Top 5 Things a Presidential Candidate Needs to Win

There are certain things candidates need to win elections. We all know you need to be known to win. For example, if only your mother knows your name, you’re not going to win an election. Feel free to comment on what you think a candidate needs to win, or if this list missed anything. By the way, support doesn’t count. Here they are (in no particular order):

1. A Good Iraq Strategy
Probably one of the most obvious qualities a candidate needs. Iraq is the war the U.S. is fighting (unless you include the war on terror). Would you vote for a candidate whose only plan as president would be to start a national health care plan? “Oh yeah, we’ll figure Iraq out after we finish health care. And who’s this Bin Laden guy you keep talking about???” An individual candidate’s strategy largely depends on what party they are in. For example, most Democrats would get out of there if they could. Meanwhile, many Republicans would try to fight it out.

2. A Clean Record
In the internet age, with Youtube, blogs (what are you reading right now?), and unlimited media, if you don’t have a clean record, someone’s going to find out. Take the late Senator Thomas Eagleton. He was a George McGovern’s vice presidential running mate, until someone found out that he had been hospitalized for depression. Depression probably isn’t a good quality for a vice president.

3. Charisma
After the miserable presidency of Mr. Bush, “We the people” are looking for a new and improved candidate. Once again, the internet comes into play. Candidates are scrutinized down to the tiniest nose hair (ewwwwww). Barack Obama is riding the “Charisma Wave”. We’ll see if it crashes.

4. Funding
Hillary Clinton plans to raise $100 million dollars. Most candidates are choosing not to use the Public Financing System. Without sufficient funding, candidates don’t have a chance of winning. Tom Vilsack ended his candidacy for president when he realized he wasn’t going to be able to get enough money to support his run.

5. National/International Recognition
Ever heard of Ron Paul? He’s not even a third-party candidate; He’s Republican. This quality goes hand in hand with funding. If you don’t have funding, you don’t have recognition. National recognition is important, but almost as important is international recognition. As the sole superpower, America’s interests are pretty important to the rest of the world, too. The Time Election Index shows Hillary Clinton has the most national recognition, with 95% of those polled saying they know “some” or “a great deal” about the candidate. Those polled were randomly selected registered U.S. voters.