# What fictional character would make a good President? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-make-a-good-president/267462 "2004-10-04T15:01:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-make-a-good-president/267462/41 "2004-10-05T21:35:19Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > Spider Jerusalem. I’m changing my vote. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-make-a-good-president/267462/42 "2004-10-05T21:41:53Z")
Rufus T. Firefly. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-make-a-good-president/267462/43 "2004-10-05T22:18:02Z")
Grand Admiral Thrawn. Oh! Oh! What about Senator Tankerbell? ---
**Author:** ![Elvez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@Elvez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvez)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-make-a-good-president/267462/44 "2004-10-05T23:49:42Z")
Zaphod Beeblebrox “If there’s anything more important than my ego, I want it caught and shot now.” “I’m so hip I have trouble seeing past my pelvis.” ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-make-a-good-president/267462/45 "2004-10-06T02:08:08Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Senator Jefferson Smith. Though he might need Senator Joseph Harrison Paine as his V-P to keep him in touch with some aspects of reality. (I know, the US Constitution wuld not allow them to be Pres and VP, but it would be a good combination). [nitpick] The US Constitution does **not** require that candidates for President and Vice-President be from different states, as I think you’re implying (in _“Mr Smith Goes to Washington”_ both Smith and Paine are from Montana). From the [US Constitution Online FAQ](http://www.usconstitution.net/constfaq_a6.html): > [@](#): > > Q101. “Exactly where in the Constitution does it say that the President and Vice President cannot be from the same state? In the 12th amendment the wording leads me to think that the electors and the candidates cannot be from the same state.” > > A. The Constitution doesn’t say that they cannot be from the same state. However, the 12th Amendment does say that electors may not vote for a President from their state and a Vice President also from their state. This issue came up in the 2000 presidential campaign when Texas Governor George W. Bush chose fellow Texas resident Richard Cheney to be his running mate. Cheney, who had served in Congress as a Representative from Wyoming, quickly changed his legal residence back to Wyoming to avoid the possible conflict for electors from Texas. Court challenges to Cheney’s change of residency were denied. Smith and Paine would risk giving up Montana’s 3 electoral votes if they ran on the same ticket, but since the election is fictional I think we’re allowed to give them a landslide in other states. Cheney “moved” to Wyoming because GWB knew he couldn’t win without the electoral votes from Texas in 2000. In any case, that’s all about **electing** Presidents. Paine could take the “Gerald Ford” route to VP in our fictional world. Just like **Bill Clinton** could theoretically take the “Gerald Ford” route to the Presidency in the future, although he’d undoubtedly be challenged. A much greater problem is getting non-“natural born” US citizens like Holmes and Watson into the White House — that _would_ take a Constitutional Amendment, or at least an additional backstory involving their parents having US citizenship (plus other residential requirements). [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-make-a-good-president/267462/46 "2004-10-06T12:08:53Z")
Samuel Vimes. He’d probably be coaxed into it by Vetinari, that would remain around as a advisor/grey eminence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-make-a-good-president/267462.md?page=2)