Now that we're about to decide the White House's next occupant, let's speculate about how previous presidents might fare were they standing for election in today's America. What would be the presidential prospects of Thomas Jefferson or James Madison, our third and fourth presidents? Here's my bet: They'd go down in an unprecedented landslide defeat. I could see the likes of a Joseph Stalin or a Mao Zedong winning long before a Jefferson or Madison. Let's look at it. In 1792, Congress appropriated $15,000 to assist some French refugees. James Madison wrote disapprovingly, "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." Even though our Constitution hasn't been amended to authorize Congress to spend on the objects of benevolence, I can't imagine today's Americans electing a president who'd share Madison's view. Such a candidate would be labeled mean-spirited, racist, sexist and homophobic. Today's politicians might argue that Madison, the acknowledged father of our Constitution, is all wrong. They'd say spending on the objects of benevolence (legalized theft) is authorized by the Constitution's "promote the general welfare" clause. James Madison spoke to that argument saying, "With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers (enumerated in the Constitution) connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators." Today's Americans wouldn't elect Thomas Jefferson, either. He'd be labeled an extremist and a gun nut. Jefferson warned, "The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite."