# The Supreme Leader of the Whole Damn Thing **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 10, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792 "2014-07-10T20:53:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/1 "2014-07-10T20:53:07Z")
The premise is that in two years time there will be an election in which everyone in the whole world gets one vote, and the winner gets to rule the world as she/he sees fit. A way has been found to keep the voting honest, but any amount of money may be spent to campaign for the candidates. 1. After 1 year who do you think the top 2 or 3 candidates will be? 2. Who do you think will win? ---
**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:** [July 10, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/2 "2014-07-10T20:56:25Z")
1 The Chinese Candidate, two other guys 2 The Chinese Guy He’s got more or less a billion guaranteed votes. Everyone else has Democracy and junk. It won’t even be close. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/3 "2014-07-10T20:56:54Z")
God, what a terrible thought! Nobody whose name is being bandied about now is worth the powder it would take to blow then up! I abstain. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/4 "2014-07-10T21:17:12Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > God, what a terrible thought! > > Nobody whose name is being bandied about now is worth the powder it would take to blow then up! > > I abstain. No abstaining. You must vote for a candidate that is alive and a minimum of 21 years of age. And when I said that there is no limit to campaigning, I meant no limit at all-candidates can enter any country and campaign freely. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/5 "2014-07-10T21:21:35Z")
It will be a race between the aforementioned Chinese guy and some Muslim. The world will end shortly afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/6 "2014-07-10T21:26:48Z")
I haven’t heard any specific names yet. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/7 "2014-07-10T21:29:02Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It will be a race between the aforementioned Chinese guy and some Muslim. > > The world will end shortly afterwards. I nominate Obama as the Muslim 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/8 "2014-07-10T21:29:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I haven’t heard any specific names yet. Adam Sandler, then! :o If I’m to be forced to give a shit. At least nobody with much of a brain left would vote for him. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/9 "2014-07-10T22:37:49Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Adam Sandler, then! :o If I’m to be forced to give a shit. At least nobody with much of a brain left would vote for him. In what way does that address either of the two questions asked in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/10 "2014-07-10T22:52:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > A way has been found to keep the voting honest, but any amount of money may be spent to campaign for the candidates. Has a way been found to allow the candidates’ campaigns to reach everyone uncensored? Because otherwise I’m afraid the winner is going to be whatever Chinese Guy the current Chinese government allows to “run.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/11 "2014-07-10T22:59:16Z")
Obama would get much of North America, most of Europe, and most of Africa. And he’d probably get a moderate chunk of the rest of the world. I don’t know if he’d win, but he’d do well. Or if he decided not to run, and Bill Clinton ran, Bill would clean up. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/12 "2014-07-10T23:29:01Z")
Barack Obama probably would do okay. He’d have American support plus a lot of people in other countries would vote for him. Let’s go with Xi Jinping as “the Chinese guy”. Vladimir Putin and Pranab Mukherjee would also be in the running from their large national bases. But I don’t know how well they’d do outside of their home country. Luiz “Lula” da Silva would do well in Brazil and probably also in other Latin American countries. I can’t think of anyone offhand who would have international stature as a Muslim candidate. More likely you’d get several different regional leaders dividing up the Muslim vote. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/13 "2014-07-11T00:15:42Z")
I nominate Michael Bay in order to unite the Western and Chinese voting blocs. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/14 "2014-07-11T00:23:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I can’t think of anyone offhand who would have international stature as a Muslim candidate. More likely you’d get several different regional leaders dividing up the Muslim vote. I was going to say Obama would have the international appeal and cultural savvy to succeed, but now he is actually less popular than Dubya in Muslim dominated countries. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/15 "2014-07-11T00:45:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Barack Obama probably would do okay. He’d have American support plus a lot of people in other countries would vote for him. He only got 51.1% of the votes cast in 2012, and he’s less popular now than he was then. Dunno how he’d do overseas, but he’s not going to net much of anything from his own country. The corpse of Ronald Reagan would kick his ass in the vote totals. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/16 "2014-07-11T00:58:44Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > He only got 51.1% of the votes cast in 2012, and he’s less popular now than he was then. Dunno how he’d do overseas, but he’s not going to net much of anything from his own country. The corpse of Ronald Reagan would kick his ass in the vote totals. He wouldn’t be running against McCain or Romney. Maybe I just have more faith in conservatives. I feel that if it came down to a choice between Obama and Putin, they’d vote for Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/17 "2014-07-11T04:43:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I feel that if it came down to a choice between Obama and Putin, they’d vote for Obama. Don’t be so sure, the [KONY 2012](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc) got a lot of attention, and Kony is worse than Putin. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/18 "2014-07-11T05:07:43Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > 1 The Chinese Candidate, two other guys > 2 The Chinese Guy > > He’s got more or less a billion guaranteed votes. Everyone else has Democracy and junk. It won’t even be close. There may actually be more anti-Chinese sentiment than pro-Chinese sentiment in such an election. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/19 "2014-07-11T07:07:25Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > There may actually be more anti-Chinese sentiment than pro-Chinese sentiment in such an election. Even if there \*were \*more anti-Chinese sentiment, unless many of those voters coordinated their votes, instead of all voting for different people, “the Chinese guy” might \*still \*win. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792/20 "2014-07-11T12:24:53Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Even if there \*were \*more anti-Chinese sentiment, unless many of those voters coordinated their votes, instead of all voting for different people, “the Chinese guy” might \*still \*win. But with anyone being allowed to advertise freely, which “Chinese Guy” in particular would get promoted? Remember, this is for Supreme Poobah, not Supreme Government-I suspect there might not be much cooperation among the upper Chinese officials as to which one should get the top job. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-leader-of-the-whole-damn-thing/692792.md?page=2)