# Could you be President? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732 "2005-03-29T04:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/21 "2005-03-30T05:40:52Z")
Unelectable because I was born in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/22 "2005-03-30T09:05:32Z")
Not old enough. Not a christian. (We’ve had one or two Deists, haven’t we? Do they still count as “christian”?) No college degree. Other unelectables: I have a beard, but I’m not a Republican. Spent a little time in a mental hospital. And I take medication. (Hey, would you rather have the guy in charge needing psychiatric treatment and _not_ having it?) French last name. Northern Californian. And my politics are too centrist for either major party to tolerate. As for my personal political _skills_…well, I’m fairly confident that I could be an effective Libertarian leader. (In the same sense that, say, Clinton was. If ya know what I mean.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/23 "2005-03-30T09:58:22Z")
I meet none of the legal qualifications. They got me on technicalities, dagnabbit. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/24 "2005-03-30T10:58:06Z")
Unelectable – too young, atheist. Also, too many people would come out of the woodwork with a “That dude asked me if I could score some acid for him” story. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/25 "2005-03-30T12:24:29Z")
I am a gay, black, athiest woman… Hell, yeah, I can be president!! kidding white man from Texas…need I say more??? ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/26 "2005-03-30T14:19:51Z")
Unelectable due to age, lack of religion, and I did inhale. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/27 "2005-03-30T15:37:27Z")
Basically, completely out of the question on everything except being a pale male. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/28 "2005-03-30T15:49:43Z")
Unelectable: Only because I put the **tons** in **skeletons in the closet**. Well that. And I’m from Minnesota. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/29 "2005-03-30T15:55:25Z")
Unelectable (for now). Too young, not religious, and not a citizen. If that Schwarzenegger amendment that everyone was talking about gets written and passed, two of those things will be taken care of (my prediction is that in the future, I will be older). As for the third, I guess I’ll just have to fake it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/30 "2005-03-30T15:57:58Z")
Gay. Atheist. Jewish by birth. Libertarian. Have lived in sin and lusted in my heart. Am honest and outspoken. Was charter member of ACT-UP. Totally not interested in “leading” people. Back in the 60s, burned draft card. More recently, burned AARP card. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/31 "2005-03-30T16:09:59Z")
Not being a US citizen counts me out. One other criteria to think about, is that having a dog is pretty much _de rigeur_. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/32 "2005-03-30T16:15:22Z")
Not electable. Not a US citizen, for a start, so even if I become a US citizen I’m out of the running. And being an atheist would be a very serious handicap, if I could overcome the first problem. But I do live in the right state, which has produced more (mostly bad to mediocre) presidents than any other. However, just about all the presidents from Ohio were Republicans, and I doubt if I’d ever join the Repuiblican Party. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/33 "2005-03-30T16:46:17Z")
No legal barriers. I’m white, but probably too ethnic (half Greek) and openly atheist. I’m straight, but a total tomcat. Fortunately, Clinton, Schwarzenegger, et al have loosened things up in this area. More of a problem: I’m single and childless. I was born in West Virginia, and live in Maryland, two non-electables. No medical degree, no military service. Something not mentioned: I’m 5’7", and the the only way I could imagine a man my height being elected in this day and age would be if a successful Olympic gymnast were to go into politics. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/34 "2005-03-30T16:52:47Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > …More recently, burned AARP card. You burned your AARP card? Do you know how many _discounts_ you can get with that card? My mom has one, okay? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/35 "2005-03-30T17:02:06Z")
Pro: White male 56 US native-citizen straight Con: Single, multiple divorces Agnostic Outspoken and blunt Moderate, but conservate-leaning. I agree with the Republicans on a lot, but I also support a woman’s choice to have an abortion. I disagree greatly with the lunatic religious fringe that has infested the Republican party as well. It would be hard for the Republicans to put me up as a candidate and I would not run as a Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/36 "2005-03-30T17:04:19Z")
I meet the legal requirements, but have too much of a deviant past (and present) to make me the candidate of none but the most fun-loving and interesting parties. That excludes both the Republicans and Democrats, and given that they are the powerhouses I had to say that I’ll never be President. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/37 "2005-03-30T17:43:56Z")
Are you not a native-born citizen? Are you less than 35 years old? Now the obvious ones: Are you a woman? Are you any race other than white? Do you practice any religion other than Christianity? No President has ever been an only child. Military service is also a plus, but every President who’s served has been an officer. These are all the things I fail in. Of course, the first two don’t even give me a chance, but I am (proudly) a citizen, FTR. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/38 "2005-03-30T17:45:48Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > kidding white man from Texas…need I say more??? Nice to meet you, Mr. President. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/39 "2005-03-30T18:45:10Z")
All you guys counting yourself out for atheism or agnosticism are giving up too early. [Lots of Presidents](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._Presidents_by_religious_affiliation) have slipped under the wire on religious belief. Other things that are not automatic disqualifications: Divorce Felonies Drug use Extramarital affairs Being unmarried ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732/40 "2005-03-30T19:44:33Z")
Nothing holding me back according to the OP, but we’ve got a lot of well-documented stuff from when I was a teenage moron\*\*\*\*\* that’d come back to bite me on the ass: Well-documented drug use Rampant truancy Dropping out of high school Talking a girlfriend into getting an abortion A few (non-prosecuted) instances of getting busted for shoplifting The videotape of me saying “nice hat, nigger” Sexually explicit photos of me and an ex-girlfriend Yeah, it wouldn’t take too much digging for FoxNews to have me effectively off the campaign trail. \*\*\*\*\*Heh…sounds like a bad 50’s movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-be-president/296732.md?page=3)