Presidential Candidates: Where are the Statesmen?

To the Editor: 
It is said that in politics perception is reality. That’s true of life in general. As we begin to look at potential presidential candidates, each of us has their own view. No two perceptions, even though similar, are exactly alike.
What follows is my perspective on the current frontrunners. Almost 53 years ago, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. drew our attention to importance of the content of a person’s character rather than skin color; as much can be said for ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender or other identifiers. It’s early in the process, but the current frontrunners are definitely characters. Whether they are persons of good character is open to question.
With one we find what appears to be a thin-skinned, braggart-billionaire, given to childish petulance, and possessing a vengeful nature. In another we find what I believe to be a deceitful liar (recall the Benghazi video scam and no classified stuff on her private server).  She seems to me a person of shameless political ambition who believes it’s her turn to be president and feels that her gender alone qualifies her. Surely her performance as secretary of state does not. Then there’s the 74-year old socialist from Vermont whose major quality seems to be his authenticity, which for me doesn’t offset his policies, which might qualify him as Santa Claus and/or Robin Hood. Then there are all the rest who may be persons of good character, struggling to find our hot buttons, while trying to divorce themselves from politics as usual as the electorate currently suffers from serious overdose of the same.
At the current primary stage they are showing their GOP conservative chops or Democratic progressive zeal to get nominated. Once nominated, they’ll shift toward the center and focus more on national voting blocks: evangelicals, millennials, blacks, Hispanics, women, older Americans, etc.
So far none of them represent what  I would wish for in a president. None seem to yet fit the profile of a statesman, a person who places nation before personal political ambitions or party, is highly skillful at persuasion and bringing persons with disparate ideas together. Maybe such a person will emerge.
Do the political realities and process even permit such a one to evolve and become president and commander-in-chief? I am not optimistic. The electorate is so fragmented. There’s too much “what can government do for us” and not enough “how can government help me to grow and prosper and contribute to the nation as a private citizen?” The political class has wrenched the country from its citizens. The tail wags the dog!