Does running for president make any sense?

[FSogol]

From Cecil Adams' "The Straight Dope"

Dear Cecil:

Republican candidates appear to be coming out of the woodwork every day. Do these people actually all think they can win? Does running for the presidency as a low-profile candidate make any logical sense, or are all these people slightly insane?

Cecil replies:

It’s true that the 2016 list of presidential candidates is growing more unwieldy by the hour. Through last week, the tally of people who’ve filed a Form 2 statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission is 424. These include a Federalist Party candidate, an Absolute Dictator Party candidate, and an independent (likely in more ways than one) named Sydneys Voluptuous Buttocks. But perhaps these aren’t the kind of candidates you’re talking about. Mr. or Ms. Buttocks probably understands that he or she’s not going to win, but Republican George Pataki may well not. And as a result he’ll probably spend serious time and money trying in vain to convince the rest of us.

So what makes the Patakis run? OK, some of the borderline candidates are just megalomaniacs with a seeming ability to metabolize derision (we’re looking at you, Donald). But the rest of the ever-expanding field is likely thinking: maybe I can actually win this thing, and if not the boost in cred alone is probably worth it.

Those who believe they stand a chance of winning at least the nomination aren’t totally nuts: the primaries are perhaps the only part of the presidential election cycle where the campaign really matters. The post-convention phase of the process, according to many political scientists, is determined by some combination of the state of the economy and the perceived performance of the incumbent party. (It’s thought this basic principle may be true of elections worldwide.) So on this theory, all the oratory, charisma, and excruciating interviews with Katie Couric didn’t really matter — Obama was going to beat McCain in 2008 anyway because Bush was unpopular and the economy was exploding like a cat in a microwave.

The rest at:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3236/does-running-for-president-make-any-sense?utm_source=Chicago+Reader&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=517732_The+Straight+Dope%3a+07%2f03%2f2015&dm_i=2JCR,B3HG,2KTJUC,PIXF,1

[Scuba]

1. The Republicans have three kinds of candidates - The delusional ones who think ...

... they'd actually be good at being President,

... the vanity candidates who just want their names in the news,

... and the con men (and women) who are in it to rip off the suckers who send money to them and their PACS.

[FSogol]

3. True, but many are a mixture of 2 or 3 of those types. n/t

[PoliticAverse]

2. Some people are really only running for Vice President or to secure book deals or Fox News

Last edited Mon Jul 6, 2015, 02:25 PM - Edit history (1)

contracts.

[BlueJazz]

4. Geez..I need to wake up. I read your post as: Dogs running for president make any sense?

Worse, I thought you were talking about the Republicans and I was gonna' say "Makes sense to me"

On the subject, I read an article, years ago, published by a Psychiatrist, that a huge proportion of those running for office, both at the local and national level, are the exact type of individual/personality that should NOT run for office. It was fairly scathing but also had a great ring of truth to it.

[FSogol]

5. Wasn't that from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.

- Douglas Adams

[BlueJazz]

6. I read it in a scientific journal (or something like that) but no matter, the words you posted ..

...are just as strong and true.

[NV Whino]

7. We must be related

I read the same thing. And I thought, sure the GOP roster is full of dogs.

(No offense intended to dogs or those who love them.)

[Lurks Often]

8. Applies to both parties, both now and in the past

Seriously, does anyone really think Lincoln Chafee stands a chance of winning the Democratic nomination for President?

As to the why for those who stand no chance: ego, money or maybe a chance at the VP slot or a Cabinet seat.