WW2

"Qualified"

Let's look at this for a minute. Who is qualified to lead our nation that has never done so before? These people do not do it on thier own. There are armies of advisors that help these people get educated on any particular subject as the need arises. Qualified? There is not a human alive qualified to single handedly run this nation, that's why it's not done that way. I think that this is another reason you'll see a politician promise something that you or someone else knows won't work. It may very well be that you know more than they do on any given subject.

Let's get a nice list of things that a president can be expected to not just deal with but "understand" enough to be able to make an educated decision.

Who is qualified to deal with our economy, health care system, education system, military, energy, agriculture, security, foreign relations and there are sooooooo many more.

It seems to me that the only way you could be even remotely "qualified" to run this nation is if you spent an entire career in the military and then became the CEO of GE and then maybe spent a few years building a cities infrastructure. You might be qualified once you hit about 325 years old. But, since you can't possibly do that it really comes down to who can make quick, smart decisions based upon the advice of a group of people that DO know everything there is to know about thier particular facet of the world.

I think that one of the most important aspects to look at is, who will change the course of the ship when it's clear it's headed in the wrong direction.

hebegb

yeah she does!!! :bowdown

Xanadu

Elmiril, you make some strong points, but I disagree.



I believe that to be qualified to be POTUS, one should have a top rate education to begin with. Preceding that, one must have been born with high intellectual capacities and absolutely must be open minded and prone to seeing things in nuanced ways. Shades of Gray, if you will, are things a POTUS must see and deal with. Beyond supreme intellectual capacity and an educational foundation - either scholastic or real world - the person should not be egotistical to the point of megalomania or an ideologue. Presidents are to serve the country and not just Rs or Ds. Beyond that, I would appreciate a well spoken and inspirational President who can articulate his views and soothe the wounds between political winners and losers.



A president must not be a bad winner or loser. Rather, a President must work to build consensus that brings us as a country forward.



McCain, Biden and Obama have the classic resume and I believe that prior to 2000, McCain was the best choice. He has now turned his head away from moderate pragmatism preferring to kowtow to the extreme right. For that, particularly for his VP selection, he has lost my support. Had he chosen Lieberman, we'd be having an entirely different conversation.

WW2

Well, I think we agree, I was probably saying it wrong. I guess what I was getting at is there is no straightforward shopping list of things one can have done that = qualified.in other words CEO of Microsoft with a great education is not all it takes to run the US. It seems to me, as you stated, that the qualifcations come in real world things but also in some pretty important intangibles. People are saying that so and so, is or is not qualifed based upon positions that they have held. Your example of being in charge of a state that has a low pop and high income would be a much easier scenario to deal with. I am just trying to throw it out there as something for people to think about as another way to judge thier choices.

Tuna Man

Please clarify..."did a historical thing". not bashing, just want to know what you mean by this statement.:banghead

Here we go again, posting on responsibility...blaming or degrading a parent for a child's actions, is like blaming gun manufactures for making guns when a person kills with one, no matter the age, I don't care how well you bring up a child, you have no control of his or her actions when they are away from you. I raised two boys both the same, both totally different. My mother raised two boys, both turned out totally different. Because my brother turned out like a POS is it her fault? No, one..absolutely no one in my family wants to hear from him...most of all me. I don't and wouldn't ever blame her for his short comings, lord she tried.:banghead:banghead:banghead

"President Carter tried to disassociate himself from the controversy that ensued, telling NBC News that he hoped people would "realize that I don't have any control over what my brother says [and] he has no control over me." Billy also apologized and explained he wasn't anti-Semitic, but the damage was done. The Atlanta Constitution remarked, "If [Billy's] not working for the Republican Party, he should be." Some time after this, Billy spent seven weeks at an alcohol addiction treatment facility in California."

And you know WHAT.......He didn't...

Flounderpounder

Just to relate a true story.....I don't really read anything into it. Just a snippet from a few women out of millions.

My wife, a democrat (I'm working on her to go independent) works withseveral women who could by past conversations easily be described as very right wing, DEFINATELY republican, and VERY religious. They were all over Palin's case (re: her daughter), to where my wife finally said "leave the woman alone" or something close to that. Weird: R's bashing her, a D standing up for her. At least it's nice to see party lines are not always totally predictable!