I love David Walker. He's a CPA with a history of government service, a boatload of troubling numbers in his pocket, and a soapbox. Plus, he's not afraid to say what he really thinks.

And he thinks our nation is in trouble.

Nothing new there. He's been on his sky-is-falling tour for years now and has even made a movie about it.

This time, though, he has election-year candidates in his sights.

Walker led off his most recent appearance on CNBC's “Squawk Box” with this assessment of our nation's economy: “We're not Greece, but we're making some of the same mistakes as Greece. Our government has grown too big, it promises too much, and we've waited too long to restructure.”

Ouch.

He saved the really interesting stuff, though, for the president and presidential wannabes. His message: Unless you're talking about our economy and how to fix it, you're wasting our time.

“In the 2012 election, we need to make sure that the economy and how we're going to put our nation's finances in order are top priorities,” he said. “It's absolutely essential.”

What we're getting instead is all of the usual election-year drivel — personal attacks, populace claptrap and no one with the guts to tell us what really needs to be done because, frankly, it won't get them elected.

Things could get interesting later this year, though. Walker is convinced a third presidential candidate — chosen through the non-partisan, non-profit Americans Elect initiative — will appear on the ballot in all 50 states.

He also said he would fall back on his standing as former U.S. comptroller general to actually endorse a presidential candidate. “The stakes to our country are that high,” he said.

That's one endorsement I'll pay attention to. Stay tuned.

One more note: Walker wore his CPA lapel pin on the show. Former MACPA staffer Nancy Coradi tuned in and reports that Walker had this to say when asked why he was promoting the profession: “I am a patriot who can add. … Why shouldn’t I promote it?”

Why not, indeed?