Billgatesforpresident.net – 12-05-06:
Every four years pundits, radio talk show hosts and U.S. citizens beg for a presidential candidate who’s not a career politician. And every four years the two major parties nominate — you guessed it — career politicians! No true, non-political alternatives have the party backing, or, it seems, the ability to connect and gain our trust.
Here’s a name that could overcome all these obstacles: Bill Gates. Not the old Bill Gates spouting technology, wearing ill-fitting clothes and crushing competitors for sport (though his company is doing this with relish and third parties are paying the price). No. I’m talking about the new Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
I mentioned this idea to my mother and her eyes opened wide (the way they did every time my high school assistant principal called) and she exclaimed “Wow!” After a few seconds of thought she said “Wow” again.
Bill has no major skeletons (I’m guessing) and has taken non-political, purely rational stances on today’s major issues.
Who would you trust to develop a policy on global warming? Who is today’s best ambassador to the third world, to India, to China? But Bill has no experience in foreign policy! True, but neither did the governor of Georgia, California, Arkansas or Texas. Imagine if our fundamental approach to the world was based on logical approaches to curing disease, spreading opportunity, saving the environment and teaching children. A foreign policy flowing from this river would be rich indeed.
Dilbert creator Scott Adams writes in his blog that Gates would make a good candidate.
By then, Bill Gates will have done so much good for the world through his charitable works that combined with his business success he’ll appear more qualified than any other candidate. His early bachelor life and some of his business practices will come back to haunt him if he runs, but he can still win with this simple slogan: “Who would you rather have on your side?” He’ll confess to all of his past imperfections and say that presidents are poor choices for role models. He’ll advise you to look to your parents for role models while you let him run the country.
#25 – He’s atheist.
I’m stunned that the website and those who have commented have failed to see this.
Comment by JulieB — 12/5/2006 @ 12:24 pm
It’s just politics. The trick to electing an athiest is to give the extremists a reason to stay home.
I didn’t know he was an athiest, but if he is, that’s yet another good reason to vote for him… That, and he’s in favor of a progressive tax.
#29
Wrong. He wouldn’t even take 5th place in the primaries. The American people will not vote for an atheist.
Disclosure: I’m atheist
#30
He’s atheist. I know because agnostics are cowards.
The semantics of atheist vs. agnostic has always bothered me. I don’t believe in agnostics.
For the sake of argument, do you think an “agnostic” would have a better chance than an atheist at getting elected? Sure…
Either way, I doubt he would be a war monger.
Bill Gates has a temper. I think he would press the button out of habit.
“Oh shit…I meant to right click”
“The semantics of atheist vs. agnostic has always bothered me.”
It all boils down the a confusion of what the “a” prefix means. It is not a negation. It means “without.” So an atheist is not someone who denies god’s existence. It’s merely someone without a belief in god. Rocks are atheists. Babies are atheists. I’m an atheist. Anything is an atheist if it has no belief in god.
And it’s not a positive belief. It’s not an assertion of any kind. It’s a complete lack of a belief. It’s an absence of a belief. I can’t think of any other way of putting it, but it is not a denial of god’s existence. There’s a phrase for that: “Someone who denies the existence of god.” Notice how that’s spelled and pronounced completely differently than “atheist”!
He probably couldn’t do it unless he totally separated from Microsoft–sort of a blind trust or something–since they always have tons of pending litigation, at times with the federal government.
But he couldn’t be bought. He could spend all of his own money and be beholden to no one.
I would vote for him. I couldn’t care less whether he goes to church. If your pipes are leaking, you need a plumber. Who cares if he worships lobsters. Can he fix my pipes?
Bill cares about doing good works, his legacy, and the next big challenge. Plus, 1600 Penn Ave is even cooler than his house!
I believe the last president we had with technical training was Jimmy Carter who graduated from the Naval Academy with a degree in Nuclear Engineering. A career politician with technical skills. Too bad he inherited a country in such a mess from the previous eight years of a Republican administration. Is Bill Gate$ a Republican or Democrat? Just because you have made a lot of money does not mean you can mount a successful campaign against the special interest groups and the political status quo. How much money did Ross Perot waste trying to establish a viable third party?
The problem is that he’d be limited to 2 terms. He’d never get to implement version 3.0 of his government, the one that really works.
#38. Ok, Peter wins this round for the funniest comment so far!
#39. I second that ! That was good.
JulieB:
That is one of the major points why people want him to run. How did you miss that?
After the first couple Deists left office, all we’ve had are Christians (and lately christian nutbags). Some of us want a change.
As bad as Windows and other Microsoft programs can be, they are nothing compared to government ineptitude. MS Bureaucrat 1.0 can’t be as bad as what we have now.
I don’t know if Gates would be a good President. It should be obvious he can’t be any worse then what we have now.
I would think sitting between a bunch of geeks intent on putting their plan in place would help him wade through conflicting interest groups.
Before he gets my vote, I would have to size up the competition.
#25
Driving slow in the fast lane has repercussions
Hey! I’m 64 years old and have never voted. I am deeply concerned with this Country and more than that the world as a whole. I have never seen much difference between Republicans and Democrats. Most of our Senators and Representatives are Attorneys (enough said) and when the voting system gives you 2 people to vote for in a country of this size, I say that this is “no” choice and probably the largest scam ever to be perpetrated on a people.
I would like to vote before I die and Gates is the only one on the horizon that I would vote for. We all know of his qualifications but what impresses me the most is that his head would not be turned by the money and corruption of Washington. Giving away 30 billion seems to verify that fact.
Yes, Bill has been said to be a ruthless businessman and as a testament to that he runs the worlds second largest company. Isn’t that what he is supposed to do???, run his company, in a moral way, to give his employees a high standard of living and his investors some of the highest stock returns in corporate history. His negotiating skills, mental capabilities and energy is just what a President needs. I believe that what he did for Microsoft he would do for the US and then the World.
We all know that we are going “global” (I estimate that we are over 50% there) and the world is too small to support the present and past policies that our government espouses. “Time and tide wait for no man”, so lets go there surfing on the high wave instead of being dragged over the rocks. I think that Bill can do that for US.
I am a business man with a net worth in 10 figures. I did not get there by doing stupid things or thinking stupid thoughts. No, I am not in electronics, software or the market. Yeah, Bill’s head could be turned but I do not see anyone else out there that I would come close to voting for. “Gates in 08”!!!!!