What Qualities Make a Successful US President

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

The American sub-forum is filled to the brim with candidates for President, many of whom elicit...strong reactions one way or another.

But it is my contention that the most successful US Presidents are NEVER picked because of policy or political propaganda- the most successful Presidents, the ones we focus on positively (or, at worst, ambivalently) when indoctrinating school children are the ones that best mimic the basic perceptions people hold of George Washington.

America prefers to pick Presidents who:

- Have deeply wounding father issues

- Have good relationships with their wives/a strong (but not overbearing) wife

- Are thought to be fairly open and honest, but with a huge shrewd or clever streak to their personalities.

and

- Have a strong community focused background/story

So the questions are:

Do you think we go into elections trying to replicate the experience of Washington?

What underlying qualities are usually found in "successful US Presidents"

[Tinker]

Blue bloods are usually the most successful.

[Mr. Perfect]

I have been thinking, for maybe a year, maybe two, that the age of President worship will be coming to an end. For awhile. In the old days you had your local newspaper, maybe a national one and three tv channels. Easier to create mythologies. These days...

As a result of the last few years, I think people are starting to stop believing in government as the uber solution, mostly looking at it as a barely solution. Which would extend to an executive branch.

Looking at a Rick Perry or Mitt Romney Presidency only cements that. Either would likely be a two term President that the public would probably rarely want to hear about.

As a conservative, one of the few examples of blowback from Ronald Reagan is that he made people, including to conservatives, look to gov't too much as a sort of inspiration. When you have someone that powerful, that inspirational, so much larger than life as he was, it is not surprising that people would crave for it again, only to be let down time after time. I think reality is setting in and people are downgrading expectations. I think the POTUS will be seen again as a functionary and not LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD. And I think we'll all be better off.

[Tinker]

[Hapax Legomenon]

Tom Brady would make the current mold. Good-looking, star athlete, supermodel wife, very rich, California-RINO. He is perfect in about ten years.

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

[Tinker]

[Azrael]

, such as IQ and , make a successful U.S. President.

[Azrael]

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

[Hapax Legomenon]

[crashtech]

Forgive me for being overly simplistic, but after years of trying to figure this out, the most electable candidate seems to come down to which one appears most likeable on TV. Certainly there may be exceptions, like perhaps B41, but I think it holds mostly true in the era of TV and now Internet video.

[Tinker]