The Perfect President

You know. I agree. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get into politics because people are always screaming their view points at me, and I’m the most uncontroversial person you will ever meet. I don’t know why people take it so freakin personally. I live in a very liberal town, and all week I keep listening to people whining about the outcome of this election and it’s really getting on my nerves.

In my opinion a truely great President would need to be born with an EXTREME amount of money. FDR was born with a family fortune and for that, he had no self interest to pursue. Once your that rich you don’t have to make the government work for you, but rather the people who are placing their lives and trust in you.

In todays world a politican doesn’t necessarily have to be smart enough to make the right choices. America elects who is popular. (i.e. Jesse Ventura, Arnold sfiwofhiowefshi) After reading this I would say you would be a great candidate for public office, but unfortunately to survive in office you have to cut throats, and doing what is right is not always a possibility if you want to survive.

If you piss your party off, there is a good chance your parties supporters won’t pay the next election advertising and you won’t have time to actually do anything to benefit the country. I think you could run for public office as long as you didn’t let the power corrupt you like most do. Rock on!

Perhaps they treat taxation as theft because taxation is theft. If you don’t think it is, try not paying your income taxes next year, and watch as men with guns come to your house and take you away.

YAY! You sound like another person I want to talk to about politics! I’m a bit fed up by the “Democrat-Republican” wars, and want politics to have to do with how best to run the country. Good [leader], huh? Hmm… someone who doesn’t follow party BS, who protects liberties, taxes based on ability to pay, listens to others but doesn’t base decisions solely on their ideas, is informed, honest …

… willing to admit mistakes and then try to fix them, as peaceful as possible in the given situation without allowing the US to be entirely destroyed either, doesn’t force a religion/ideology on anyone, respects the Constitution so that the judges don’t have to, uncorruptible, relatively intelligent (IQ 105+, I don’t need Einstein, but he/she should be smarter than average)… that’s about it. –

Today while driving home with my “I don’t have to like Bush to love America” bumper sticker in the window of my car, a Bush supporter gave my daughter the finger and used his finger on me as if he was shooting a gun. Nice huh? This country is divided. I have seen presidents since Eisenhower and I have never seen it this bad. I have been interested in and followed politics since Kennedy.

ryn: Generally not, but we should keep a bit of an eye on it. We shouldn’t vote for someone who will get us killed by other countries. Are we listening to other countries? Yes. Is that still how we should probably vote for our own sakes? Yes. (Despite how that note might have sounded, I wasn’t trying to sound like “Bush is going to get us killed!” but just speaking generically). Sincerely,

RYN: It lies at the feet of cable news and radio. People like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Hannity and James Carville. Rudeness and intolerence have become OK. BUT it really started in earnest with Newt Gingrich.

RYN: Thanks. BTW my car was vandalized during th summer for the same reason and again in New Jersey. We live in Maryland. Someone scratched Bush’s name in my car with their key.

RYN: you certainly did not owe me one apology much less several. Stuff happens and people can be jerks. : )

RYN re: perfect president poll. I like Aaron Sorkin’s idea of the perfect president, either in “The American President” or in “The West Wing.” They aren’t exactly perfect, but I’m not sure I could come up with a better description. Unfortunately, I don’t think such a politician exists, or would be elected if s/he did.

Dang, this is an excellent entry. I followed a note here from Paula’s diary, where I landed after following a note from Lincoln’s diary (which I’ve read for years.) You make excellent points here, especially about the need for people to step outside the emotional arena and work on problems and solutions. Hats off to you for posting this. Hugs,

The very idea of a ‘perfect president’ is very farfetched. That is a pipe dream. I mean I am an idealist, but still. But to answer your survey I think this would be as close as possible. Someone who looks beyond personal agendas, someone who can admit mistakes, and someone who doesn’t try to fiddle with people’s personal freedoms. -Rex

To continue, I don’t HATE Republicans or Democrats(I am a registered Independent if you must know). I think there are some very good Republicans and Democrats in our American political system(Giulianni is a very good Republican example). I just wish both parties would put aside their differences and try and bring this country cont…

together instead of almost ripping it apart at the seams… -Rex

Oh and one more thing, all of us, military, non military and so on, we DO need to do more for this country. VOTE, volunteer, join the military, send letters, run for local office, etc., etc. Thank you for taking the time to read my entry by the way, and I think this is a very well thought out entry. -Rex

