# What fictional character would you want as POTUS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988 "2018-08-02T16:30:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/21 "2018-08-02T19:40:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Sorry, but doesn’t meet the residency requirements: He has been out of the country(and perhaps the universe) for over 14 years. 😃 My suggestion presupposed that he would have come back. Really, if you are going to ask for fictional characters you’re going to have to be less fussy about the requirements. A better question might be whether Doctor Manhattan is still human (although that requirement is technically not in the Constitution). ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/22 "2018-08-02T19:50:39Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > My suggestion presupposed that he would have come back. Really, if you are going to ask for fictional characters you’re going to have to be less fussy about the requirements. A better question might be whether Doctor Manhattan is still human (although that requirement is technically not in the Constitution). That same problem pertains to R. Daneel(not being human). There is a difference between being fussy and simply requiring that the fictional candidates follow the same simple requirements as the non-fictional candidates, otherwise you end up with President Richie Rich or President Rainbow Dash. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/23 "2018-08-02T19:52:59Z")
What, 21 posts and nobody else has nominated Atticus Finch yet? He’s even got political experience. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/24 "2018-08-02T19:58:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What, 21 posts and nobody else has nominated Atticus Finch yet? He’s even got political experience. Will Calpurnia be First Lady? ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/25 "2018-08-02T20:06:48Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > Woodrow Wilson Smith He would never serve. > [@Chronos](#): > > What, 21 posts and nobody else has nominated Atticus Finch yet? He’s even got political experience. I would support this. Wyoming Knott? (going back to Heinlein) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/26 "2018-08-02T20:07:13Z")
Sheldon Cooper. Because we need a petulant, petty, vindictive man-child in the White House. Oh wait… He’s not old enough. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/27 "2018-08-02T20:10:28Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > A better question might be whether Doctor Manhattan is still human (although that requirement is technically not in the Constitution). > [@Czarcasm](#): > > That same problem pertains to R. Daneel(not being human). There is a difference between being fussy and simply requiring that the fictional candidates follow the same simple requirements as the non-fictional candidates, otherwise you end up with President Richie Rich or President Rainbow Dash. > [@](#): > > “No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States”. Hmm… indeed, I do NOT see a requirement that the candidate be human! (Which saves us from having to define “human”). Whether or not Dr. Manhattan is currently human, he clearly once was and was in fact born. Olivaw is more problematic - he was built/created in the greater New York City area, but he wasn’t _born_. I suppose, since a time machine was already required, you could take him back to the 1750’s, have him reside in the colonies, serve in some capacity during the revolutionary war (clearly, he could not take part in any battle or be near a battle front), gain his citizenship _that_ way, then be eligible… ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/28 "2018-08-02T20:10:36Z")
What about James Norcross?\* \*Free ride in the Omnicar to the first person who gets the reference. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/29 "2018-08-02T20:13:34Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Sheldon Cooper. Because we need a petulant, petty, vindictive man-child in the White House. > Oh wait… > > He’s not old enough. Actually Sheldon is old enough, he was officially born: February 26, 1980 ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/30 "2018-08-02T20:40:47Z")
[Sten’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sten_Chronicles) The Eternal Emperor. He was born in Hawaii and is several thousand years old at the time of the series. He has also survived numerous assassination attempts, only three of which were successful. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/31 "2018-08-02T20:43:59Z")
Robocop. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/32 "2018-08-02T20:48:44Z")
Either Spock or Kirk. A saver on Adama (original series). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/33 "2018-08-02T20:49:43Z")
Was he the one who liked cooking spicy food? There was a Superman What-If story that jumped through some hoops pertaining to Kryptonian obstetric technology to claim that he wasn’t “born” until his spaceship was opened up near Smallville, thus making him eligible… but it wasn’t actually necessary. He’s a foundling, and the law on foundlings is that they’re presumed to be natural-born citizens of the place where they were found. That presumption can be challenged, but only until they’re 18 years old: Once the foundling reaches majority, their legal status is unchanged, even if new evidence comes to light proving that they were actually born somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/34 "2018-08-02T20:54:30Z")
I wanted to nominate Havelock Vetinari, but aside from the birth requirement I can’t see Vetinari lowering himself to democracy. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/35 "2018-08-02T20:54:41Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Either Spock or Kirk. > > A saver on Adama (original series). Kirk qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/36 "2018-08-02T20:55:53Z")
John Rambo or maybe “Dirty” Harry Callahan. Or perhaps John McClane from Diehard or John Matrix from Commando. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/37 "2018-08-02T21:29:56Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Kirk qualifies. Spock’s mother, Amanda, is a Seattle native. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/38 "2018-08-02T21:34:45Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I would want a super genius who has a pro-social agenda. Who that would be, I don’t know. > > Adrian Veidt (I consider him pro-social) So do I, but IIRC they never make clear whether he was born in the US: just that he was born the year his immigrant parents came to America. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/39 "2018-08-02T21:35:23Z")
Titus Tipton, the grandfather in\* The Liberation of Clementine Tipton\* by Jane Flory. Very progressive for his era (the 1870’s), especially when it came to women’s rights, and a self-made millionaire. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988/40 "2018-08-02T21:36:01Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Spock’s mother, Amanda, is a Seattle native. :smack: And I knew that, from the book _Ishmael_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-character-would-you-want-as-potus/818988.md?page=3)