# Would you rather be president of the USA or spend a week in jail? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 12, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-president-of-the-usa-or-spend-a-week-in-jail/581711 "2011-05-12T22:00:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [May 13, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-president-of-the-usa-or-spend-a-week-in-jail/581711/21 "2011-05-13T04:32:05Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Thinking only of me, I’d rather be President. > > But considering the welfare of my country, jail is a much safer place for me to be. That’s the way I see it. I personally would rather be President but I know I’d do a bad job. So I’d rather spend a week in jail that hurt the country. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-president-of-the-usa-or-spend-a-week-in-jail/581711/22 "2011-05-13T04:49:58Z")
If I was President, I’d be spending a hell of a lot more than a week in jail afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-president-of-the-usa-or-spend-a-week-in-jail/581711/23 "2011-05-13T04:57:35Z")
I voted ‘President’, based on the idea that I’d be spending at least one term as President (barring doing something to get myself impeached or killed, which are both distinct possibilities) and that I’d be _me_ in office, as opposed to slipping into the body of the current office-holder and having to rule as him. I wonder how good of a job I’d do, but my legacy is ‘secure from beneath’: Given the existence of Richard Nixon and Warren Harding, I’m _not_ going to go down as the worst President, even if I have no hope of being the best. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-president-of-the-usa-or-spend-a-week-in-jail/581711/24 "2011-05-13T05:20:55Z")
I went with President, because I figured four years at Club Fed would be better than a week at county in Richmond or Martinez, which are utterly grim places. But others might object. My idea of the best modern President is FDR followed by Bubba. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-president-of-the-usa-or-spend-a-week-in-jail/581711/25 "2011-05-13T10:16:42Z")
If going to jail comes with a criminal record, I may not take it, but I otherwise have no desire of the fame that presidency brings. A week in jail seems like a small thing to not have to worry about being assassinated your entire life. Plus, I’d need to study a LOT of history and government before I felt anywhere near competent enough to make good decisions about the country. That said, I’d take one for the team if it meant that Bush wouldn’t have gotten elected. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-be-president-of-the-usa-or-spend-a-week-in-jail/581711.md?page=1)