Should the United States have a standard Psychological Test

[athena]

86. Was this supposed to be a response to another comment on the thread?

I don't see how it relates to mine?

My point was that a psychological test might seem like a good idea, but in practice, it would end up being used against the liberal candidate by the right wing. For example, laws that curtail free speech always end up being used against the very people they are meant to protect. One example I can think of on the spot is how anti-obscenity laws in Turkey were used in the 1980s to require that a feminist novel that talked about birth control be sold in plastic packaging, while porn magazines were allowed to be sold open. At the same store, you would be able to flip through porn magazines showing naked women in sexual poses, but you wouldn't be able to flip through this feminist novel.

The bottom line is that the right would insist on repeated psychological exams until one psychologist could be manipulated to pronounce the liberal candidate unfit to govern. It would be too easy.

ETA: I want to emphasize how dangerous what you're proposing really is. You should really give this some thought. Many of America's greatest presidents (Lincoln and FDR come to mind) have suffered from depression. A history of depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder should not disqualify a person from being president. And yet, that is precisely what would happen if a psychological test were required.