Nobody really likes to make New Year’s resolutions for themselves. But it is tremendous fun to make them for others. After all, people are so often oblivious to their own faults. They need someone to set them straight.

It is even more fun to make resolutions for politicians. Here are a few that might make 2014 a truly different election year:

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Politicians’ mothers probably told them that when they were young. Imagine how different political campaigns would be if candidates couldn’t trash their opponents. Although today the phrase is more likely to be, “If you can’t say anything, nice you don’t belong in politics.”

“Waste not, want not.” Another fine old piece of advice. If politicians could truly cut waste in government programs, from defense to farm policy to welfare and Medicare, we could save billions.

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Good old Polonius’ advice to his son in “Hamlet.” If politicians could work on balancing the federal budget and reducing the national debt, we’d be a lot better off.

We could go on and on. There are many things we’d like our politicians to do for us, but if we could just ask them to do their best, to do it honestly and fairly, perhaps we’d all be better off.