Those Who Would be President…

I have no desire to be President of these United States.

However,  I am glad that there are individuals who aspire to that lofty position.

In reality, that amazing document, the U.S. Constitution, doesn’t list a great deal of qualifications needed to be President of these United States.

You have to be 35 years old.

Check!

You have to be a natural born citizen of the United States.

Check!

You have to be a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.

Check!

Even though I spent many of my summers on Pelee Island in Canada and a year with the U.S. Air Force in Sondrestromfjord in Greenland, I meet the guidelines

In the next few moments, you will read quotes of individuals who sought the office.

Some were successful.

Some were not.

But they all said things that offered insight into the way they viewed the world and what makes this country so special.

“I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles…the character of an honest man.” (George Washington)

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” (Abraham Lincoln)

“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and Senators and Congressmen and government officials but the voters of the country.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

“No man should be in public office who can’t make more money in private life.” (Thomas Dewey)

“Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” (Harry Truman)

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

“I would remind you that extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. And, let me remind you that moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.” (Barry Goldwater)

“Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was ‘civic romanus sum’ (I am a Roman citizen). Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin eine Berliner!’ All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words, ‘Ich bin eine Berliner!’” (John F. Kennedy)

“Some men see things as they are and ask, ‘Why?’. I dream of things that never were and ask, ‘Why not?’” (Robert F. Kennedy)

“There are no problems we cannot solve together and very few things that we can solve by ourselves.” (Lyndon Johnson)

“Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. and don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.” (Richard Nixon)

“Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule.” (Gerald Ford)

“We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.” (Jimmy Carter)

“There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev…Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” (Ronald Reagan)

“A new breeze is blowing and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn, for in man’s heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era is passing, it’s old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree.” (George H.W. Bush)

“People are more impressed by the power of our example rather than the example of our power.” (Bill Clinton)

“I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” (George W. Bush)

“The truth is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. It sometimes causes difficulties at home and abroad. It is sometimes used by our enemies in attempts to hurt us. But the American people are entitled to it, nonetheless.” (John McCain)

“If the people cannot trust the government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and promote the common welfare – all else is lost.” (Barack Obama)

“No dream is too big. No challenge too great. Nothing we  we want for our future is beyond our reach.” (Donald Trump)

And, finally…

“It’s a long list of crises of Donald Trump’s making and that’s why ‘dude gotta go’ and when I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will stop this madness.” (Kamala Harris)

I rest my case.