# Let's build a U.S. President from scratch **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 2, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350 "2007-03-02T20:47:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/21 "2007-03-04T02:44:29Z")
Sod it, I’m a Brit but I’ll play along anyway. My answers will be distinctly non-parochial. “U.S. President”, “U.K. Prime Minister” and “1st President of Earth” can be used interchangeably. 1. Age: Preferably 40-50, second preferably 50-65. 2. Military Service: No preference. Sure, they’re gonna be in charge of the military. But as Prez, they’re gonna be in charge of everything else. Why single out the military experience for special consideration, rather than say, financial experience, or prison-system work, or neurosurgery? 3. Political Experience: Some. Should have been a Senator/Representative/MP/leader of semi-important nation for at least five years. 4. Education: _As much as possible_. I shudder to realise that I am in a minority of people in this view. I do NOT particularly want to be able to have a beer with this guy. PhD at least, professorship preferable. 5. Major issues: I’ll leave this to US dopers, while noting that I am against capital punishment. And of course gay marriage should not even _be_ an issue. 6.) Physical appearance: largely irrelevant, though given two or more candidates who tick all the other boxes, it’d be nice to go for the black/chinese lesbian transexual atheist, just for 'about time already’s sake. 7.) Marital status: If they’re gay, they MUST be married. Just to hand a steaming cup of STFU to ‘the will of the American people’. If they’re straight, let’s have another bachelor, or better, bachelorette. Pie in the sky? Regrettably, yes. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/22 "2007-03-04T02:49:31Z")
1.) How old would he/she be? **don’t care except as it impacts on experience** 2.) Would he/she have served in the military? If so, which branch and for how long? **we’re picking _Presidents_, not candidates, yes? don’t care. For a candidate, yes, insofar as it would probably make the candidate easier to elect** 3.) What kind of prior political experience would you like? **three years State Senate, sixteen years US House of Representatives, eight years governor, and well-regarded in the state frm whcih candidate hails** 4.) Education - is a Bachelors degree enough? Does he/she need to have a Masters or Doctorate? Does post high school even matter? **Advanced degree in something _other_ than law** 5.) What would his/her position on the major issues be (Iraq, abortion, gay marriage, capital punishment, etc.)? Iraq: **Build (or at least involve the US as participant) in an int’l coalition — one that includes all major Islamic factions in the area including Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, btw — that is devoted to establishing order in the area. As soon as the chaos subsides, get the fuck out of there.** Abortion: **Propose a program that will fund initiatives on the basis of their ability to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy. Pro choice on abortion rights. Policy geared towards making it less necessary, but readily and affordably available when it is necessary. Candidate is outspoken and aggressive on the issue and does not back down from anyone in contention on the issue, prochoice or prolife** Gay marriage: **Says the government’s interest is in the legal & contractually binding arrangement ‘marriage’ and that it has no legitimate opinion one way or the other on the religious or spiritual arrangement ‘marriage’; if the government is not going to allow ‘gay marriage’ then it must cease to recognize ‘marriage’ _per se_ and instead recognize only ‘domestic partnerships’. Candidate will listen to and work with the American people towards either solution, but the outcome _must be_ an equitable one that does not treat gay folk differently from straight folk.** Capital punishment: **No opposition in theory, concerns about unequal application. Says it’s a bit of a red-herring issue when our entire approach to criminal justice and punishment modalities needs rethinking and capital punishment is far from the only legitimate concern in the US today. Wants more sanctions to extract from the criminally sentenced some service to the society, in the recompensation and reparations sense.** [6.) Physical appearance? Does your candidate need to be exceptionally good looking, just average, or is this irrelevant? **Massively irrelevant unless I’m picking a candidate. If I’m picking a candidate, I acknowledge that it probably matters.** 1. Married, Single, or irrelevant? **Irrelevant. Candidate is good enough to handle the insinuations, nuanced questions, and whatnot if candidate is not married**. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/23 "2007-03-04T02:49:52Z")
[QUOTE=furt] Faux-homoerotic humor isn’t as funny when you have to explain it… [/QUOTE] No, I got it…I just wasn’t going there. 😉 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/24 "2007-03-04T03:36:09Z")
