America Needs a Buddhist President

America needs a Buddhist president who debates opponents with Zen koans and chants mantras during the Pledge of Allegiance. So says Bevell, a program director for the Omega Conference Center in Rhinebeck, N.Y., in this brief and entertaining prose poem. Bevell's ideal commander-in-chief would govern humbly, fairly and with a dollop of good humor. Bevell's principles are nimbly articulated in Even Dodd's simple black-and-white drawings that accompany each idea: for the verse about the president keeping the militaristic joint chiefs in check, Dodd shows the goateed guru-executive planting a swift kick in the chest of the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And for the section on the""yabyum"" president who will not be afraid of sexual expression, Dodd depicts the nude leader locked in an ecstatic embrace with a decidedly relaxed First Lady. Irreverent and fun, though with a clear political axe to grind, this short meditation will please many American Buddhists come election season.