Is it impossible for a U.S. president to be a good president?

yes but do you mean morally good or efficient/effective?

That's up to you.

mmmmmmmaybe, but a second term seems unlikely

i think he'll get his second term. democracy exists to protect societies from change.

for the record I didn't have Obama in mind in my answer

yes but do you mean morally good or efficient/effective?

yeah these are different things. morally, I would ultimately say no, not really, the position requires that you assume responsibility for the suffering of others in a pretty direct way. Effective/efficient? yeah, sure.

At this point in history, I think it's a very good question in terms of effective governance. Obama may win, but it wouldn't surprise me if he's the first in a long line of one-term presidents.

All speculative, but a useful addendum to my previous comment:

http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/92021/election-romney-pawlenty-bachmann

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

under Citizens United, no one but an incubus can get elected.

btw I'm pretty sure I voted the opposite of the way I meant to. Ask "possible" when we have a chancellor in 20 years.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

14 people still believe in the system. Sweet.