> [@](#): > > 1.) How old would he/she be? Betwixt 35 & 55 > [@](#): > > 2.) Would he/she have served in the military? If so, which branch and for how long? Does it need to have been infantry, or is any military service good enough? Military service does not matter. > [@](#): > > 3.) What kind of prior political experience would you like? None at all. He would be a citizen stepping up to fix the problems of the nation. Or maybe someone who was reluctantly persuaded to be VP just before the president died unexpectedly. > [@](#): > > 4.) Education - is a Bachelors degree enough? Does he/she need to have a Masters or Doctorate? Does post high school even matter? He must have at least a bachelors. He must be intelligent to recognize the problems facing the nation, and to surround himself with experts rather than like-minded cronies. > [@](#): > > 5.) What would his/her position on the major issues be (Iraq, abortion, gay marriage, capital punishment, etc.)? Iraq: We fucked up by going in there and it sure would be rude to say “We’re leavin’, have fun with this dysfunctional nation-state”. Current policy, however, has been shown to be a failure. He’d have to take the route where we hire Americans help build up the infrastructure. Building power plants and hospitals and schools and irrigation and the like. When that’s done we go away and let them deal with any problems left. Abortion: Pro-choice, keeping it safe, and letting prospective mothers know that adoption is a possibility. Gay marriage: Civil unions. No outright ban on gay marriage. Capital punishment: Leave it to the individual states. We do still practice federalism to some extent. Which brings me to: Federalism: More power to the states, less for the Fed Environment: Reduce Carbon dioxide emissions. Protect places of natural beauty (sorry for breaking a rule but: like TR did). Domestic Civil issues: No more USA PATRIOT, wire tapping, etc. Energy: Reduce dependency on oil, tax incentives for using/developing new technology. Guns: You can own any firearm you want, but if you shoot someone, you’re going to be punished in accordance with state laws. > [@](#): > > 6.) Physical appearance? Does your candidate need to be exceptionally good looking, just average, or is this irrelevant? being tall and somewhat handsome helps. So why not. > [@](#): > > 7.) Married, single, or irrelevant? Irrelevant. Oh, and ‘he’ could also be ‘she’ if all other criteria are met. Edit: And a balanced budget. ---
**Author:** ![Aquila\_Be](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@Aquila\_Be](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquila_Be)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/25 "2007-03-04T08:28:30Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] 😕 I give up. What’s his name? [/QUOTE] Here he is: [Josiah](http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/bios/President_Josiah_Bartlet.shtml) As if you didn’t know 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/26 "2007-03-04T14:31:39Z")
I’d rather give that Matt Santos guy a turn. He seems like he’s got some moxie. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/27 "2007-03-04T15:02:39Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] 1.) How old would he/she be? 2.) Would he/she have served in the military? If so, which branch and for how long? Does it need to have been infantry, or is any military service good enough? 3.) What kind of prior political experience would you like? 4.) Education - is a Bachelors degree enough? Does he/she need to have a Masters or Doctorate? Does post high school even matter? 5.) What would his/her position on the major issues be (Iraq, abortion, gay marriage, capital punishment, etc.)? 6.) Physical appearance? Does your candidate need to be exceptionally good looking, just average, or is this irrelevant? 7.) Married, single, or irrelevant? [/QUOTE] In the interest of saving this from being an IMHO thread allow to question if those are the best questions. Age? Legal to serve. Military? Better with than without since those who serve tend to be a bit more hesitant to ask others to sacrifice without real cause. Education? Less important than demonstrated wisdom. Physical appearance, marital staus? Don’t care at all. So I skipped positions. Shorthand I’m a libertarian leaning slightly left of center secularist. Universal health coverage, not single payor. Aggressive on global warming issues. Aggressive on funding education. Multilateralist in foreign policy. Protect Roe v Wade. Strong seperation of Church and State. Stong on privacy issues. _More so_ the ideal candidate is able to inspire us all to strive to a standard better than we currently are. (S)he actually believes in these ideals. (S)he can demonstrate the skills to analyze complex concepts well and communicate them in a way that it makes sense to us all. (S)he knows how to hire smart people who share that uplifting yet realistic positive worldview and utilize them effectively. They know how to compromise and get things done. ---
