Does it matter to you how much money a president has?

Question

There seems to be a lot of people saying that these 'rich' candidates are out of touch with the people, but I can't really recall any 'poor' presidents off hand. I don't think that the amount of money a president has or doesn't have affects his ability to perform his duties. What do you think?

Answer 1

It definitely affects domestic policy.

Answer 2

abraham lincoln was poor and he was a great pres all the rich ones just want to make more money

Answer 3

It seems only a little unfair. People with more money tend to have had a better education. Intelligence is a very important thing when it comes to presidency. Presidents need to be able to make logical decisions which can't easily be accomplished without funding to go to college. Also, they need enough money to fund their campaign. A presidential candidate would be no good if they couldn't make TV ads, posters, billboards, those little button things, or make the trips across the country for the candidate debates.

Answer 4

No. It does matter to me how much integrity a President or Presidential candidate has and Obama has none.

Answer 5

Why would we as americans entrust the finances of our country to someone who couldnt master their own?

Answer 6

No

Answer 7

The dems have another empty suit for a candidate and are grasping at straws.  

Answer 8

I think America would be better off with a president who is not filthy rich like the 2 candidates we have now.  It is hard to relate to the average citizen when you have an unlimited supply of money  

Answer 9

I am so tired of this back and forth argument between the parties about who is or isn't an "elisted" or "wealthy".  I think its a ridiculous waste of time.  It is quite obvious that ANY politician running for the leader of the free world is going to be wealthy and have been educated in the finest schools. I believe it was the Republicans that started this c**p against Obama and now Obama has to take time out to defend himself because no one in this public really wants to listen to the issues.  McCain's wife is worth millions of dollars and he's trying to pull the elitist card on Obama? Give me a break!  

Yet.. the perception was always that George W was a man of the people... a man that others would want to "have a drink with".  He definitely wasn't an elitist - I mean, being the son of a wealthy oil family, being handed business after business to destroy without any real financial repercusions to himself, and now our entire country.... but thank GOD he was not an elitist because he just wouldn't have been able to relate to the people.  

Frankly, I am more concerned about whether our president will be able to relate to the people in POWER who make decisions and get things done... not whether he would be comfortable having a beer with Joe Schmoe.  

So... to answer your question... no I don't think it matters and I think its quite a ridiculous debate to be having.  

Answer 10

I don't think it matters at all. But I am an evil "NeoCon" after all.

Answer 11

Nope but like Thomas SR, I am an evil "neo-con".

Answer 12

doesn't matter to me.  in fact, a wealthy candidate probably became that way through hard work, savvy decisions, and a maybe a little luck.  those are qualities i can admire.  however, i've no problem with a destitute president (unlikely as that would be)

Answer 13

More the way they got it & use it. Its a given they'll have plenty to be able to run in presidential hopefull circles.

Answer 14

They all have money. Name the last poor person that became President

Answer 15

You'd never know how much a President has, since the President secretly always works for the ruling rich elites, no matter what party they're from. In the end, US Presidents either get paid off by the rich or they are forced to comply with what the rich want or they get assassinated. Maybe Presidents really aren't rich, even though they represent the rich class.

In the Village Idiot's case, he has used our government to make Cheney rich and his Bush family rich by being the puppet of rich oil families, like the Rothschilds banking family who owns the US already, and Arab families, like the bin Ladens, and their sheiks who are very close to the Bushes.

Answer 16

It doesn't matter how much money a president had before he was elected... what really matters is how much money he makes while he's in the office, by selling big fat contracts to his buddies, which in turn are very grateful to him.

If at the end of his office he's more than $1.6 million richer than he was before (as the presidential salary is roughly $400k/year) ... then something is wrong, he must have done some dirty business.

Answer 17

Nope, as long as he came by it honestly who cares.

A rich president is less likely to be suborned than a poor one.

Answer 18

Well in the US we tend to keep track of our success through our finances. So a poor president would tend to be unsuccessful, not a good candidate detector.  

Answer 19

It doesn't matter to me how much money someone has, it matters whether or not their reality has been distorted by wealth or not.  I submit John McCain as an example.

Obama '08!