Although election day for the next United States President is three years away, candidates are starting their campaign efforts. It’s necessary for this election; with President Clinton already serving his second and final term in the White House, the race is open to a score of candidates in both parties.

And with Iowa as a leader in the caucuses, much focus has been placed on our state. Al Gore, Phil Gramm, Dan Quayle and Lamar Alexander are among the potential candidates who have shaken hands with Iowans in their whirlwind visits through the state.

It is good for candidates to get their message out and try to educate voters about their standpoints. However, their message isn’t always informative. It’s political.

Politicians seem to mold their words and actions in a manner most beneficial to themselves. While that is in their self-interest, acting like politicians can often disorient people who are already tired of the typical political machine.

What we need are politicians who are willing to go beyond the typical and actually inform and help the people. We need politicians who sometimes don’t act like politicians.

Colin Powell is an example of that kind of person.

Although he has repeatedly said that he doesn’t have an interest in seeking any sort of office right now, the general represents the type of attitude that shows concern for the future of our country.

The military man was part of last April’s President’s Summit on America’s Future, also known as the Volunteer Summit, in Philadelphia. Next week, Powell is to report on summit progress to boost volunteering, with a specific focus on helping the country’s youth.

Powell’s involvement demonstrates he has the ability to lead our country toward a different kind of politics. He is truly dedicated to helping out America’s kids, America’s future. The man interacts with about 15 at-risk minority teens each year by inviting them to his house for a picnic and day of fun in the pool.

Afterwards, Powell gave a couple of the teens his email address for correspondence. However, it gives the teens the opportunity to confide in someone who is a leader and to get advice.

All of this commitment stems from his childhood in the Bronx. There he learned about life in the streets, but he had parents and watchful neighbors to keep an eye on the children. Today, Powell notices that life in such neighborhoods is much worse than when he lived there.

Powell’s realization of a problem and attempts to solve it are what politicians need to do in everyday policy and decision making.

One problem with much of this country is that the politicians can’t identify with the problems like Powell can. Not many politicians grew up in bad neighborhoods that are today crippled by more violence, more drugs, more crime, more pregnancies and fewer fathers.

Not many politicians understand what it is like to just scrape by. Sure, they are college educated, but living in poverty in college is much different than indefinitely living in poverty. In college, you are prospering. In the slums, you can’t move ahead unless you have help.

And that’s the kind of help Powell is trying to provide for America’s future. That’s the kind of philosophy our country needs to get going in the political arena.

Although his efforts to restructure the foundation for youth, Powell’s foresight doesn’t include politics.

He has friends on both sides of the political spectrum, and he holds beliefs on both sides as well. He favors the small government ideal of the Republican party, but he also believes in the Democrat-supported affirmative action.

Besides, the Republican party he is registered with doesn’t necessarily want a moderate leader. They are becoming more right-wing in tendency, and Powell’s philosophy doesn’t fit in their mold.

That’s right. Powell doesn’t fit in. That is because he is different than the typical politician. That is because he is the type of person politicians should aim to be. There shouldn’t be a mold for parties.

The rule should be this clear: if you are a good leader and a good person, you should fit into politics no matter what partisan bickering might say.

Powell’s family fears that a political career would bring an end to their privacy, and they are right. The man is a very important and influential person. I think he has a real possibility to lead our nation.

Not only do I admire him for his efforts to help youth and his military capability, but I also get a warm, fuzzy feeling when I think of him as the potential president.

When talk was circulating about this possibility a few years back, I sincerely hoped the man would run for the office.

Now, a warm, fuzzy feeling shouldn’t be the only reason why I would support Powell as a political contender, but other evidence would have prompted me to vote for him. Many Americans would have done so.

And despite his reservations about entering politics, I hope he realizes the positive influence he could have on our nation and in the often ax-like political arena.

We need politicians who are less like politicians and more like Colin Powell.

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Erin Payne is a senior in journalism and mass communication and political science from Rock Rapids. She is the opinion editor of the Daily.