A US President FOR the People - A Thought Experiment

Hello one and all.

At this very moment, we sit in one of the most difficult times in our history, with soaring costs of living, tax hikes, lack of adequate jobs, government corruption at an all-time high, and wars being fought on many fronts. It seems as though all hope is lost. It is at these times that a true leader must rise to the occasion, with the intent of helping those with which he lives on a day-to-day basis. It is with this situation that I begin this thread.

Let us suppose for a moment that I was one of the People's nominees for the Presidency of the USA. As your President, it is my civic duty to try to help you the People to get whatever it is that you need to help us as a nation to excel.

With this in mind, I ask the following questions:

1) What would you like me to change when I get in? Why do you feel this way?

2) Are there things that you would like to see stay the same? If so, what and why?

3) If I were elected, would you be willing to volunteer time to help out with some local civic matters that are in need of resolution, provided I am the one you voted for?



DISCLAIMER:

Please consider these questions, and if you decide to answer, please do so in the thread, and not via U2U. I want to be completely transparent when it comes to my politics, so as to illustrate how easy it would be for any of our representatives, or our own President for that matter, to do the same.


TheBorg

reply to post by TheBorg


[sorry, wrong thread]

[edit on 7/17/2010 by Toromos]

Originally posted by TheBorg
1) What would you like me to change when I get in? Why do you feel this way?

2) Are there things that you would like to see stay the same? If so, what and why?

3) If I were elected, would you be willing to volunteer time to help out with some local civic matters that are in need of resolution, provided I am the one you voted for?

1) The ability of any Government official to sidestep corruption charges.

Legally speaking, any political figure representing us, is supposed to not only represent us through their actions, but us as a society, this means if we are to be held accountable for our actions, so should those representing us.

2) I have zero issue with most of America, however, Government needs to change.

When a political climate can decide not only the nature of what happens, due to an event, like the Deepwater Horizon incident, it is important for our politicians to actually do more than mouth and lip-service.

That President Obama did not act immediately towards pressuring BP PLC, and all others connected to that event, shows his lack of concern for America.

Personally, while most things staying the same would be good, there should be an ability to immediately remove a consensus decided non-effective political figure, no matter the office, putting them out of office completely.

3) I already volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America as an adult leader.

This is an apolitical organization, meaning it is politically neutral, but my participation within assisting the office of the President would not depend upon my voting for that individual, or not, yourself, or anyone else for that matter, but upon whether the person best represented the people.

Without playing the political game of claiming to represent the people, while simultaneously playing us against ourselves, dividing a nation in order to rule it, while effective, does not represent our country in any way.

It only decapitates it and leaves us vulnerable to abuses by our Government.

While our President is certainly someone who commands respect, he is not somoene who can save humanity as a whole either, and needs a balanced personality.

The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/995a50b011c3.jpg[/atsimg]

Amazon Review :

The Bush years have given rise to fears of a resurgent Imperial Presidency.

Those fears are justified, but the problem cannot be solved simply by bringing a new administration to power.

In his provocative new book, The Cult of the Presidency, Gene Healy argues that the fault lies not in our leaders but in ourselves.

When our scholars lionize presidents who break free from constitutional restraints, when our columnists and talking heads repeatedly call upon the "commander in chief " to dream great dreams and seek the power to achieve them--when voters look to the president for salvation from all problems great and small--should we really be surprised that the presidency has burst its constitutional bonds and grown powerful enough to threaten American liberty?

The Cult of the Presidency takes a step back from the ongoing red team/blue team combat and shows that, at bottom, conservatives and liberals agree on the boundless nature of presidential responsibility.

For both camps, it is the president's job to grow the economy, teach our children well, provide seamless protection from terrorist threats, and rescue Americans from spiritual malaise.

Very few Americans seem to think it odd, says Healy, "when presidential candidates talk as if they're running for a job that's a combination of guardian angel, shaman, and supreme warlord of the earth."

Healy takes aim at that unconfined conception of presidential responsibility, identifying it as the source of much of our political woe and some of the gravest threats to our liberties.

If the public expects the president to heal everything that ails us, the president is going to demand--or seize--the power necessary to handle that responsibility.

Interweaving historical scholarship, legal analysis, and trenchant cultural commentary, The Cult of the Presidency traces America's decades-long drift from the Framers' vision for the presidency: a constitutionally constrained chief magistrate charged with faithful execution of the laws.

Restoring that vision will require a Congress and a Court willing to check executive power, but Healy emphasizes that there is no simple legislative or judicial "fix" to the problems of the presidency.

Unless Americans change what we ask of the office--no longer demanding what we should not want and cannot have--we'll get what, in a sense, we deserve.

So far I have seen no one I would stand next to, with all due respect to the original poster, who I would see as best representing the people.

