God it escapes me...

There was another politician whose only real claim to fame was some b-teir TV and movie spots..

I think they had a cameo in home alone II

Yes, he created Servant of the People.

Oh it mattered, it became a chuckle line used in memes that I couldn't enjoy even at the time because I knew that his stupid, racist bullshit would not be interpreted in a normal way by most of the electorate.

Debates matter. Remember when Biden beat medicare?

I think Jon would have the intelligence and humility to have very qualified, intelligent people to advise and challenge him.

My only concern for him is he would take it very seriously, and not be able to let anything go. He would burn himself out hard in 4 years.

most important traits in a president: conviction

And not in the way that Trump has convictions.

Watch him mop the floor with Tucker on Crossfire.

He softballs when he wants to get more guests. If he goes after every politician, they all run and hide. To see him actually debate you have to see him off his own show. He's given very compelling addresses to congress as well.

And seriously, he's one of the most popular TV personalities in the country. What you're saying is you don't like Taylor Swift's music, so she must be a shitty entertainer. Maybe you're just not the target audience?

Well... Ideally, politics would be a boring job. Make small incremental improvements. No political parties, just guys (and gals and whatnot more) that can put themselves to be elected, and when elected, they get to do, a job for a few years or so. After that, they can go back to whatever else they want to do.

It should be boring

Hell, people shouldn't put themselves on a list to be elected, let's just pick a guy and if you're tagged, you're it for a year or so

Requirements are that you have at least studies in the subject matter and have 10 years experience in the field.

I dunno, I'm just writing silly ideas here but anything is better than all the political systems we have now

Probably not. It's pretty common in history that leaders that are great In crisises aren't as great in peace times. But it doesn't really matter because what Ukraine needed was the president they had.

He stepped up as a leader when his nation needed him. That is one of the best qualities to have. Anything else is just whatsboutism that can be applied to anyone.

Would he have been considered a good president if that hadn't happened? We'll never know.

A quick glance back shows very much no. However, he stepped up for the war.

they would rather sink AOC and Bernie forever so that the political equivalent of Assistant Regional Managers can get promoted to Regional Manager.

I agree and disagree. The ability to successfully lead a government as chaotic (i.e. democratic) and large as the republic of states known as the US is very rare. It requires not only a strong physical and mental constitution, but also a wide set of skills and intuitive abilities that usually only make themselves apparent during trials by fire. Compared to the sometimes explosively violent centralizations of power that occur when the rare charismatic tyrants fight their way into power (e.g. Napoleon, Hitler), democracies grow in fits and starts as they rely upon a panjandrum of popularity contests to find talented leaders. In contrast to dynasties that fiercely burn hot with their founder's fervor then languish in subsequent generations, democracies have the potential for sustained competence as long as incumbent leaders continue to hold popularity contests with the goal of finding new leaders better than themselves from as wide a candidate pool as possible.

When the contests fail to find the rare talented leader, the process does resemble a farcical out-of-touch revolving door of mediocre middle managers like you suggest: because talented leaders are rare. And even when a talented individual does prove thenselves, they cannot cling to power lest they destroy the talent search apparatus that brought them to power in the first place and which will eventually replace them with an even more talented individual in the future. To destroy that apparatus reverts the civilization back into purity-obsessed gatekeeping fascism and boring dynastic tyranny.

So, if this decade's popularity contest is restricted to late-night comedian talk-show hosts, I say that's better than a Trump dynasty. But, I hope winners of those contests steer government to promote talent searches with larger candidate pools than they came from. That could take the form of government propaganda rewarding people to run for local elections. Without leaders consciously promoting wider popularity contests, the people of a democracy default to choosing the photogenic faces and entertaining voices they see and hear on their screens: actors like Ronald Reagan or Arnold Schwarzenegger or game show hosts like Donald Trump.

GreenShimada 2028

The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.

To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.

To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

– Some hoopy frood

I'm not sure if this is some idiomatic usage I've not encountered, but "eminently" would seem more appropriate than "imminently". If only because John's already more qualified than he apparently needs to be.

Ooo so you're saying I'm qualified? That's a shit job I don't want. Fucks up your hair and ages you. Plus there's a good chance I might send some reps I don't like on a scouting trip to Mars.

...

Oh dang, I AM qualified!

Fairly stupid opinion considering the breadth of people that would encompass.

Being seen as having rizz at the national level is nothing to scoff at. We disdain celebrity but it is hard to obtain and keep. It can be used for good or ill, but the competencies needed for durable celebrity status are many.

Think about all the skills and consistency a person who is on camera all the time has to have. They need to be internally consistent. They need to know who they are and project themselves well. they need to know how to manage a media career and they need to speak ideas that resonate with an audience and make people want to remember their name.

You are absolutely correct celebrity and politician have always been intertwined professions.