Seven Year Old Republican Jack Picks the GOP Nominee : Leno Discovers a Prodigy

Jay Leno was nattering on in the background, nothing but noise as I typed. Until, suddenly, he was interviewing a seven year old boy by the name of Jack, billed (by Leno) as "the nation's youngest Republican".

It took a few seconds to pull my head out of the keyboard and a bit longer than that to get the Canon PowerShot camera fired up, by which time I'd missed part of the bit. However, let me set the stage.

Jay told his audience that they'd set young Jack up to watch one of the Republican debates, well supplied with peanut butter, crackers, and juice boxes. He also had a "rating board" with five categories in which each candidate could either qualify or not, yes or no, black or white:

1. Focusable. Jack himself invented this term. Your guess as to its precise meaning is as good as mine.

2. Seems Smart. Way to go, Jack. Dummies holding the most powerful office on the planet are never a good idea.

3. Thinks Outside the Box. Hm. Guess that would depend on the definition of said box, but it's Jack's show, right?

4. Looks like Jay. Heh. Guess who most likely came up with that one!

5. Can Beat Obama. Absolutely. That's the kicker, all right.

Jay was careful to stress that no one had coached Jack in any way. Clips were shown of the youngster watching the debate on TV--and yes, munching and sipping nonstop along the way.

The first photo shows our Republican prodigy in the midst of marking the board with magnetic red, white and blue elephants wherever he felt a candidate deserved it.

At that point, Jack's Picks were looking pretty good for Rick Santorum...and for another moment, the great news continued.

But then...then Jack had to give poor Mr. Santorum the bad news: He did not look like Jay and he could not (in Jack's expert opinion) beat Obama.

Look at the expression of sincere distress on Jack's face as he delivers the bad news about Santorum. Who is this kid? More to the point, who will he be thirty or forty years from now?

Bet you a dollar to a donut hole, America is going to be hearing from Mr. Jack down the road a bit.

Here, let's bring the camera in a bit closer. His expression is...expressive!

Of great interest to me was the fact that Mr. Jack did not feel Rick Perry deserved even one magnetic elephant on the board. Not Focusable, not Seems Smart, not Thinks Outside the Box or Looks Like Jay...and most to the point, not Electable.

Jack's take on Mitt Romney was fascinating in its pinpoint accuracy. He sees the Governor as Focusable and Smart...but (besides not looking like Jay Leno), Romney doesn't Think Outside the Box.

From the mouth of Jack.

In the end, Jack gives only Newt Gingrich the "full five elephants" (because he does indeed look like Jay Leno and, as Jack noted, Ron Paul is "86 or something"). Thus, Newt Gingrich is Jack's pick to get the GOP nomination in 2012.

If you eliminate the joke factor (Jay Leno), it becomes clear that Jack does as well at analyzing the strengths and weakness of the various candidates as any "mature" pundit out there.

After Jack's picks were displayed for all to see, Jack himself was welcomed by Leno the the show. The seven year old was calm, cool, and collected--until Jay mentioned the fact that the next guest who'd be coming out (to sit between Jack and Jay) was...Janet Jackson.

The boy's eyes went wide. He gasped audibly.

Obviously, Jack's precocity extends beyond the purely political arena.

Remember in November!