Your Presidential Administration

[SRP76]

With all the hooplah over yesterday's U.S. Presidential election, I figured this is as good a time as any for all the armchair Presidents on here to lay down some ideas. This isn't a game thread, so please attempt to be serious with your ideas here. It's simple: YOU are the President of the United States. What do you do? How do you run your administration? Now, let me be clear on this: we are NOT looking for your "platform". Don't talk about your views here (like "I would push for legislation to ban gay marriage"); it's not about that. This thread is about HOW, not WHAT. HOW would you enact whatever your policies would be? And any innovation would be welcome in your post, such as new ways to run your office to make it more efficient, or whatnot.

[Philly_SWAT]

With all the hooplah over yesterday's U.S. Presidential election, I figured this is as good a time as any for all the armchair Presidents on here to lay down some ideas. This isn't a game thread, so please attempt to be serious with your ideas here. It's simple: YOU are the President of the United States. What do you do? How do you run your administration? Now, let me be clear on this: we are NOT looking for your "platform". Don't talk about your views here (like "I would push for legislation to ban gay marriage"); it's not about that. This thread is about HOW, not WHAT. HOW would you enact whatever your policies would be? And any innovation would be welcome in your post, such as new ways to run your office to make it more efficient, or whatnot. I would fill my cabinet with people new to Washington. Example: pick someone in private life who has shown he understands how the economy works, and make that person the Sec. of Treasury. I would not hire hardly anyone from inside the beltway for anything. I would want fresh, new people to fill posts, people who are not familiar with, or beholden to, the way Washington "works" (sic). I would try to get legislation introduced to ban TV commericials for all future Presidential campaigns. There are a lot of stupid people in the US (I am not an anti-American, just being realistic, there are stupid people in all countries I am sure) who are too easily swayed by misleading info in commercials, some are outright lies in commercials. C-SPAN, as far as I know, is provided in all basic cable packages for free, it is "cable TV's gift to America". Presidential candiadates can get all the free time they want to talk about things in depth, not 30 seconds of "my opponent wants to kill your baby" type soundbites. If the real problem with the economy is banks refusing to lend money, I would tell the Chairman of the Fed to tell banks they HAVE to lend money. Make capital requirements less if that is what it takes. If he, or the banks themselves, refuse, then I would seek legislation returning the power to print money to the US government, as originally stated in the Constitution, and cut the greedy bastar....err....the bankers out of the money loop altogether if they dont want to help. The economy of the world depends on American consumers to ...well... consume. We cant do that with no money out there. I would call a summit with all world leaders, including out so called "enemies" and ask them straight out are they happy with their existing borders, or do they plan to militarily expand in the future. Presumably they would all say they are happy with their borders. I would then seek an argeement for all to sign that there will no aggresion into other countries whatsoever, and that any such action with be met with both sanctions and military response from every other country on earth. Hopefully this would go a long way to establishing world peace, and providing "sticks" to discourage such activity. No "carrots" should be neccesary. The whole world will then be united to stamp out any terroism that comes to light.

[SRP76]

