What does it take to run for president?

Seriously.
I'm kind of at a crossroads in my journalism career, where I'm almost certainly moving on from my current job in the next year or two because of family issues (i.e., I want one and my future wife lives in another town). I'm not certain I want to continue in journalism, but not sure what else to do. So why not politics?
Running for congress is a little local for my tastes. Same with the senate. But in my opinion there's a very good possibility of a third-party candidate emerging from the pack in 2012. I'll be 35 then, so why not?
So how on earth do you get started down that track? Other than a desire to see your every decision questioned and to have half the country hate your guts?
Will the head of the libertarian party even respond to the babbling e-mail of an unaffiliated person like myself? Any tips on getting the ball rolling, or any idea how the process works if you're not a political big shot?

And anybody have an opinion on this question....we're always taught in school that anybody can be president, but can someone with no political history really become president?

 

There's a cucumber farmer in my region running for president. He claims he knows he has no chance of winning, but wanted to make a statement that we needed to get back to our roots.

 

That's one of the things I respect about Ralph Nader. He said a while back his repeated presidential runs are more about trying to break the two-party monopoly in Washington. I strongly disagree with his politics and would never vote for him, but I do respect the fact he's trying to do something noble.

 

Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of money.

 

As you read this, please remember Mark Twain's observation:


The only difference between a cynic and a realist is whether or not you agree with him.


Now, if you seriously want to run for President, one thing you will have to do is raise somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 - 400M dollars to fund a campaign that will stand up to the ones run by the major parites and one that will give you the credibility that events such as Meet the Press and Presidential Debates will take you seriously and allow you to participate.

Beyond that, you need to stake out your positions and have savvy politicos advise you on how to get that message across to the voters in ways that make you more appealing than other candidates. But without about $300M to toss around, you'll be like the cucumber farmer...

 

Heh....if I had access to $300 or $400 million I probably wouldn't be thinking of changing careers. As far as big-time access, what demands could you put on media outlets through the campaign finance laws? Aren't there equal-time provisions in some of them?
A third-party candidate would certainly have to whore himself out to the media and do interviews probably 12 hours a day, minimum, but I guess it'd come with the territory. And free access is the best access.

 

Again, that comes down to money.

$ - Transportation to the various interviews
$ - Hotel for the various nights on the roads in different cities
$ - Produce bumper stickers and signs for rallies
$ - Put together the podium to have a town hall style speech.
$ - Generate the commercial that, if correct, could air on television for free.

 

I have one solution to that... forget the hotels and buy a used RV. Or even one of the VW vans. Those back seats are big enough to sleep. And let some college kid produce the commercials. It will get the young people out to vote again if they know some of their own are involved.

 

That'd also lock up the homeless/retiree vote. ;D

 

you don't need to spend a dime of your own money. you need to be able to raise money. to do this, you need people to like you, respect you and be willing to work their ass off for you.

i'd tell anyone who was serious to get experience in statewide office first. maybe state legislature, then a few terms in congress to get established on the national level and meet the right people, then run for governor. as we've seen, going from senate to the white house is a tough road.

 

Oh, I have other solutions, too. They'd get the weirdo vote by using duct tape with a magic marker instead of using bumper stickers. They could also save some money but not even having a podium. It leaves them more open and with all the driving time, they'd have plenty of time to memorize talking points for a more casual conversation with town folk. I think SJ could probably produce a winning president with our cost-cutting measures.

 

spup, you want a job as my campaign manager? I can only pay you in whatever we sell from dumpster diving, but it beats working for the Trentonian

So basically, you're saying it's all politics and shaking the right hands. Great.
One of the things I would hope to avoid is becoming a career politician. Even if it'd be like going from working in the mailroom to being a CEO in two days. My philosophy is that this country needs a non-democrat or non-republican in the White House -- if for no other reason than to make the Big Two think about what they have or haven't been doing for the last 20 years.
Americans love an underdog, too. So if a 35-year-old who has never made more than $30,000 a year can come up with some good ideas to go with the underdog persona, I firmly believe it's an idea people will get behind.