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Even Presidents like Reagan, Eisenhower, and Clinton had to hold some kind of office, and all were known nationally before they ran. Only Carter and Bush, Jr. were relative unknowns when they ran. Ross Perot could have been president had he shown the stature, while Colin Powell could have won if he had the desire to go for it. Charles Lindberg could have been elected in 1940, due to FDR's rising unpopularity.
I dont think we need anything more than a person that has lived & worked in this country as a common man. Men of science are often as aloof & full of themselves as politicians that never spent a night worrying over tomorrow. Neither has much of a clue about what their decisions do to a guy that actually needs to earn a living here. Military experience should be a bonus but they too often end up with agenda's beyond the scope of out gov'ts responsibility.
Our only agenda & responsibility should concern whats going on inside our country & things that directly effect us here. When we acted in such a manner we became the best country on Earth. As we abandoned it we began a downward spiral to where we are.
I dunno, I think the United States became a great country as the world wasn't as global as it is now. With how fast things are moving and technology bringing the world closer than ever and making things more intertwined, the rules of the game have changed. With focusing only within, you lose sense of what the other guys are doing and end up missing out on shared technology and advances.
Considering the current system, is it possible for a person who has never held any federal, state or local office to run for President and be elected? (Not on a Republican or Democrat ticket)
If someone tried it in 2012, what do you think would happen?
Can you think of a non-politician you would like to see as President?
I used to think so but now I think it doesn't matter who votes for who because it is set up by the government and their not going to let someone with common sense run our country.
I think Arnold Schwartzenegger stands out as a vivid example of how possible it would be. We have evolved into a very strongly single-issue democracy, and it would depend on the issue at hand being something that could be naturally addressed by a particular charismatic person at that moment in time.
He's not eligible to run for President as he wasn't born here.
Even Presidents like Reagan, Eisenhower, and Clinton had to hold some kind of office, and all were known nationally before they ran. Only Carter and Bush, Jr. were relative unknowns when they ran. Ross Perot could have been president had he shown the stature, while Colin Powell could have won if he had the desire to go for it. Charles Lindberg could have been elected in 1940, due to FDR's rising unpopularity.
Even those men were known well nationwide.
What about the money issue? Without a party backing you, can you raise the money you need today to make a successful run? Carter and Bush Jr were both governors and party members. Lindberg wouldn't have had to pay for TV spots in 1940. I think you are right about Perot, though. You know, you'd have to have an awful lot of money to fight the negative ads and hire your entourage. I'm thinking the "handlers" today are a larger group of people than say, 60 plus years ago.
Then there is the media issue. Howard Kurtz, in his book Reality Show (dumb title, it's about the national TV news media - ABC, NBC, CBS) says that during Presidential primaries they decide who the top two candidates will be because in their 22 minutes or so (30 minus commercials) broadcasts, they can't devote time to more candidates and as a result, they winnow the list of candidates by starving (don't give them coverage) the rest of the guys running. In other words, they decide who the candidates will be by not giving the rest of the candidates much air time. I think we saw that in the 2008 election.
I don't think that I'd want a wealthy non-politician to be our president. There's too much going on in running our country. Even a seasoned politician needs hundreds of advisors on his staff. A president needs to know how our government functions bureaucratically.
I really don't like how much Obama spent running for office. That was an obscene amount of money. I feel that his presidency was bought.
If you are not a seasoned politician or corporate sellout, you won't be President. Not unless you have a spotless record and have lived a squeaky clean existance all your life, because you can bet your running mates will dig up dirt on you, even if it doesn't exist. There is too much at stake with huge corporations and backdoor foreign policies that a "regular Joe" would get eaten alive. He may have the best of intentions, but the powers that be in this country will not allow it to happen, no matter how popular he became.
Sometimes I think we'd be better off with a non-politician, someone that comes NOT preprogrammed to say, do and gesture all the same things all the rest of them do.
Considering the current system, is it possible for a person who has never held any federal, state or local office to run for President and be elected? (Not on a Republican or Democrat ticket)
If someone tried it in 2012, what do you think would happen?
Can you think of a non-politician you would like to see as President?
No, because voting starts at the local level, we the people have already voted and, by doing so, elected someone who represents our voice in that election.
Personally, I don't want anyone who is not a constitutional lawyer with a huge dose of international politics in their melon. This is an empire. Wrongly or rightly and they all fall. My preference is for it to fall much later. I don't think that any joe off the street can pull that off.
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