What job experience would you like to see in a Presidential candidate?

[Yonadav]

I don't think there is an occupation that makes a person suitable to be president. Let's say that I want someone who is the Adrian Monk of uncovering corruption and identifying the culprits. Why would I want that person to be president? I would want them to be working for the president. Aside from excellent leadership skills, there aren't any professional skills that I need in a president. But excellent leadership skills can make someone a really bad president or a really good one, depending on their priorities. But what profession is going to help them prioritize well? Professional philosopher? In theory, someone who understands formal logic so well should be a great choice. But do any of us want to vote for a professional philosopher? Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were great politcal theorists. But in our times, would we have elected someone like John Rawls, who has arguably had the strongest influence on modern liberal political thought?

We need a president to be diplomatic. But is a professional diplomat going to be a good president? A lot of presidents have acquired diplomatic credentials through the military, or elected office, or through other public service. A lot of business people have developed diplomatic credentials. But the line between diplomat and political operator is not entirely clear. We tend to distrust diplomats because they are scheming operators. We don't know what the hell they are trading for what they come back with. Someone knows, but the rest of us don't. We don't trust them. We think that they smell funny.

So I don't know. I need leadership, but that can come from leading a crew of janitors for all I care. I need proper priorities, but I want them to be pretty much aligned with mine. I want diplomacy, but I don't want a professional diplomat because those guys too mysterious. (You should listen to me about the diplomats. I have two friends who are former US ambassadors)