The American Presidency
 

Here is a potential essay question for one of my classes. After being an avid reader here, I figured I would post and see how you guys who seem more knowledgeable in politics than I am view potential candidates for the 2008 elections.

The 2008 election will elect a candidate who has not been president before. When no incumbent is running:

a. What qualifications for the job seem most important, and why?

b. What evidence from the candidates' backgrounds and records do you think is most likely to show whether a particular candidate has the qualifications you deem important?

Re: The American Presidency
 

Are you asking what ultimately actually determines those elections or what we as individuals feel are important?

Re: The American Presidency
 

Basically what voter's will take in to consideration (i.e. candidates stance on certain major issues in today's political realm (Iraq, economy, health care))_ when trying to decide who to vote for come election day.

Re: The American Presidency
 

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/res...ex.epolls.html

At least in 2000, domestic issues (economy, taxes, social security) led world affairs by a wide margin. However that is skewed by the prior years being relatively innocuous as far as US intervention and threats against us.

Re: The American Presidency
 

Most of the major candidates are Senators, a senator hasn't won since JFK.

Qualifications are less important than the candidate's image in the public's eye... this has been shown through many, many studies.

Part b is very subjective.

Re: The American Presidency
 

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a. What qualifications for the job seem most important, and why?

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At least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen of the US, and not a previous two-term president seem to me to be the most important.

Re: The American Presidency
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
a. What qualifications for the job seem most important, and why?

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At least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen of the US, and not a previous two-term president seem to me to be the most important.

[/ QUOTE ]

that will be in my thesis

Re: The American Presidency
 

believing in God and the Market with equal degrees of blind faith seems rather important as well.