Because of the nature of politics, Secret Societies guarantee that man gains that office, and a man can only serve one master, and until that man serves the people, and not the Secret Societies, nor the Military Industrial Complex, nor even the lobbying groups, special interest groups, or even conglomerates who would put him in a puppet position of power, I see America has little to no hope of ever being fully represented.

And I have yet to have heard the issues and stances spoken about, and or pointed out as a means of political stumping, so my thoughts are already about what issues you represent, as well as whether you know them.

[edit on 17-7-2010 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

reply to post by TheBorg


Too late. The government has escaped the control of the governed, and is a seperate entity that governs without consent. Politicians make speeches and claim to defend the constitution, but it rings hollow. It's akin to watching the Harlem Globetrotters play the Washington Generals over.....and over......and over.......with the same result. When the people do stand up, and that seems to be coming soon, the government will turn on them with fury, using police and martial law to attempt to disarm them. In fact, having ceased control of industry, banking, healthcare and the electoral process will seek disarm us very soon, as they sense the unrest, and their ability to control us ultimately depends on it. The only chance is to make ourselves heard, and a refusal to be subjects.

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas

1) The ability of any Government official to sidestep corruption charges.

Legally speaking, any political figure representing us, is supposed to not only represent us through their actions, but us as a society, this means if we are to be held accountable for our actions, so should those representing us.

That was one of my first thoughts when I came up with the idea for this very thread. It's also why I would run with no ticket to speak of at all, save one caveat; I run as the PEOPLE'S President. The People tell me what to do, not the other way around. For too long have the People listened to Presidential candidates speel on and on ad nauseum about what they promise to do, and yet somehow seem to fail to accomplish while they are President.

As a Presidential Candidate, I would start by listening to the People's demands, and then set about writing up legislation, or in my case Executive orders, that would help to get what the People want. All of this would be completely public knowledge, so that there could be no accusations of backroom meetings, and clandestine motives. A transparent Presidency is a successful one in my book!

2) I have zero issue with most of America, however, Government needs to change.

When a political climate can decide not only the nature of what happens, due to an event, like the Deepwater Horizon incident, it is important for our politicians to actually do more than mouth and lip-service.

...

Personally, while most things staying the same would be good, there should be an ability to immediately remove a consensus decided non-effective political figure, no matter the office, putting them out of office completely.

And this was actually my second idea!! No joke!! The truth of the matter is that we've become shackled by the very system that was supposed to free us. Why not institute new rules that allow the People more control over those that We elect to govern over us? This would be one of the very first things that I'd try to do if I got the votes to be elected.

3) I already volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America as an adult leader.

...

Without playing the political game of claiming to represent the people, while simultaneously playing us against ourselves, dividing a nation in order to rule it, while effective, does not represent our country in any way.

It only decapitates it and leaves us vulnerable to abuses by our Government.

While our President is certainly someone who commands respect, he is not somoene who can save humanity as a whole either, and needs a balanced personality.

Of course he does. There is an old phrase that I'm reminded of here: "A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link." The weakest link, in this case, is the People. We, as a society, have become too complacent for our own good. We need to be able to stand up and address issues that pertain to us, and feel that those we're expressing them to will actually do something about them. In other words, We need to grow a backbone.

So far I have seen no one I would stand next to, with all due respect to the original poster, who I would see as best representing the people.

Quite understandable, as neither have I. For the record, I wouldn't want the job, as I don't relish the idea of being a target for the rest of my life. However, someone who's dedicated to the task of representing the People will do what he/she must to help those in need. If I were elected President, everything that I tried to do would be so out in the public's eye that there would be no way to obfuscate the circumstances surrounding my motives to suit some sinister plot. My actions would all be so clear cut that there'd be no mistaking why I was doing what I was doing. That, to me, is the only way to run a campaign.

Because of the nature of politics, Secret Societies guarantee that man gains that office, and a man can only serve one master, and until that man serves the people, and not the Secret Societies, nor the Military Industrial Complex, nor even the lobbying groups, special interest groups, or even conglomerates who would put him in a puppet position of power, I see America has little to no hope of ever being fully represented.

And I have yet to have heard the issues and stances spoken about, and or pointed out as a means of political stumping, so my thoughts are already about what issues you represent, as well as whether you know them.

[edit on 17-7-2010 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

As you can tell, I know all of the issues well, but the point really shouldn't even be about that. It should be about helping the People! To study the issues is one thing; to live them every day is quite another. I find that there is no greater substitute than experience. In this case, it would aid me in being able to address the American People on the level of the Every Man, from which group I count myself a member, rather than on the rhetoric-filled level that we find most political figures.

It troubles me greatly to see our elected officials promise to make things better, and yet they seem to only service us with their lips, and not with their deeds. We need someone that can stand up for the "Every Man".

TheBorg

[edit on 18-7-2010 by TheBorg]

End the war in Afghanistan & Iraq, TODAY.