Honestly…I think the perfect President would be in a younger age range than is legally allowed to run for President. I’ve seen a lot of older people say that my generation is only liberal because they don’t have an appreciation for religion or the sanctity of family. The fact of the matter is, I think younger people just don’t have the same clouded views of this world as people in the 35+ crowd

They’re certainly more open to tolerance for everybody, regardless of religion, sexuality, or skin color. I think that most college students seek change and a utopian society, a society that will still support us when we get to retirement age. Instead of simply worrying about the here and now, they think about what this country will be like in 40-50 years, and are concerned that it will be unfit

for their children and grand children. I think the ideal President will have qualities that appeal to both sides of the fence. Somebody who has morals, and possibly even religion, but also knows that religion and government are two separate entities. The ideal President will look at the big picture, instead of focusing on a single track, and will be willing to admit when they are wrong.

They’ll be able to distinguish their beliefs from what is good for the rest of the country (ie, abortion, gay marriage.) They’ll totally and completely realize that this country is founded on tolerance, and not deliberately disenfranchise any member of our society. They’ll focus on rural voters, as well as those in the big cities. Everybody will be equal and will be treated as such. I don’t

know, you asked for my ideal President, and there’s a portion of it. I think that the “ignorant, liberal hippy college students” would possess more of these qualities than the 35+ that are running our country now. They may not have the life experience, but they also don’t have the cynicism or narrowmindedness that often accompanies age.

Hey, it’s your evil twin. You may have noticed that all of my diaries entries got deleted so I got pissed off and quit writing in here. However, I couldn’t help but get on here to see what your reaction to the election was. It is interesting to hear an articulate person from the other side speak about the issue (although I totally disagree with you, as usual).

To answer your question, I don’t think that there is such thing as a “perfect president.” In my ideal anarchaic society there would be no powerful leaders. It just doesn’t make sense to allow one person so much authority over such a large group of individuals. Tradgedy is invevitable…

However, lets just assume for the sake of argument that I was masochistic enough to desire some leader to make decisions for me, in my name. What would his or her ideal qualities be? Hmmm… I’ll have to think about this one.

ryn: not a republican

american politics scare the crap out of me!

And ryn:… *smiles* yes, your name is Jamie, and you may have given up on dating, but… Did you have an ex girlfriend like heather who treated you like a 3 year old? and did you leave her because you had feelings for me and then dump me on my ass because you were insanely confused and then come crawling back to me a year later?

I would be too afraid to run for office because I have skeletons too. Drugs, sex, things my parents would die if they knew. And it’s too bad that people do that in politics. What does it matter what I did at 20 years old? I am a completely different person than I was 4 years ago. Isn’t everyone a completely different person than when they were 20? 25? Even 30, depending on how old they are.

I want a President who is thoughtful, not one-size-fits-all. Who is open-minded and has never believed that s/he was chosen by God for the job. Who has been a working stiff. Understands that freedom is more important than the illusion of security. Who governs based on a personal sense of right and wrong, rather than what some organized religion has been preaching. Pro-choice.

I, for one, would love to see an “average joe” in the White House. . . At least an average joe in the sense that he wouldn’t be backed by corporations or have years of political experience, etc. I would like to see a President who is *real* and who is intelligent. I don’t think a “perfect President” is possible, however, and I certainly doubt that we’ll ever see anyone “real” in office.

As the wife of a soldier I would need to see someone in the Oval office with some sense of what the joe average soldier has to face on a day-to-day basis, someone who understands the sacrifice our troops make when we send them into hostile places. Who understands the value of a dollar to a working class family and to the elderly. Who leads by example, rather than force… FDR was my fave….

I followed your note here (well, I read the other entries, but I always feel compelled with political entries…though I am not political by nature). This was a very well written entry, first of all. Secondly, as nice as it would be, there will never be a “perfect” president, because there will always be someone who is unhappy.

But I do think that both parties need to find candidates who aren’t necessarily at the extremes of their parties. Find someone who is a little more “middle of the road”, so that there isn’t so much vile hatred floating around. And I think both parties just need to stop for a minute & think about some of the things that they are saying.

I keep hearing (reading, really) people saying that Side X (Republican or Democrat, I hear them both) are intolerant & can’t see others’ views. That is what is scary to me, not the person who resides in the White House. There’s too much hate & not enough open-mindedness…and that is frightening. (sorry about my novel!)