Independent presidential candidate Cornel West said Friday he returned a controversial donation from Harlan Crow — the billionaire with controversial links to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Th…
On another discussion I was following, a commenter mentioned that John Stewart would be a good president because he’s able to speak truth to power and all that.
But why would John Stewart want that? Not that he wants to be that; I’m pretty sure he’s given no indication of wanting to be president. Probably even the opposite, that he NEVER wants to be president. Because if he were president, there’s no way he’d be able to say and do the things he does today. The power of the presidency may be mighty, but the office is also rather restricting. And like you said, filled with boring, boring shit. The holder of the office doesn’t have the freedom to say and do whatever they want. Even Trump had to back-off or vacillate at times on things he initially said he’d do. Every president has. And it’s not just because they’re lying to get elected. Well, not always.
All they to say…I don’t know much about Cornel West, but given the little I know, I agree with you. Not being the president surely isn’t as powerful. But you get way more latitude and freedom to say and do what you want. And for someone as outspoken as West, it probably makes more sense this way.
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.
To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.
― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
On another discussion I was following, a commenter mentioned that John Stewart would be a good president because he’s able to speak truth to power and all that.
But why would John Stewart want that? Not that he wants to be that; I’m pretty sure he’s given no indication of wanting to be president. Probably even the opposite, that he NEVER wants to be president. Because if he were president, there’s no way he’d be able to say and do the things he does today. The power of the presidency may be mighty, but the office is also rather restricting. And like you said, filled with boring, boring shit. The holder of the office doesn’t have the freedom to say and do whatever they want. Even Trump had to back-off or vacillate at times on things he initially said he’d do. Every president has. And it’s not just because they’re lying to get elected. Well, not always.
All they to say…I don’t know much about Cornel West, but given the little I know, I agree with you. Not being the president surely isn’t as powerful. But you get way more latitude and freedom to say and do what you want. And for someone as outspoken as West, it probably makes more sense this way.
― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe