# The drawbacks of being President of the United States **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 17, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935 "2015-02-17T18:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/1 "2015-02-17T18:34:51Z")
The thread about the drawbacks of being a celebrity got so many good/insightful responses that I decided to start a similar one. (I am not referring to Obama specifically, but rather, the presidency itself in general.) The drawbacks that I think would come with being President of the United States are: 1. Having to make many life-and-death decisions (i.e., whether to drone-strike a terrorist but incur a lot of collateral damage, etc.) 2. Having to participate in televised presidential election debates. Those must be terrifying. 3. Flying, traveling, all the time. Jet lag. 4. Public speeches, all the time. 5. Can’t flub or make a verbal gaffe, especially not in the Internet era. 6. The extensive security protection, precautions, accompanying bodyguards, etc. 7. Physical and mental exhaustion. 8. No matter your political affiliation, there are tens of millions of Americans who despise you. At least 30% of the nation stands opposed to you and your policies at any given time. Depending on circumstances, it may rise to 40%, 50%, or even 60%. 9. Constant media presence. Microphones, cameras, reporters all the time. 10. Your political opponents are earnestly hoping, waiting for you to commit some blunder or gaffe they can pounce on. 11. Getting blamed for numerous problems that aren’t your fault. 12. Your own political supporters criticize you for not being conservative or liberal enough, depending on your political affiliation. At any given moment there are numerous agendas and causes trying to get your attention. 13. You must remain absolutely calm at all times. Furious? Exasperated? Grief-stricken? On the verge of tears? Sorry, got to hold it all together. 14. Any medical problems you have might become national news. 15. Constant campaigning and electioneering; if not on your behalf, then on someone else’s behalf. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/2 "2015-02-17T18:38:27Z")
1. You must retain an insane amount of information and knowledge in your head at all times. 2. Having to follow a rigid schedule. 3. Having to make right but highly unpopular decisions. 4. Having to be a “people pleaser,” to a certain extent. What others can you guys think of? ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/3 "2015-02-17T18:48:33Z")
40% of the public hates you no matter how nice a guy you might be. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/4 "2015-02-17T18:54:47Z")
[Can’t put stuff on your head](http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/04/obama-you-dont-put-stuff-on-your-head-if-youre-president-161546.html). ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/5 "2015-02-17T18:55:07Z")
They all seem to age 3x faster than normal while in office. That probably sucks. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/6 "2015-02-17T18:58:47Z")
The only vice you’re allowed is your running mate. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/7 "2015-02-17T19:01:45Z")
1. Can’t get a damned hummer without starting WWIII. Most of the 16 above are pretty good, except that (16) comes with a massive, top-flight staff to do all that info holding, sorting and 'membering for you. A lot of the rest summarizes as “doing a complex trapeze act in a fishbowl while the audience takes turns throwing shit at you.” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/8 "2015-02-17T19:13:37Z")
Gotta wear ties all the time. And suitcoats. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/9 "2015-02-17T19:20:28Z")
Unlike most world leaders, you have to perform the duties of head of state and head of government. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/10 "2015-02-17T19:31:26Z")
You will cause the death of innocents. Who was the last president who wasn’t directly responsible for causing the deaths of civilians? ---
**Author:** ![Recusant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@Recusant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recusant)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/11 "2015-02-17T19:38:49Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Gotta wear ties all the time. And suitcoats. An oddly important note, this. As I see it, it doesn’t matter if you can, with one phone call, nuke Mexico, even if the rash of post-September 11th legislation lets you do so legally- if you can’t say “fuck ties”, you have no business calling yourself the most powerful person on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/12 "2015-02-17T19:40:54Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Gotta wear ties all the time. And suitcoats. That’s a feature, not a bug, so long as the outfits are well fitting–and I’m sure the President has access to good tailors. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/13 "2015-02-17T20:10:53Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > That’s a feature, not a bug, so long as the outfits are well fitting–and I’m sure the President has access to good tailors. And the right color. Remember the ruckus over his _tan_ suit? Oh, the humanity! ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/14 "2015-02-17T20:21:58Z")
> [@Recusant](#): > > An oddly important note, this. As I see it, it doesn’t matter if you can, with one phone call, nuke Mexico, even if the rash of post-September 11th legislation lets you do so legally- if you can’t say “fuck ties”, you have no business calling yourself the most powerful person on Earth. Darn tootin’! If elected, I will always appear in a lounge lizard leisure suit. Or a speedo. You give me the nuclear football AND a dress code? I think not! ---
**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:** [February 17, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/15 "2015-02-17T20:43:55Z")
There’s also the awareness of the big drop-off ahead. You’re going to go from being a **President** to being an ex-president. Look at Barack Obama. He’s going to leave office in 2017 at the age of 55. And then he has two or three decades ahead of him of doing nothing significant ever again. Putting partisan politics aside, we should recognize that anyone who rises to the level of President has to have some extraordinary capabilities. Our political system should figure out a way to use these individuals. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/16 "2015-02-17T21:10:17Z")
You have to smile, shake hands with, and try to work with slimy perfume-wristed used car salesmen who are elected to 2 year terms and who, as far as I can tell, do Nothing. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/17 "2015-02-17T21:26:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s also the awareness of the big drop-off ahead. You’re going to go from being a **President** to being an ex-president. > > Look at Barack Obama. He’s going to leave office in 2017 at the age of 55. And then he has two or three decades ahead of him of doing nothing significant ever again. > > Putting partisan politics aside, we should recognize that anyone who rises to the level of President has to have some extraordinary capabilities. Our political system should figure out a way to use these individuals. I dunno. While Ford, Reagan and Bush II basically dropped off the radar, Carter still does humanitarian work, Bush I and Clinton got together to do a lot of humanitarian fundraising, and Clinton still plays politics during the elections. Hell, Taft became Chief Justice after being President. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/18 "2015-02-17T21:37:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s also the awareness of the big drop-off ahead. You’re going to go from being a **President** to being an ex-president. > > Look at Barack Obama. He’s going to leave office in 2017 at the age of 55. And then he has two or three decades ahead of him of doing nothing significant ever again. > > Putting partisan politics aside, we should recognize that anyone who rises to the level of President has to have some extraordinary capabilities. Our political system should figure out a way to use these individuals. I think a president is probably so exhausted from 4-8 years in office that they’re happy with the (comparatively) sedate, quiet, ex-president life. And even an ex-president’s life is still very much in the spotlight. An ex-president still lives more of a celebrity life than the average American could even dream of. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/19 "2015-02-17T22:08:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s also the awareness of the big drop-off ahead. You’re going to go from being a **President** to being an ex-president. > > Look at Barack Obama. He’s going to leave office in 2017 at the age of 55. And then he has two or three decades ahead of him of doing nothing significant ever again. > > Putting partisan politics aside, we should recognize that anyone who rises to the level of President has to have some extraordinary capabilities. Our political system should figure out a way to use these individuals. Taft and Carter might disagree with you about post-presidency life being uses less. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935/20 "2015-02-17T23:07:16Z")
Also, the effect of several of the above spills over onto your family- suddenly the kids need high security too, and your wife is in the spotlight as much as you are for some things, maybe even more. Still in touch with your slightly senile Aunty, who babysat you when you were little but now has weird political views? Better hope the media doesn’t pick up on it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drawbacks-of-being-president-of-the-united-states/712935.md?page=2)