"Give us a Man" by George E. Steunenberg

George Steunenberg
Maybe he should
have run for office.

I still need to get the rest of George's Song's of a Soldier posted on the blog. However, this poem is not from the book but is among many others he also wrote. Being we are now well into election season, and politics is awash with millions of dollars for TV commercials in search of your vote, I thought Give us a Man would be in order (I would add "or a Woman" although might have to rework the poem a bit).

*Any similarity to presidential candidates, past or present, real or imagined, is purely coincidental.

Give us a man in the White House!
   A man who can fill the chair!
Who won't begin seeking another term
   As soon as we've placed him there.
Who will think of the country instead of himself—
   We have such men in the land—
Who will throw the political game to the winds
   And tackle the job on hand!

Give us a man in the White House!
   A man you can see in a crowd.
Who isn't afraid to speak his mind,
   But doesn't speak too loud.
Who will stay on the job when he's needed there,
    But will not kill himself with work.
Who when he must face a camera
   Will do it without a smirk.

Give us a man in the White House
   Who will fearlessly face the facts.
Who will cut his talk down to the minimum
   And speak through his deeds and acts.
Who will fire that army of bureaucrats
   No matter what bosses may say,
And his name will go down in history
   As the man who saved the day!

(Another version with an alternative ending)
Gives us a man in the White House
   Who will fearlessly face the facts.
Who will keep his mouth out of the radio
   And speak through his deeds and acts.
Who will face any danger when duty calls
   And if need be forfeit his life.
And for god's sake give us a president
   Who isn't afraid of his wife!

1952 Eisenhower VS. Stevenson. You may not see the screens below if receiving as an email blog notice. Come to the blog. Political commercials were sure a lot more fun and less expensive to make back in the 1950's.


See more: Museum of the Moving Image - The Living Room Candidate