# Choose your dictator **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893 "2011-02-28T07:05:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893/1 "2011-02-28T07:05:42Z")
Who would you rather have as an absolute dictator: [Gaddafi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_al-Gaddafi) [Dick Cheney](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_cheney) [**Commissar**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php) [Kim\_Jong-il](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il) Assume that the leader you choose will rule, absolutely, over your country for 20 years - they will not be overthrown or have their power diminished, they will not die or retire, their mental faculties will not deteriorate or improve. Please be honest. Thanks. eta: you may not leave the country, and if you don’t currently live there, you must return 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893/2 "2011-02-28T07:11:07Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Assume that the leader you choose will rule, absolutely, over your country for 20 years - they will not be overthrown or have their power diminished… Well then it doesn’t make much difference. Any of them would be intolerable. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893/3 "2011-02-28T07:16:28Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Well then it doesn’t make much difference. Any of them would be intolerable. Yes, well, there is that - but you have to pick. Assume that your fifth option is to be tortured for 20 years (of course, that may happen anyway, but it’s not a given). ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893/4 "2011-02-28T07:45:11Z")
Nope…first option…Go all **Red Dawn** on their ass. Oak ain’t having no fucking dictators in his country. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893/5 "2011-02-28T07:54:30Z")
At least Cheney is a terrible shot… ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893/6 "2011-02-28T14:21:21Z")
Commissar. He’ll overthrow himself before lunch-time. The others have a proven track record of being both evil and cunning. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893/7 "2011-02-28T14:34:39Z")
**Commissar**. He’s the only one that isn’t a known quantity. The others have already, as **tagos** mentioned, shown themselves to be godawful. **Commissar** may end up as bad as they are/would be, but then again he might not. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893/8 "2011-02-28T14:43:56Z")
I chose Kim Jong-il since he’s known to be a film buff; once he gets here, he’ll be so busy watching movies and chasing actress skirt that he won’t have time to do much dictating. I’m not convinced **Commissar** wants it bad enough. I’d at least want to hear a genocidal rant or two to be sure he’s sincere. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/choose-your-dictator/572893/9 "2011-02-28T15:02:25Z")
**Darth Panda** , including another poster in this thread/poll is tantamount to an insult. If you’d like to seriously conduct a poll on this topic, please open a new thread without including the name of another poster. I’m closing this one. **Ellen Cherry IMHO Moderator**