Random citizen here too. I’ll take the fairly good chance of a normal ego compared to Trump’s supersized one. An average person would probably realize he/she needs a lot of help and gather it to him/her, and (horrors!) accept it.
It was a tough call but I went with random citizen based on the idea that without clear backing and constituency, the random citizen would probably not be able to do anything too egregious before he is taken out of power. Either he would be a non-entity placeholder controlled by the bureaucracy or be impeached in short order.
Trump would actually be taken seriously and so could do real damage.
However if it was assumed that the random citizen would have the ability to actually execute the full powers of the presidency then its got to be Trump in a heart beat. The possibility of getting a random citizen who thinks that the way to deal with Islamic extremism is to nuke Mecca, is too likely to make the gamble worth while.
Random citizen, and I hope it’s Vermin Supreme. 
Why do you hate doctors and scientists and engineers? I would love for the president to be Dr. POTUS, MD/PhD.
Yeah, this is pretty much where I shake out. I think a Trump presidency would be awful and might well end up being the nadir of this nation. But random person could potentially be much, much worse. We’re not all cut out to be Dave.
ETA: But I would vote for Kevin Kline over Trump ;).
I would argue a few of those points, actually.
Trump. Take the total percentage of American citizens who are Felons, addicts of some kinds or have chronic debt issues or mental health problems, it would be around 25 percent if you added all of those together. Note being a felon does not disqualify you.
Trump may be bad, but a random person could be much much worse. I’m in the camp that believes that Trump is purely playing to the lowest common denominator and doesn’t believe any of what he’s saying. He’d push for more presidential power for sure, I’d like to think that the checks and balances would stop him grabbing too much more, we’ve already seen executive signing orders be abused for all sorts of things, I’m sure he’d continue that but beyond that I’d like to think congress would step in.
Have you already forgotten the Ben Carson bullet we dodged?!
You’re right, I think…but doesn’t that really involve “disputing the hypothesis?” Aren’t we asked “who is to be President,” and not just “Who gets the hypercritical examination and criticism that 99% of us could not withstand?”
This is why I voted for Trump: as bad as he is, he’s still better for the job than any of my neighbors, any of my co-workers, anybody I bump into in the supermarket or barber shop, and – oh my dear God! – better than anybody out there on the Freeways!
I picked Trump in the poll, although I was tempted to go the other way.
That VP rule complicates matters. I suspect a certain number of people would pick their favorite candidate as VP, then resign. That’s what I would do if I could.
But could I rely on 2 random folks to do that in sequence? Not sure.
The census has a twitter feed that briefly describes people at random. I’ll pick the 2 latest profiles and put them is a spoiler box: [spoiler]
President:
I served between the Gulf War and the Vietnam Era. I used to be on active duty. I went to college for less than a year.
Vice President:
I get to work around 9:50pm. I served during the Vietnam and Korean Era. I used to be on active duty. I am divorced. I drive by myself.
[/spoiler] Oops, I think they bunched together similar entries. Try again. I’ll use random numbers for my selection below: Prez:
I have an associate’s degree. I have multiple ancestries. I work in architectural, engineering, and related services.
VP:
I am looking for work. Last time I got married was in 1990. I have been married twice. I am divorced. I work in truck transportation. Sorta vague.
Great responses everyone.
I’m curious - now, what if it were random American citizen vs. Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz, or George W. Bush (yes, I know, 22nd Amendment?)
Palin: You can’t fix stupid. Random person.
Cruz: You can’t fix religious zealotry. Random person.
Bush: IF you ban Cheney and Rove, OK. Otherwise, random person.
Random person, despite the fact that millions of those random people support Donald. I’d also support random person over Palin or Cruz. I’d take GWBush over a random person at this point in his life – i believe he’s developed some humility and maybe realizes that competence is at least as important as cronyism.
It’s just a fucking shame that so many citizens are irresistable drawn to alpha dogs and and fanatics. And while I believe Donald’s “always strike back” attitude is key to his popularity, he’s a guy who has obsessed for decades over a comment about the length of his fingers. We are looking at barely restrained aggression coupled with pathological insecurity… and we’re putting him in charge of the world’s most powerful military?
It all depends on the person selected at random. Donald Trump might be a destructive buffoon but he at least has demonstrated the ability to grow and run a complex organization. So in terms of just pure competence, I’d give the Donald an edge over a lot of people, even if he’s using that competence to do things I don’t agree with.
I railed against Bush and voted against him twice, but I never thought he was as terrible a person as some people made him out to be. He was most certainly in over his head. To his credit, I think he gradually realized he was getting scammed by his trusted advisers, particularly Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz. I credit Bush for being able to reverse himself and show enough flexibility to chuck “the market solves everything” mantra when the financial crisis started blowing up. He had been a believer in a deregulated market but he knew that he’d have to eat his core beliefs in order to save the country from financial peril, which did over the objection of some of the radicals in his own party. Jeb Bush, to some extent, is still paying the price for his brother’s sins in voting for the bailouts, as some of those who objected to Bush’s interventions at the time undoubtedly later identified with the movement that would become the Tea Party. I also appreciate how Bush stayed out of the spotlight and allowed Obama to do his job for the most part. Granted, he knew that most people were probably not interested in his perspective anyway, but I can only compare him to someone like Dick Cheney who just refused to go away.
What’s a shame is that so many citizens have bought into this notion that the system is rigged and that they have no control or influence over the state of the country. It’s a shame that people believe that all people who are currently serving in office are actively working to destroy their lives and push them into financial ruin. It’s a shame that some people firstly can’t at least partially take some personal responsibility for their own situation and expect people in government to just bail them out. On the other hand, it’s a shame that a lot of other people assume that just because someone has a good working relationship with corporations that they care only about getting money from corporations and care nothing about winning favor with the general public and getting votes. It’s a shame that people truly believe that everyone’s out to screw them, that everything is rigged, that 9-11 was an inside job. Yes, corruption is killing America, but so is blind irrational cynicism, combined with a lack of reflection and self-assessment.
I went into this election thinking that it was a choice between republican values and democratic values. I was wrong. It’s a contest between moderation and extremism. And extremism is surging on both sides. It seems to have already devoured the republican party, and it might well overtake the democrats as well. The problem that Bernie voters don’t understand is that left-wing extremists can’t win elections; right wing extremists can. And ultimately, if this divisiveness continues, they will. And once they take power, right wing extremists don’t just give it back.
If he is a destructive buffoon, u are better off choosing a random person.
But you are not choosing a random person which means you believe he is not a destructive buffoon.
Sarah Palin: Unqualified to be President, largely as unqualified as the general populace despite her experience in Alaska. Random citizen.
Ted Cruz: Tough call. Same general issues as with Trump, but perhaps slightly less competent in handling day-to-day than Trump. Probably still Cruz over random citizen.
George W. Bush: Bush over random citizen, no question, if only for his prior experience.
I’d be worried about the psychological effects of thrusting a random person in a position of such power.
Are they going to be able to handle having the whole world have eyes on him/her? While at the same time making some very difficult decisions? I think I’d have a nervous breakdown if it were me.
Besides, who’s going to be VP in this hypothetical?
When has Trump ever demonstrated the ability to grow and run a complex organization? I mean, I know of several instances where he’s shown the ability to wither a complex organization, but I rather trust that most people have the capability to do that, without need of demonstration.
And most people in the world are basically decent: Society couldn’t function otherwise. Even a Trump supporter would be better than Trump himself: A lot of them look up to his extreme bullying because they can’t bring themselves to do it on their own: They might applaud it at some level, but their own consciences would get in the way.