I have proposed, only half-kidding, some kind of "draft" for political service, similar to jury duty requirements.

There would, of course, be some kind of minimum qualifications (probably the same as for jury duty). The picking would be done at random from eligible citizens. God help us if a computer actually tried to figure it out. There's the GIGO issue, and the trust we have in programmers...

Ideally, you would combine this selection with elections in some way. Maybe a set of five or six candidates would be picked, then people would vote to get the final winner.

The idea has obvious flaws, not least of which is encouraging a non-elected permanent structure of "grand viziers" or bureaucrats that would end up wielding the real power. Maybe a clean sweep rule of some kind would be needed.

"But what about the lack of governing experience?" people will wail.

Maybe. On the other hand, given what government actually does, and what the motivations of our leaders have ended up being, it's kind of like complaining about picking policemen in this way and worrying that none of them have nightstick-beating experience.

Most of the political experience I see in Washington is primarily concerned with gaining and keeping political power. God knows most of our leaders don't know crap about how the real world works outside of the legal industry.