a huge upheaval. This was Paul's concern. He was worried that the warlike background of America will great the idea with skepticism. But the method of presentation -- proposing a gradual approach, with ample considerations to national security -- appealed to the pragmatism of most Americans. Unrestrained military spending became such a pocketbook issue that most voters felt relieved that the waste and danger of militarism could stop.

The opposition dropped out early during the primaries. The Democratic convention was almost an anticlimax. Even the insertion of the war abolition plank into the party platform was accepted as reasonable. Sen. Carey was nominated on the first ballot. To reassure the more conservative segments of the electorate, he selected as his running mate Sen. Dunn of Georgia, a leading advocate of a strong military. Abolishing war gradually would not impair America's national security.

Election 1992 was in many way a first in American history. Sen. Carey was able to demonstrate his competence continuously. A well-organized, well-managed campaign staff operated smoothly and efficiently. Paul was able to help, providing continuous support to the New Transformation agenda. By then he had an active network of experts from the universities and think tanks of the country. Questions that emerged during the campaign were answered quickly and accurately. The public was almost deluged by facts and figures about the impact of the new programs proposed. But the press and the media did a good job of conveying and interpreting the information. This effort made the incumbent president's campaign look inept and weak. The electorate was able to look through the smoke screen of symbolism and negative campaigning. The cheap tricks stopped working.

As an ultimate in confidence building, Sen. Carey announced the tentative selection of his cabinet. For the first time in history, the American voter had a chance to observe the management team that was to guide the nation in the next four years. The high quality of the people who accepted the honor and obligation gave further credibility to the campaign. Paul felt honored when he was designated as the future Secretary of Peace. For the first time in the history of humanity a great power announced its commitment to world peace. The announcement gave further impetus to the campaign through the many Warless World 2000 supporters.

Even with all these special efforts Election 1992 was not an easy one. The incumbency did offer many advantages, and the Republican campaign was well-financed. But ultimately Sen. Carey, like Sen. Kennedy in 1960, was able to persuade the electorate that it was time for a change. The New Transformation of reform, conducted against mismanagement and misleadership, and based on initiating the abolition of war and the solving of national and world problems gained the election of 1992. Substantial gains were made by Democrats in the congressional elections as well. The new president was assured strong backing for implementing the New Transformation.

Paul's dream of abolishing war was becoming more and more real in the "land of the limitless possibilities."


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