Should presidential candidates have to pass an intelligence test?

Hey, it would've kept * out. Also if you expand it to VPs, no Quayle.

right?

i see far too many people willing to undermine basic safegaurds and govermental checks in order to retroactively punish this administration or prevent it from taking power in the first place.

as much as you hate this administration, don't build the foundation for future abuse because you're temporarily unhappy.

I wouldn't want a tool put in place that the other side could someday use against *my* candidate. After all, who decides what's on the test? And who grades it?

Tucker

Ever since Pat Robertson ran for President, I decided we definitely need some form of mental test for guys like him. I would certainly hate for someone with Robertson's insanity to have their finger on the button.

Who decides who is crazy? If conservatives did it, they'd decide any leftwinger was too crazy to run.

See the problem?

look at all our past great Democratic presidents. Were any of them stupid?

n/t

geography test (you know things like Afghanistan is not next to Iraq) and they should be able to read and comprehend books at a 12th grade level. Math is also important, if they don't know that 1,000,000 is a million and 1,000,000,000 is a billion then they don't belong in office. (imho)

Only because I don't like a sweeping yes or no qualifaction on any issue, it's a grey world! :) Black and White vision is for bush and his crowd.

Although I don't quite agree with the intelligence test, I do have reservations about one.

Besides, who gets to choose what is intelligence and what is not? If you are talking * intelligence, I can understand. But what about others?? Some may be more intelligent in other areas that some and vice versa.

It should be like this

be able to READ, something * doesn't do.

be able to string together a understandable sentence, which * has a really hard time doing.

be open to new ideas and different theories, something * and pretty much the rest of the neo-con movement lack.

etc. etc


The list could include a few others but you get my point. It pretty much boils down to having some common sense in the end.

I say yes, I think it could have saved us 4 very difficult years.

the symptoms suggest this....

LOL

Would average intelligence be passing?

Or would only people well above average be considered qualified?

Intelligence tests are bullshit. You can get different scores depending on which one you take. I think it is far better to look at their past achievements, careers, political ideas, speaking ability, etc.

and it should be retroactive to 2000!

a drug test and a lie dectector test. Hey you have to to work at Walmart.

It's F****** elitest to say they MUST pass an exam to be able to govern. I'm kinda surprised and disgusted that so many would support such nonsense.

Although, I wouldn't mind having a test administered by a bipartisan group that tested them on their knowledge of history, economics, and geography. Then the results (along with the exam itself) would be released to the public and they would be allowed to judge.

Then again I guess we have debates, but these rely on superficial factors.

We have to have faith that the American people won't let something like this ever occur again because, you know:

"...fool me once, shame on you ... fool me ... you won't get fooled again".

1 - They should have at least a passing knowledge of the Constitution (how can you uphold and defend what ya don't understand?)

2 - They should understand economics, ethics, geography, and law.

3 - They should know that french fries were not invented by the French.

4 - Although past military service should not be a factor, they should honestly state (with ALL required documentation), where and when they served. Incomplete or inaccurate answers are not accepted for credit.

5 - They should have a passing knowledge of Western history, and increasingly, of Eastern and Middle Eastern history.

6 - Essay Question: "Why I Would Make A Good President". This should run out to AT LEAST 500 WORDS, and no credit for bullshit answers, or reference to terrorism, or putting food on one's family. Points will be deducted for cliches.

Hell, these guys went to freaking YALE, this should be CAKE.

How can our leaders deny high school diplomas to students when they couldn't pass the same test themselves?

Preferably, they could pass GRE level tests in economics, history, geography and civics.

Maybe anyone who is given the right to vote should take the test. It doesn't take a genius to see that bush is an idiot, but people still want to vote for him. Who is the stupid one?

Bush went to Yale, and Harvard Business school. If nothing else, he learned how to take tests. It explains a lot about his ideas for education.

Common sense is a whole other thing. Common sense is what tells a person that a decrease in revenues coupled with increased spending is going to cause debt. Common sense is what tells one that if your country is attacked, it's best to strike at the people who attacked it, and keep at it until they are all either captured or dead. Common sense tells a leader not to take sides in a 2000 year old religious war that has no resolution until both sides decide to stop killing each other. Common sense tells one that if you dodge the draft during Vietnam, it's probably not a good idea to pick on the guys who served for the things that they did during said war. Especially the guy in your own party.