I like the idea of a "new to Washington" cabinet. People that aren't already contaminated by political life. I would conduct the job the way I do now: straightforward and simple. I would make it a point to address both houses of Congress right off the bat, and tell them flat-out how things are: we're all in this together. I'm going to be open and honest with the American public, and I won't be taking blame for your legislation. When I sign or veto one of your bills, I WILL be letting everyone in America know why. You guys will get credit for good laws, not me. By the same token, you're going to share the blame if you override my veto to pass a bad law. But in the end, I will let Congress know that I intend to be honest and cooperative with them at all times, the hell with "going with the party". Same deal with addressing the public, which I will do often. I will speak normally, like I do here. Unlike the jackasses we have had in the past, I'm not going to have a thesaurus open on the podium in front of my, trying to use uncommon terminology to make myself sound smart. That always pisses me off: if you're so damned "smart", how come you can't figure out how to get the audience to know what the hell you just said? You can't communicate with your audience, you are NOT "smart". You're a condescending jerkoff. I will speak plainly, so EVERY American can connect with what I'm saying. Nobody will be looking around, needing some egghead on the tv news to "translate" what I said (and no doubt put words in my mouth in the process). My administration will be an open book for the people; I'm not about hiding things from them. I'm a public servant, not a "ruler". Foreign policy will be conducted in the same manner: point-blank. Each world leader will find out quickly that I refuse to try to shine them on. They will get what's on my mind, period, whether they like it or not. They will know that I'm not going to be going behind their backs, and screwing them. With me, they'll know that when dealing with the U.S., they'll get a fair shake or a fair fight, whichever they want. I will operate with a clean slate; regardless of the past, I will go to each leader with friendship. Hey, the U.S. can solve a lot of problems for you. Just remember, somewhere down the line, that we're the ones who did you a favor. You return the friendship, we'll be willing to help you out at any time; that's what friends do. If you don't want our friendship, hey, f*ck ya. We won't be doing business with you, not even for a paperclip. The world can be a lonely place without friends, and the U.S. can be a friend to you. This applies to any and all nations; my administration won't discriminate. And Congress will know this right from the start, so they aren't surprised when it comes time for them to ratify a treaty. And the one innovation I have in mind is this: Internet Message Board. You heard right; a message board, just like we're using right this second. I will be the first online President. Think about the 'net: EVERYONE has access. Even the poorest kid from the projects can go to the library, and get online for free. This will be my contact with the American people...ALL of them, not just the rich, or the middle class, or the "potential voters in battleground states". An open board. Any American can post their ideas, complaints, questions, etc. I personally will frequent the board, literally posting with all of you (the public). In a way, you ALL will be my cabinet. I'm not proud; I'll admit I'm not perfect, and I'll need help...more specifically, I need YOUR (yes, I mean YOU) help! I can't think of every idea that somebody in, say, northwest Arkansas might have for pitching to Congress, so I'll be using the forums to interact with you the people to get the ideas. When something isn't going forward, I will personally quote your post and address it next time I can, telling you WHY it isn't progressing, who I talked to about it, and what I've done. In other words, each American will get reasons for what goes on (or doesn't go on), and is kept updated on my current activities and what I'm trying to do for them. My forum will also have contact information for everyone else in the government; and I will push everyone in the House and Senate and Supreme Court to open similar forums, to connect with the people. The internet is a power tool for information exchange; let's USE the damn thing! Doing this will have another added benefit: the everyday citizen will actually BE part of the governing process, rather than just a "subject", being ruled from afar by some unknown apparatus. For the first time, everyone will feel like they, personally, have a say in affairs, and a role to play in them. This will also instill some pride, knowing that they're actually part of the process. For the first time, people from any background, people of any age, rich or poor, can smile and point to their screen and (figuratively) to their government and say, "MY President...MY government...MY country!" It will make the people feel a sense of connection and possession, and they'll take pride in it because they are helping shape it themselves. A far cry from the disillusioned masses now, who don't even give a crap enough to vote, because they feel "I don't matter; the government just rolls on its own, without me".

[DubiousComforts]

If the real problem with the economy is banks refusing to lend money, I would tell the Chairman of the Fed to tell banks they HAVE to lend money. Make capital requirements less if that is what it takes. If he, or the banks themselves, refuse, then I would seek legislation returning the power to print money to the US government, as originally stated in the Constitution, and cut the greedy bastar....err....the bankers out of the money loop altogether if they dont want to help. If you don't want our friendship, hey, f*ck ya. We won't be doing business with you, not even for a paperclip. Is the purpose of these administrations to be shot and killed as quickly as possible? Seriously, I would be fearing for your respective lives. (Ditto Ron Paul if he were elected President and actually attempted to kick out the Fed.) IThat always pisses me off: if you're so damned "smart", how come you can't figure out how to get the audience to know what the hell you just said? You should realize that political speeches are purposely written so that the actual meaning is difficult to interpret. My high school English teacher would often read the newspaper aloud in class, demonstrating Reagan-era speech writers' attempts at Orwellian doublespeak. Consider anyone that forces you to work at understanding what they are saying as being very dangerous.

[SRP76]

Is the purpose of these administrations to be shot and killed as quickly as possible? Seriously, I would be fearing for your respective lives. (Ditto Ron Paul if he were elected President and actually attempted to kick out the Fed.) You should realize that political speeches are purposely written so that the actual meaning is difficult to interpret. My high school English teacher would often read the newspaper aloud in class, demonstrating Reagan-era speech writers' attempts at Orwellian doublespeak. Consider anyone that forces you to work at understanding what they are saying as being very dangerous. I'm pretty sure that if someone's going to try to shoot me, I don't need to bend over and do business with them, now do I? The U.S. does NOT exist for the pleasure of others. It's about time people learn that we have rights in this world, too. And if they don't like it, they don't want to be friendly, that's just too damn bad. Friendship is a two-way street. I'm not going to waste time begging some ****stick to let me help him. He says "no", it's "no". And of course I know politicians use their style of language deliberately. And it doesn't make it right. In fact, it makes we want to slap them. Communicating openly with the public is the way to go.