Iraq was a war of choice over imaginary things. = insanity

Afghanistan was because the Taliban wouldn't hand over Al Qaeda.

They have both turned into never ending treasury looting exercises,
where General Casey said we need at least another 10 years in both places!

I tend to be a sort of impure libertarian.
Legalize all social liberties for adults that don't directly infringe upon others. [drugs, prostitution]

I believe in FAIR & free markets.
& markets that become UNFAIR must have some [hopefully minimal] regulation imposed upon them.
In many cases the threat of regulation may be sufficient to get participants to play, clean, fair, upfront & honest.

Government programs [hopefully few of them] should be demonstrated to be cost effective.

There are things that are our collective property, simply by their nature.
Air, water, social & economic environments.
Government must act as the police & steward of our shared resources.

Stop natural gas fracking today.
Stop mountain top removal today.

Work for the American people, Period.
And reign in all the abuses corporations are inflicting up us.

Originally posted by TheBorg
That was one of my first thoughts when I came up with the idea for this very thread. It's also why I would run with no ticket to speak of at all, save one caveat; I run as the PEOPLE'S President. The People tell me what to do, not the other way around. For too long have the People listened to Presidential candidates speel on and on ad nauseum about what they promise to do, and yet somehow seem to fail to accomplish while they are President.

So, running with no ticket, meaning you have no platform?

The problem I see with running as The People's President is this is often nothing more than a means for a dictator to get into power, not making an accusation, but speaking based upon most Puppet Dictator's who are put into power by some covert element of the American Government in a foreign country.

And according to how America runs it's "Political Machine" this would not sit well with over 2/3's of the citizens watching the election process, nor either political party which dominates the so-called free elections, Republican nor Democrat.

They would literally see you as a threat and point you out as such, as a monster.

I am saying this not as a threat, nor as my belief, but as what I see them doing.

The citizens of America just do not know how to respect someone who does not promise them things, whether those things are ever kept, or not is irrelevant.

They are looking for someone to be able to associate with and or feel like they are represented by someone who is like them, which is where the idealism of office takes a backstage to the realism, and where the politicians first lie happens.

That they are anything like us as citizens is a huge lie since they are bought and sold.

Nothing more than a political commodity sold by a broker, the Secret Societies.

Originally posted by TheBorg
As a Presidential Candidate, I would start by listening to the People's demands, and then set about writing up legislation, or in my case Executive orders, that would help to get what the People want. All of this would be completely public knowledge, so that there could be no accusations of backroom meetings, and clandestine motives. A transparent Presidency is a successful one in my book!

Legislation is for Congress, and Executive Orders are nothing but rule changes.

Quote from : Wikipedia : Executive Order (United States)

An executive order in the United States is an order issued by the President, the head of the executive branch of the federal government.

In other countries, similar edicts may be known as decrees, or orders-in-council.

Executive orders may also be issued at the state level by a state's Governor or at the local level by the city's Mayor.

U.S. Presidents have issued Executive Orders since 1789, usually to help officers and agencies of the Executive branch manage the operations within the Federal Government itself.

Executive orders do have the full force of law since issuances are typically made in pursuance of certain Acts of Congress, some of which specifically delegate to the President some degree of discretionary power (delegated legislation), or are believed to have their authority for issuances based in a power inherently granted to the Executive by the Constitution.

It is these cited or perceived justifications made by a President when authoring Executive Orders that have come under criticism for exceeding Executive authority and have been subject to legal proceedings even at various times throughout U.S. history concerning the legal validity or justification behind an order's issuance.

To go to the level of transparency you're speaking of there would need to be a live feed, through a press representative, following the President, you, around for 24 hours a day, at all functions, with exception possibly of the restroom.

And not all politicians within Government would appreciate that level of transparency.

Whether you want it or not and as well that can and will backfire to some extent.

Transparency is non-existent when it comes to politics because they hide behind their doublespeak, political maneuvering, and diplomatic speeches to the people.

Obama is horrendous with his cotton-candy works, gumdrops dreams, and rainbow smiles.

Hope and Change does nothing except fill blank airwaves with empty words.

Originally posted by TheBorg
And this was actually my second idea!! No joke!! The truth of the matter is that we've become shackled by the very system that was supposed to free us. Why not institute new rules that allow the People more control over those that We elect to govern over us? This would be one of the very first things that I'd try to do if I got the votes to be elected.

Well, I see this as something good, however, you forget, Congress is ultimately responsible, in the long run, for legislation, it is one of the three branches of Government.

While I certainly agree, there needs to be tighter restrictions upon all levels of Government, as well as loosening their controls, those within power however will disagree with that 100%, especially when it interferes, in their perspective, with how their bread is buttered and how they make their funding.

Take Congress and Senate voting themselves pay raises every six months as an example.

