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Presidential debates

2013.09 - New York (Magazine) - In Conversation: Michael Bloomberg

Interviewer: If you’re an executive, can you really rule out running for president in 2016?
Bloomberg: Yes. It’s just impossible. I am 100 percent convinced that you cannot in this country win an election unless you are the nominee of one of the two major parties. The second thing I am convinced of is that I could not get through the primary process with either party.
And, incidentally, I think I’ve got a better job than the president’s. He’s got a very tough Congress, and he’s removed from the day-to-day stuff. My job is the day-to-day stuff. That’s what I’m good at—or at least what I think I’m good at.

2015.07.29 - Bloomberg News - Blankfein: Favorite Billionaire Not Running for President

Bloomberg: We keep thinking the wrong thing when we pick the elected leaders, particularly the presidents of the United States, governors of the states, and mayors of the cities: These are not policy jobs. These are executive jobs. You have to pick somebody that knows how to run the railroad: blocking and tackling; making sure when you throw the switch the lights come on, and when you turn the faucet the water comes out; at the federal level you've gotta make sure that we control our borders and we get the right leadership to get the right weapons for our troops, and get great people to come and work as secretaries at all the different cabinet offices. Policy is terribly important, but no executive, no president / governor / or mayor can have all the policies themselves. They've gotta get people to come and help them formulate them on all the other topics. That's what an executive does.

It's interesting to compare Bloomberg's quote with a quote from Obama in 2007/2008:

2007/2008 - MSNBC - Round table with Obama, Clinton, and John Edwards

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.

Mistakes made by previous presidents

2019.03.10 - Current Affairs - The Obama Boys
- This is a pretty good critique of Obama.

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

What my platform would be if I ran for President

I would delegate all of the "normal" responsibilities of the presidency to the vice-president (I'd get Bloomberg as my VP). I would then spend all of my time figuring out what the US should be focusing on but isn't. In other words, I would spend all of my time trying to 1) figure out the big-picture, 2) where we should be trying to go, and 3) how to start moving in that direction.
What I think about my competitors:
- I think they're competent people.
  - I don't think the Presidency should be something which is so difficult that the kind of people who can make it to a Presidential debate will be generally unqualified for the job.
  - If it is, we should try to simplify / delegate / innovate.
  - For example, Congress is supposed to be the one in the driver's seat
- The bigger issue is the platform.

Expand the US

We could integrate other countries into "the next 50 states" the way the EU integrates new countries into its system.

Military

Make it a top priority to reduce civilian deaths as much as possible, aiming for police-level safety for civilians while chasing .
- Maybe switch things to

Dealing with the other candidates

"If you keep the campaign clean, I'll give you a high position."
- You'll need to be very specific about what "clean" means.

My platform on the issues I think are important

TODO: Fill this in.

My platform on the issues that are talked about

TODO: Fill this in.

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