So you want to run for president?

So, you're looking for alternatives to the usual suspects ... uh, candidates who are running for president next year. Someone other than Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rafael Edward Cruz, Rand (no middle name) Paul, Bernard "Bernie" Sanders, Marco (no middle name, either) Rubio, John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, or other mainstream contenders for the White House.

Well then, how about Pogo Mochello Allen-Reese, a Republican from Rosenberg, Texas? Or Alan Errol Spears, Esq., an American Independent Party candidate from San Diego, Calif.? What about Miss Betsy Pauline Elgar, a Constitutional candidate from Lakewood, Wash.? Then there's Susan Gelber Ott, a Democrat from Virginia Beach, Va., and Edward Lane Baker of Portland, Ore., who belongs to no political party?

Yep, all five of them are certified, field candidates for president in 2016, according to the Federal Election Commission. At last count, 297 contenders have filed as presidential candidates with the FEC. And the public has heard of only a handful of the two-party mainstream possibilities.

First, who exactly decided we have to have a two-party system, and given their track records, why should we put all our money on those two parties? Why should Democrats and Republicans — both of whom have demonstrated equal disdain for the regular Joes and Janes of our country and are firmly ensconced in the hip pockets of contemporary robber barons — be considered the only viable candidates for anything?

How often have we heard that America is a country where anyone can grow up and run for president? That doesn't mean you can win, but you can run.

Consider the requirements: You must be at least 35, a native-born American citizen and breathing. There's also a requirement to have been a resident of the United States for 14 years, which, if you're a native-born citizen, shouldn't be hard to accomplish. So, yes, anyone could run for president.

You can file a Statement of Candidacy (FEC form 2) with the FEC to register as a presidential contender. You have to file it within 15 days of becoming a candidate. The FEC rules to become a candidate include receiving contributions of more than $5,000 or spending more than $5,000, or given consent to someone to receive or spend money and have received or spent more than $5,000.

Voila! You're a presidential contender, like Kenneth Robert Cross, of Batesville. He's running as a Reform Party candidate. He ran in 2008, too, and was a vice-presidential contender in 2012. Cross, 66, is a semi-retired civil engineer. He believes in balancing the budget, a strong adherence to the Constitution, opposes privatization of Social Security and supports affirmative action but opposes quotas. (Learn more about him atwww.kencross.com/.)

Pogo Mochello Allen-Reese, 44, has a degree in business management from Louisiana State University and is a U.S. Army veteran. He has been a licensed exotic dancer, a commercial driver, a pro-life Christian missionary and currently is a Patriot Prancer. He's a pro-life candidate and wants to save the U.S. from Nazis and Communists. (Learn more about him at www.urmru.com/.)

Tami L. Stainfield, of Charleston, W.Va., is an independent presidential contender. The 52-year-old former bank employee has degrees in computer science and development, and was a 2012 presidential candidate and a Senate candidate in 2014. During her Senate campaign, Stainfield said she wants to review policies that let foreigners have greater access to American education and the American economy than Americans. (Learn more about her at www.tamistainfield.com/.)

Yinka Abosede Adeshina, of Tallahassee, Fla., 42, is a wife, mother of two and former CVS pharmacist. She's also a GOP presidential contender. She was a 2012 presidential candidate and ran for Florida governor in 2014. She has no campaign website, but you can find information by Googling her.

So, as you can see, anyone can run for president. You don't have to come from a big-time political family, have a billion dollars for a campaign, or be in anyone's pocket (although each of those do seem to have been working for recent presidential wannabes).

All you have to do is meet the constitutional requirements and the FEC requirements and you, too, can add "presidential candidate" to your resumé and become the next Harold Stassen (ask your grandparents).