When Mehdi Hasan sat down with Jon Stewart last month, the roles were reversed. This time, the Emmy-winning host of The Daily Show was the one asking the questions — about corporate media, Gaza, Do…
“The major problem, one of the major problems, for there are several, with governing people is that of who 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 and much lamented fact that those people who most 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.”
If we must have leaders, then, the corollary to Adams’ Law must follow: presidents should be drafted.
Nor should he. He’s also too smart to want to trade his retirement years for becoming by default one of the most hated people in the world. This is more celebrity cult worship but from the other side.
Can we please start trying to elect qualified people instead of popular faces.
There is no such thing as a qualified US presidential candidate. There’s no job, or training, or comparable experience that can ready a person for that role. Anyone who honestly thinks they are the most capable person in the world to assume control of the largest military and the largest economy that has ever existed should immediately be disqualified from the role. You’d have to be a madman to think that. But that’s all we ever get.
There’s no indication that a senator, governor, or vice president makes a better president than someone with no political experience (of which there have been 6). In fact, coming through that system seems to teach people to make peace with corruption, bribery, complacence, and protecting the status quo at it’s worst.
As much as I hate Donald Trump’s policy, and flagrant disregard for the law, it would be hard to argue that his experience as a narcissistic game show host hasn’t proven more effective at the day to day politics of implementing his policy than almost any other president of the last 40 years. It’s hard to keep up with how fast he’s getting disastrous shit (that we voted for) done.
And he’s only in office today because 50 years of “qualified” stuffed shirts have wrung all the money, opportunity, and hope out of the middle class. Then the “qualified” people told America to vote for a clearly senile “qualified” candidate.
He’s always expressed an active disinterest… but in the interview the article’s talking about, he brought up the possibility of “the right reality host” taking over the Democratic party on his own. Then didn’t deny it or push back when the interviewer asked if he meant himself.
That’s the most positive I’ve heard him be about the possibility.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is probably at least partially responsible for most of the world’s ills.
And our stupid brains are wired to see confidence as capability. I guess there’s an evolutionary advantage to organizing even if you pick the wrong leader.
Just because he doesn’t want to be president doesn’t mean he shouldn’t run. Every election cycle has at least one candidate who just wants to stir the water.
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.
Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
I don’t think Stewart has any desire to run for President honestly.
No sane capable person would. That’s why all the people that make it there are there for the power or the money.
“The major problem, one of the major problems, for there are several, with governing people is that of who 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 and much lamented fact that those people who most 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.”
If we must have leaders, then, the corollary to Adams’ Law must follow: presidents should be drafted.
Nor should he. He’s also too smart to want to trade his retirement years for becoming by default one of the most hated people in the world. This is more celebrity cult worship but from the other side.
Can we please start trying to elect qualified people instead of popular faces.
There is no such thing as a qualified US presidential candidate. There’s no job, or training, or comparable experience that can ready a person for that role. Anyone who honestly thinks they are the most capable person in the world to assume control of the largest military and the largest economy that has ever existed should immediately be disqualified from the role. You’d have to be a madman to think that. But that’s all we ever get.
There’s no indication that a senator, governor, or vice president makes a better president than someone with no political experience (of which there have been 6). In fact, coming through that system seems to teach people to make peace with corruption, bribery, complacence, and protecting the status quo at it’s worst.
As much as I hate Donald Trump’s policy, and flagrant disregard for the law, it would be hard to argue that his experience as a narcissistic game show host hasn’t proven more effective at the day to day politics of implementing his policy than almost any other president of the last 40 years. It’s hard to keep up with how fast he’s getting disastrous shit (that we voted for) done.
And he’s only in office today because 50 years of “qualified” stuffed shirts have wrung all the money, opportunity, and hope out of the middle class. Then the “qualified” people told America to vote for a clearly senile “qualified” candidate.
He’s always expressed an active disinterest… but in the interview the article’s talking about, he brought up the possibility of “the right reality host” taking over the Democratic party on his own. Then didn’t deny it or push back when the interviewer asked if he meant himself.
That’s the most positive I’ve heard him be about the possibility.
Colbert. I’m pretty sure he meant Colbert.
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.”
The Dunning-Kruger effect is probably at least partially responsible for most of the world’s ills.
And our stupid brains are wired to see confidence as capability. I guess there’s an evolutionary advantage to organizing even if you pick the wrong leader.
Just because he doesn’t want to be president doesn’t mean he shouldn’t run. Every election cycle has at least one candidate who just wants to stir the water.
That’s what would make him good at the job
Yeah. The real problem with power is that the people best suited to wield it don’t seek it out.
Running for president should automatically disqualify you…
Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe