# Pick a president, any president! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 8, 2011, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645 "2011-04-08T11:05:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/21 "2011-04-09T02:32:49Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Theodore Roosevelt of course. He could handle these wars and drive through universal healthcare that would stick while taking care of the Climate change issues. He’s dead, Jim. You grab his tricorder; I’ll get his wallet. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/22 "2011-04-09T02:34:14Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > He’s dead, Jim. You grab his tricorder; I’ll get his wallet. Hey the Op said “No need to worry about electability or anything else, it’s completely up to you who will be the next president.” So I figured go for the best. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/23 "2011-04-09T02:37:14Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Hey the Op said “No need to worry about electability or anything else, it’s completely up to you who will be the next president.” Kal-el? Solomon? Paulus Beitz? Betty Crocker? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/24 "2011-04-09T03:05:59Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Hey the Op said “No need to worry about electability or anything else, it’s completely up to you who will be the next president.” While that’s true enough, I venture that there is a bi-partisan groundswell of favor in this country for a president whose bones are held together by tendons, ligaments, and the like rather than wires. (Disregarding Nixon, because the stake probably hasn’t worked its way out of his heart yet.) Maybe that’s just me. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/25 "2011-04-09T03:37:24Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Maybe that’s just me. Bah, bosh! [Zombie Roosevelt for President!](http://alex-claw.deviantart.com/art/Zombie-Roosevelt-155723635) It takes more than DEATH to kill a Bull Moose! ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/26 "2011-04-09T04:29:28Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > If you theoretically had complete autonomy to personally hand pick the next POTUS, who would it be? No need to worry about electability **or anything else** , it’s completely up to you who will be the next president. > > If your pick is Obama, then please state that and then specify who you would choose to succeed him. > > (ETA: Your selection need not have shown any actual interest in being POTUS, or even being involved in politics. You can make your choice as if they would not turn down the position.) (emphasis added) [del]Doctor Zero. Not that he needs our pathetic little constitutional offices.[/del] Russell Nash, or whatever he’s calling himself now. Of people who actually exist: Ralph Nader. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/27 "2011-04-09T04:30:44Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Elizabeth Windsor Crap, I should have thought of this. This is good. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/28 "2011-04-09T04:54:13Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Bah, bosh! [Zombie Roosevelt for President!](http://alex-claw.deviantart.com/art/Zombie-Roosevelt-155723635) It takes more than DEATH to kill a Bull Moose! Bully! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/29 "2011-04-09T04:55:30Z")
Well, if there are no limits, I’ll go with Jesus. Even assuming the God stuff is bullshit, he would get instant respect from the far right, and would still piss them off royally when he actually started implementing his core values into public policy. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/30 "2011-04-09T20:47:39Z")
Big Bill Heywood, with Emma Goldman as Veep. And put Jerry Garcia in charge of handing out reds. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/31 "2011-04-11T03:11:19Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Bah, bosh! [Zombie Roosevelt for President!](http://alex-claw.deviantart.com/art/Zombie-Roosevelt-155723635) It takes more than DEATH to kill a Bull Moose! We already know that bullets can’t stop him. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/32 "2011-04-11T12:29:54Z")
The momentum is building, this time Theodore should have enough time to overcome both candidates and not just the one. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/33 "2011-04-11T15:29:04Z")
Alan Grayson. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/34 "2011-04-11T15:44:55Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Well, if there are no limits, I’ll go with Jesus. Even assuming the God stuff is bullshit, he would get instant respect from the far right, and would still piss them off royally when he actually started implementing his core values into public policy. This. In addition, it would be fun to see the religious wingnuts go apeshit when they realized that Jesus wasn’t the personification of all their prejudices. If we limit the alternatives to persons currently living, Constitutionally eligible (i.e. no persons not born a U.S. citizen, nobody under 35) and capable of carrying out the functions of the office, I’d pick Al Gore. Al Franken would also be high on my list. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/35 "2011-04-11T15:56:04Z")
We interrupt this thread for a serious candidate. Shirley Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, RPI, aka 'Tute. Her bio at [About Martin Schmidt | Martin A. Schmidt '81, Ph.D.](http://www.rpi.edu/president/profile.html) Please read her bio; education, accomplishments, and leadership. Brilliant woman who dragged/drug (hell, us engineers could never master grammer and rarely english) RPI from 19th century thinking directly into science and engineering leadership in the 21st. Some highlights: Dr. Jackson holds a Ph.D. in theoretical elementary particle physics from M.I.T. and a S.B. in physics from M.I.T. Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Raised more than $1.4 billion in the Rensselaer Plan for construction, endowments, and program growth and enhancements. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/36 "2011-04-25T04:43:52Z")
Jean-Luc Picard ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/37 "2011-04-25T05:23:21Z")
Bernie Sanders ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/38 "2011-04-25T13:48:46Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > We interrupt this thread for a serious candidate. Shirley Jackson… Just don’t put her in charge of the lottery. My off-the-cuff answer is [Rush Holt,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Holt) I like the idea of a Quaker-scientist running things, he was smart enough to beat Watson on _Jeopardy!_, and it would annoy the boobs if he became the most famous US citizen named “Rush.” ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/39 "2011-04-25T16:34:00Z")
Havelock Vetinari Or, for a real person, John Edwards. Yep, he’s not electable at all and he sure did mess up his personal life, but for some reason, I honestly believe he cares about poor people. (Even though he got filthy rich off of them). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645/40 "2011-04-25T16:39:51Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Jean-Luc Picard The prime directive will prevent him for exercising his authority in Alabama and Kansas and Texas. You know, because they haven’t quite made it to the 21st century and are therefore not eligible for first contact. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-a-president-any-president/577645.md?page=3)