Here's a recent Wall Street Journal article on New York City Comptroller John Liu, who last year became the first Asian American to hold citywide elected office, and just finished his first year on the job as New York's chief financial officer: Mr. Comptroller? Try Mr. President.Comptroller Liu isn't coy about his lofty political aspirations. Mayor of New York City? Sure. Of course. But how about President? Of the United States. Definitely. If the Constitution actually allowed it -- Liu emigrated from Taiwan at age 5 -- he'd aspire all the way to the White House.
"I would very much like to be the president of the United States and the leader of the free world," the 43-year-old former City Council member said during an interview in his fifth-floor Municipal Building office, where mice occasionally are seen scurrying.Mr. Liu's naked political ambition has gotten him a lot of attention, both positive and somewhat embarrassing. Ultimately, I'm just glad the Asian American community has someone like him in office. It's hard enough to get Asian Americans to participate in basic civic duties like voting, let alone running for office. It's refreshing to see an Asian American politician who puts himself out there and plainly states he wants to go all the way to the top, if he could.
"I'd like to do anything that allows me to have the maximum impact possible—impact in terms of making changes that I feel are necessary, and there are lots of changes I feel are necessary in the world, certainly in this country and certainly in this city," Mr. Liu said. "So, I will always look to see what I can do."
Mr. Liu, completing on Friday his first year in office as the city's chief financial officer, knows full well that becoming president—while not impossible, he points out—would be very difficult because the Constitution prohibits the foreign-born from serving as commander in chief.
Not that being mayor of New York is anything to sniff at. Mr. Liu calls it "the second most important job in this country."
