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Moderator: Senator Obama you gave an interview to the Reno Gazette Journal and you said, "We all have strengths and weaknesses". You said one of your weaknesses is, quote, "I'm not an operating officer." Do the American people want someone in the White House who _is_ an operating officer?

Obama: Well, I think what I was describing was how I view the presidency. Now, being President is not making sure that schedules are being run properly or the paperwork is being shuffled effectively. It involves having a vision for where the country needs to go. It involves having the capacity to bring together the best people and being able to spark the kind of debate about _how_ we're going to solve healthcare, _how_ we're going to solve energy, _how_ we are going to deliver good jobs and good wages, _how_ we're going to keep people in their homes here in Nevada, and then being able to mobilize and inspire the American people to get behind that agenda for change. That's the kind of leadership that I've shown in the past, that's the kind of leadership that I intend to show as President of the United States. So what's needed is sound judgment, a vision for the future, the capacity to tap into the hopes and dreams of the American people, and mobilize them to push aside those special interests and lobbyists and forces that are standing in the way of real change. And making sure that you have a government that reflects the decency and the generosity of the American people; that's the kind of leadership that I believe I can provide.

Running for President

Strategy / Tactics

Connecting with Christians

• Cite good bible quotes
  • The more-general pattern here is "Identify the rules of the culture you're interacting with and show how those rules would support the conclusion you're advocating for."

Trump and Reagan were both very familiar to US citizens before they ran for President. I suspect it may become more common in the future for non-politicians who are widely known to run for President, as they seem to have a competitive advantage.

• Example
  • Someone becomes very wealthy from their business (like Ross Perot). Instead of immediately running for President they run a personal website / YouTube channel / television show and over the course of several years (10+) become more- and more-widely known to US citizens. Finally at some point they end up running.
    • This reminds me of how I've read that Congressmen never stop campaigning.

Past races

2016

• http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/ia/iowa_republican_presidential_caucus-3194.html
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/28/donald-trumps-polling-no-longer-looks-like-a-bubble-set-to-burst/
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/its-cruz-not-trump-who-looks-more-like-the-favorite-to-win-gop-primary/2015/12/13/bf8c57de-a1a9-11e5-b53d-972e2751f433_story.html?tid=pm_politics_pop_b
• http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trumps-ground-game-iowa-soaring-aides-say-n445336

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/19/heres-who-was-winning-the-presidential-race-four-eight-and-12-years-ago-today/
• http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/sep/10/matthew-dowd/dowd-historic-polling-pattern-points-trump/
• https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/CFIDE/cf/action/catalog/catalogResult.cfm?keyword=primary&country=1&organization=&type=&fromDate=&toDate=&search.x=40&search.y=18&search=submit&sortBy=BEG_DATE_DESC
• http://www.pollingreport.com/
• http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/12/14/polls-show-donald-trump-well-positioned-nationally-and-in-iowa/
• http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/president/
• http://www.predictwise.com/

What my platform would be if I ran for President

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