That needs to stop and it needs to stop immediately and needs to be placed within the citizens hands, but how do we do that, when those people control that?

A President, you, or me, or anyone else who threatens to change that will see themselves set-up as a lame duck and their Administration would be neutered.

Originally posted by TheBorg
Of course he does. There is an old phrase that I'm reminded of here: "A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link." The weakest link, in this case, is the People. We, as a society, have become too complacent for our own good. We need to be able to stand up and address issues that pertain to us, and feel that those we're expressing them to will actually do something about them. In other words, We need to grow a backbone.

The people are only the weakest link because they ignorantly choose to be so.

Like the sign in Iraq where someone wrote :

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/bc0b3601d340.jpg[/atsimg]

The vast majority of American's are both politically and educationally ignorant.

This has been proven more times than I care to discuss.

If America actually knew even 1% of what our Government did in their names they would be not only ashamed of being American's, but pissed as Hell.

Too many citizens are too wrapped up in the American Idol, Survivor, Big Brother, and The Real World mentality, and have zero inkling about politics whatsoever, because they are selfish, self-absorbed, or just too damn stupid to get politics and rely on other people to do it.

Bread and circuses.

In other words, America is lazy, via its citizens since they shirk their responsibility.

Most people believe, rather ignorantly, that their responsibility ends at the voting booth.

That my friend is where it merely begins.

Originally posted by TheBorg
Quite understandable, as neither have I. For the record, I wouldn't want the job, as I don't relish the idea of being a target for the rest of my life. However, someone who's dedicated to the task of representing the People will do what he/she must to help those in need. If I were elected President, everything that I tried to do would be so out in the public's eye that there would be no way to obfuscate the circumstances surrounding my motives to suit some sinister plot. My actions would all be so clear cut that there'd be no mistaking why I was doing what I was doing. That, to me, is the only way to run a campaign.

Yes, but how does one represent a citizenry so convoluted, so diverse?

A certain percentage is pro-life.

A certain percentage is pro-choice.

A certain percentage is pro-guns.

A certain percentage is anti-guns.

The list goes on and on and each one of those gets more and more complex.

Transparency only works if all sides are in agreement and they never are.

And I do not want that job either but I've been approached 1,001 times to take it.

And each time I tell them not only no but Hell no.

Originally posted by TheBorg
As you can tell, I know all of the issues well, but the point really shouldn't even be about that. It should be about helping the People! To study the issues is one thing; to live them every day is quite another. I find that there is no greater substitute than experience. In this case, it would aid me in being able to address the American People on the level of the Every Man, from which group I count myself a member, rather than on the rhetoric-filled level that we find most political figures.

Wrong.

I do not see you know the issues considering none have been brought up yet.

And the issues are the people and the people are the issues.

They are one and the same and anything else is dissembling.

The problem with politics is the politicians it always has been.

Too many words, not enough action, and never any responsibility.

Originally posted by TheBorg
It troubles me greatly to see our elected officials promise to make things better, and yet they seem to only service us with their lips, and not with their deeds. We need someone that can stand up for the "Every Man".

TheBorg

[edit on 18-7-2010 by TheBorg]

Yes, it troubles me as well, but that is the machination of getting into office.

Promise lies, never deliver, sidestep the issue, and distract the attention.

Rinse, lather, repeat.

Unfortunately, the President would have such little voice in the District of Criminals.

Despite popular concepts that he is akin to a Dictator, or some omnipotent A list Celebrity, the President is merely the CEO of the Executive Branch of the federal cabal.

Much of our troubles (as I see them) come from passed Legislation and corrupt Treaties (Senate is entirely responsible).

My suggestion your term of service would simply be: dishonor and discredit everything and anything at the federal cabal level.

The likelihood of returning to sovereign state representation within the Senate- nil. The likelihood that the enfranchised citizenry will pull their head out of their arses and choose not to vote for a draft-dodger as Commander in Chief, pedophiles and fed res note whores for Legislators- nil.

Therefore, the best thing a good Executive could do would be to tarnish the traditional honor of the position. To wear a conical hat with "Dunce" printed upon it during the State of the Union Address. To sell advertising upon a white tee-shirt for AOL (with a "free disk" hanging from the T's sleeve). To yammer on about the prostitutes at the lobbyist parties you've attended, and to mock each and every elected servant, every staffer, and federal inept clerk along the way.

Tell jokes, drink beer, burp and fart. Use your influence to get all the call girls and call boys to join you in a special edition of the Jerry Springer Show: "D. Seedy".

Tear down the sheeple's perspectives of invested credibility in the errant and tyrannical system. Refuse to do anything. Rescind ALL Executive Orders. Hire several new Czars: Dereliction of Duty Czar, High Treason Czar, Transparency Czar (Jerry Springer would be a good candidate for that position!).