Recently I announced that my dream ticket for the 2016 presidential election would be the governors of Wisconsin and New Mexico. I explained that Scott Walker and Susana Martinez represented a nice geographical balance, representing the upper Midwest and the Southwest.

In addition, both are proven winners. In Walker’s case, in spite of the unions squandering millions of dollars of their members’ dues to defeat him in two regular elections and a recall, he has won three times in four years. For her part, Governor Martinez is both Hispanic and female, and could be counted on to draw a great deal of support from both voting blocs.

But being a fair-minded fellow, I invited all of you to come up with your own dream ticket. In all, 57 readers took me up on my offer. Over half of them, 31, seconded my nominees. The other 26 named 20 different potential candidates in addition to Walker and Martinez, whom they saw fit to split up to form other combinations.

In one case, I was Gov. Walker’s running mate. The voter spelled it out in no uncertain words that it would be my job to insult our opponents. It’s a role I would cherish, but I’d also want to have a say in laying out our foreign policy, which, basically, would consist of being a loyal ally to our friends and a resolute foe of our enemies. In case of war, the Prelutsky policy would be the same as that laid out by Ronald Reagan: We win, they lose. No playing for ties.

Most of those mentioned only received one or two votes, sometimes offered as president, sometimes as vice-president. The second most popular duo was Ted Cruz and Trey Gowdy. That combination received four votes.

I know that there are those who don’t believe that Gov. Walker scores high enough on the charisma meter to be a viable presidential candidate. It so happens that I agree that Walker doesn’t set hearts aflutter, but I regard that as a plus. Charisma is what Democrats offer, as exemplified by rock stars and divas like Obama and the Clintons. That’s because Democrats have nothing but bells and whistles to offer the uninformed and idiotic. Their policies don’t work because, essentially, they consist of taxing those in society who are productive in order to subsidize their base; namely those who tend to be ignorant, shiftless and ungrateful.

Judging by the recent midterms, I believe that Americans are fed up with a massive federal government controlling their lives. They have seen for themselves that liberals depend on lying and cheating in order to get around commonsense and the Constitution. I believe they are hungry for leaders who offer competence and character. Leaders, I suggest, like Walker and Martinez.

In the old Soviet Union, every May Day, Joseph Stalin and those in his inner circle would pose on a balcony as the Soviet’s military might was paraded past the grandstand. And because Stalin was a paranoid butcher, every year a few of those who had been there the previous year would be gone. And to be gone in the Soviet Union meant being gone from the face of the earth. It also meant being removed from the official photos of previous years. One year, whoever was in charge removed a certain person from the previous year’s photo, but he neglected to remove the guy’s shoes. It was pretty funny, unless, of course, you were that guy.

What brings it to mind is the rate at which Democrats have been losing elections ever since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. It makes me wonder if that famous photo of Obama signing his favorite piece of legislation in the Oval Office will soon face the same fate, so that all we’ll see one day are Obama, the little black kid and Henry Waxman’s tiny shoes.

For some time now, I’ve been receiving a cockeyed message that has gone viral on the Internet for reasons I can’t imagine. It goes this way: “Barack Obama, not feeling well and concerned about his mortality, goes to consult a psychic about the date of his death.

"The psychic closes her eyes and, after a few seconds, says, ‘You will die on a Jewish holiday.’

Shaken by her response, Obama nervously asks, "Which one?”

“It doesn’t matter,” replies the psychic. “Whenever you die, it’ll be a Jewish holiday.”

I can’t imagine who thought that made any sense at all. I mean, perhaps it would play in Israel, but here in America, 70% of my fellow Jews still support the man and his destructive agenda. So for them it would, alas, be a day of mourning.

In closing, I’ll share a joke I just heard. A panhandler stops a passerby and says he needs money for food. The guy shakes his head and says, “I know you’ll only spend it on drugs.”

“Not so,” says the bum. “I already have money for drugs; it’s money for food I need.”

I can’t think of anything that sums up the welfare state that Obama’s America has become better than that.