What The Hell Happened?

[LaMouffette]

52. Great image and great responses! I think the problem is there are no official job qualifications

that candidates must meet before running for political office. I mean, for president, you have to be 35 years old, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the US for 14 years. That's IT!

It took until George W. Bush for greedy dimwits to figure out that any old dumb ass could be president. Thanks to his example, we have untold numbers of unqualified people running for office. And the voting public, at least the right-wing, votes for them not despite their lack of intelligence or education, but BECAUSE of it. The lesser educated vote for the ill-educated because they seem to be regular folks, just like themselves.

I seriously think that the Constitution should be amended to make the barrier to entry a lot more stringent, at LEAST for the presidency.

For starters:

• Every presidential candidate must undergo a Top Secret security clearance investigation, even before they are allowed to run in the primary election. Just the thought of being investigated would frighten off many would-be candidates. They know what they've been doing!

• Every presidential candidate must submit 10 years of tax returns before the primary election. Again, that would weed out a lot of people who would rather not have their taxes scrutinized (hmm, who might that be???).

• Every presidential candidate must take a one-year "So You Want to Be the President" college-level course to learn about the structure of the US federal government, the Constitution, foreign relations, ethics, US and world geography, and US history. The candidate must pass with a 3.0 average AND take a final exam and pass that exam with a 3.0 average. No exceptions. Even a Constitutional lawyer like President Obama would have to take this course. Every candidate MUST take this course to prove her or his commitment to this endeavor. This requirement would weed out candidates throwing their hats in the ring just as a "lark" (again, who might that be???).

• Every presidential candidate must perform a minimum of one year community service and get written letters of recommendation from at least three supervisors during the course of that service.

• Every presidential candidate must do an internship and "shadow" a senator or representative at the state or federal level for at least six months to get an idea of the responsibilities involved in governing.

So there.

Any teacher in the US can tell you of all the hurdles they had negotiate in order to earn a teaching certificate. It takes education, hard work, and commitment to be a teacher. The same should be true for the highest elected office in the nation.