Another democracy, another president

 José “Pepe” Mujica, 89, once president of Uruguay, is terminally ill and has stopped treatment for cancer. He was known as the philosopher-president because he did things like this:

• He refused to move into the presidential mansion, living instead in a three-room house on a little farm. He and his wife, Lucía Topolansky, grow chrysanthemums.

• He gave 90 percent of his presidential salary to charity.

• He drove a 1987 Volkswagen, valued at $1,800. When he visited Germany, he was put in a Mercedes limo. He said he was ashamed.

• As head of state, he was often accompanied by Manuela, a three-legged dog the couple rescued.

• He said books are humanity’s greatest invention. He said people should read. He also said we would be better off if we put aside our cellphones and spent time with the person inside.

I’m not marveling that one president can be so different from another. I’m marveling that voters in different democracies can have such different ideas when they look for qualified candidates.