There has been a lot of talk about who is “qualified” to be president, but except for being 35 and born in America there are no prerequisites for the job. I’m interested in getting the opinions of the various and sundry contributors to this board as to what their list of experience/qualifications for the office are. I’m not interested in a rehash of the Obama/Clinton drivel, just what your ideal candidate would have done in the past.

My ideal candidate has: Military service, a legislative or legal background, strong academic credentials of some kind, believes in individual liberty in the social arena (gays, church, dissent are OK), has a strong personal/professional record of integrity, and does not oppose the right idea because it comes from the other side of the aisle. This is just what would make me giddy about a candidate from the outset. What say you?

Thanks for taking this in a different direction - the hashing back and forth, getting to the point of insult, is tiring as I'm sure you agree. We may NOT agree on what the ideal candidate possess, but here is how I would rank your points with a couple other things thrown in:

1. academic credentials

2. belief in individual liberty

3. strong record of integrity

4. legislative record

5. some sort of service to the country/world: peace corps, community organizing, military (see below).

I don't necessarily agree that military service is a precursor, and will probably be in the minority on this, but thats just my opinion. Yes, he/she is the "commander-in-chief", but he/she would have people working under him/her with TONS more experience than the candidate could ever hope to have, and just because I never served in the armed forces, doesnt mean that I don't have compassion and understanding for what our servicemen/women go through.

You know, if I was president, I would leave the thinking to the smart people I gather around me, and I would just travel around the country, talking to Americans about what they are going through, what they need and ask them how I was doing. When a decision needed to be made, I would make it. When action needed to happen, I would act on it. But my number one focus would be traveling around and bringing the country together. Just an aside.

Thanks again for the redirect.

Thanks for the reply. I respect your difference on the military service but like I said it's one thing that is important to me. However, due to the all-volunteer force the numbers of veterans running for anything is on the decline. It's a preference and my ideal, but I’ll take any form of service over none.