When Mehdi Hasan sat down with Jon Stewart last month, the roles were reversed. This time, the Emmy-winning host of The Daily Show was the one asking the questions — about corporate media, Gaza, Do…
That’s exactly right. George Washington really REALLY didn’t want the job. He was very money oriented, and the fact that he had been away from his farm during the entire war, and couldn’t be there to manage it was extremely frustrating for him. All he wanted was to be a gentlemen farmer, and all these responsibilities came his way.
So when he was offered the role of national leader, he declined. They even offered to make him king, which he definitely didn’t like. Eventually, he was persuaded that as a new country, with powerful enemies, America needed someone very strong to keep it on its feet for the first few years, until it could start walking. After going through all that trouble to give birth to America, Washington decided he better watch over his new baby in the crib.
After serving two terms, he shocked everyone by deliberately emulating the example of Cincinnatus, the successful Roman general who could have ruled Rome, but chose to return from the battlefield, and head straight to his family farm instead.
Later, Washington again had to be persuaded to oversee the Constitutional Congress. All he wanted to do was stay on his farm.
Refusing to campaign for president until the “people have demanded it,” has become a tradition, although it is always cringingly transparent. So I’m like you - I don’t trust anyone who WANTS to be president. That should be the first sign that they are not the right candidate.
That’s exactly right. George Washington really REALLY didn’t want the job. He was very money oriented, and the fact that he had been away from his farm during the entire war, and couldn’t be there to manage it was extremely frustrating for him. All he wanted was to be a gentlemen farmer, and all these responsibilities came his way.
So when he was offered the role of national leader, he declined. They even offered to make him king, which he definitely didn’t like. Eventually, he was persuaded that as a new country, with powerful enemies, America needed someone very strong to keep it on its feet for the first few years, until it could start walking. After going through all that trouble to give birth to America, Washington decided he better watch over his new baby in the crib.
After serving two terms, he shocked everyone by deliberately emulating the example of Cincinnatus, the successful Roman general who could have ruled Rome, but chose to return from the battlefield, and head straight to his family farm instead.
Later, Washington again had to be persuaded to oversee the Constitutional Congress. All he wanted to do was stay on his farm.
Refusing to campaign for president until the “people have demanded it,” has become a tradition, although it is always cringingly transparent. So I’m like you - I don’t trust anyone who WANTS to be president. That should be the first sign that they are not the right candidate.