Opinion : What the Lincoln Highway has to teach presidential candidates -- and voters

Another season in Iowa presidential politics is nearly over, and yet again, every one of the people who would be our nation's leader has missed the most important lesson that Iowa has to offer.

One of the coolest things in Benton County is the Youngville Café, the brightly painted historic gas station at the intersection of Highway 218 and Highway 30, which historians know as the Lincoln Highway.

Every politician who wants to be President should include a campaign stop at Youngville.

Here's why:

As part of the historic Highway 30, Youngville offers the gateway into how something incredible happened that changed the course of American history a century ago. And, I think, a guide for implementing the changes that we need this century.

What makes the Lincoln Highway so important is not that it was the first highway to connect the east and west coasts. Nor is its impending 100th anniversary in 2013 important.

The coolest thing about the highway is how it was built. America's first highway was the product of cooperation between corporations, organizations and government. It began with the Good Roads Movement in the late 1800s, as people tried to make better paths for bicycles and horse-drawn vehicles. Later car and tire makers realized that better highways would mean better business for them, and they became big investors in the Lincoln Highway, too.

It was finished in 1913; in 1919, a U.S. Army convoy traveled the road. A young soldier named Eisenhower was part of that journey; the experience motivated him as President to lead the effort for a federal Interstate Highway System -- which we now have, and which still bear's Ike's name.

The politician who would get my vote would be the guy who stood at Youngville Café, shared the history of the Lincoln Highway, and then explained how he is going to coordinate the effort between government and private entities to solve the national issues of the economy (particularly energy), health care, immigration and other essential issues.

Up until now, the Republicans have let lobbyists guide their policies, which favored rich corporation owners, who profited from the new policies. The Democrats, meanwhile, also have let lobbyist guide their policies, which favor rich corporation owners and rich trial lawyers, who profit from the new policies. Both plans stink.

But as he (or she) stood at the edge of Highway 30, looking toward the horizon, the presidential candidate could say: "This highway, a century ago, was a bold venture that involved Americans from all walks of life, and from every part of the country. We need that kind of cooperation now as we face the challenges of this century."

And then he or she would describe -- in detail -- exactly whom he or she would work with, and how. He (or she) would says:

"There is a path we can take to energy independence. There is a path we can take to make sure health care is affordable. There is a path we can take toward solving our immigration problems, and to making sure that everyone who lives in our country within the law has the most opportunity. And government has a very small, but important role, in working with all Americans to make those highways are built…

"A century ago, Americans looked at this land, and envisioned a highway that would connects us all, and advance our society and our economy," the politician would say. "Today, we need that kind of leadership for the 21st Century challenges we face."

As far as I know, no presidential candidate has visited Youngville, to remind us of the historical lessons of the Lincoln Highway.

Until that happens, our politicians and their policies will probably keep us just as stuck in the mud as American drivers were, before the Lincoln Highway showed us all how we can work together to build a better future.