**Author:** ![Puzzler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d07c76/32.png) [@Puzzler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Puzzler)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/28 "2007-03-04T16:07:14Z")
[QUOTE=xtisme] I think the ideal range (for me) would be someone in their 40’s to 50’s. Maximum age…55. I think military experience is definitely a plus. Ideally (again :)), I would like to see someone who is a maverick. I don’t really care which branch of the service as long as it was in one of the combat arms…though my preference would be the Navy of course. 😛 None. Lots of real world experience is necessary though. I want someone who is a citizen serving his country…not one of our political caste masters. Which is what we generally get served up. Oh yeah…and not a lawyer or poli-sci major. 😉 My preference would be a masters or doctorate in one of the hard sciences…engineering, say. Moderate. 😉 Well, with a heavy dose of fiscal conservatism and social liberalism…but my own preferences are too complex to go into here. If the guy is basically a middle of the road moderate then I’d be happy with that. Irrelevant…though if they want to get elected, being good looking won’t hurt. 😛 Again: Irrelevant…though if they want to get elected, being good looking won’t hurt. You didn’t ask but: 8) Sex of the candidate? Irrelevant to me…male or female, makes no never mind. 1. Race of the candidate? Hispanic. 😉 Just kidding btw…I’d vote for a white boy/girl if they met my qualifications. ( 😉 ) As I said above, my ‘ideal’ candidate is in the mold that I think the founding fathers intended…a private citizen who is running for the good of the country and not him/her self. Ideally this candidate would stay in office as long as it took to complete the job then walk away and go back to their private lives. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m a bit of an idealist. 🙂 -XT [/QUOTE] Heh. I meet most of your criteria (except for #2). I might even have got your vote 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/29 "2007-03-05T01:12:07Z")
In 1968, _Mad_ Magazine assembled its “Ideal Presidential Candidate” by clipping isolated facial features from photographs of several prominent politicians, and putting them together Frankenstein-like to make a whole face. The composite face looked exactly like _Mad_’s iconic character “Alfred E. Neuman.” That’s what this thread reminded me of. Since AEN is missing a front tooth, they inserted a black space there and called it the “Credibility Gap” found in “nearly all politicians.” ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/30 "2007-03-05T06:25:32Z")
I would love to have someone with the wit of Jack Kennedy again. Watching a press conference in those days was a riot! Rest his soul. He would have been _ninety_ in May. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/31 "2007-03-05T20:42:26Z")
The balls of Teddy Roosevelt and the intestinal fortitude of Harry Truman. The battle-smarts of George Washington and the diplomacy skills of Woodrow Wilson. The brains of Bill Clinton and the ability to contain lust within his heart of Jimmy Carter. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/32 "2007-03-05T21:06:49Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] The balls of Teddy Roosevelt and the intestinal fortitude of Harry Truman. The battle-smarts of George Washington and the diplomacy skills of Woodrow Wilson. The brains of Bill Clinton and the ability to contain lust within his heart of Jimmy Carter. [/QUOTE] Amen to each (although Roosevelt preferred “TR” to “Teddy”). And see the OP: “No comparisons to previous presidents please…” ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/33 "2007-03-05T21:11:39Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller] the diplomacy skills of Woodrow Wilson. [/QUOTE] Wilson had some great ideas for international diplomacy, but really screwed the pooch dealing well with the Republicans at home. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/34 "2007-03-05T22:12:41Z")
Shoot, I didn’t read the OP carefully enough. Ah, well. And yes, Menocchio, I should have specified “international.” ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350/35 "2007-03-05T23:49:51Z")
1.) How old would he/she be? 35-50…not tooo old 2.) Would he/she have served in the military? If so, which branch and for how long? Does it need to have been infantry, or is any military service good enough? Actually, I’d like to see an MP president, so we get military service AND law enforcement. 3.) What kind of prior political experience would you like? Cabinet Secretary and an Ambassadorship to someplace crucial, like Turkey or China. 4.) Education - is a Bachelors degree enough? Does he/she need to have a Masters or Doctorate? Does post high school even matter? A Bachelors at least. Smart enough to know what he doesn’t know. 5.) What would his/her position on the major issues be (Iraq, abortion, gay marriage, capital punishment, etc.)? I’m gonna agree with others and say he’ll decide that gay marriage and abortion are up to states to figure out individually. Religion…not important, as long as he doesn’t wear it on his sleeve. 6.) Physical appearance? Does your candidate need to be exceptionally good looking, just average, or is this irrelevant? He should have a good voicelike Morgan Freeman. Also red hair for variety. Not a white guy-perhaps an Islander? 7.) Married, single, or irrelevant? Doesn’t matter, but if divorced it should be amicable, and if single not a dog. Kinda lightweight, I know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-build-a-u-s-president-from-scratch/394350.md?page=1)