Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with president

What are example of no confidence votes by college students?

andoatnp — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:25:09 -0800

What are examples of college students holding a vote of no confidence for their college president? I'm interested in either all students, or a representative body, such as the student government, holding a vote or poll about a college president/chancellor/etc. I'm aware of the vote of no confidence by the Student Government Association at St. Louis University against their president.

What other schools have done something like this? Put broadly, do college/university students have any kind of history of weighing in on their school's leadership?

I am not interested in examples where it was the faculty who held the vote of no confidence.

Barack Obama Dance Party! Jan 21st, Washington DC!

spinifex23 — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:44:16 -0800

I'm going to the Presidential Inauguration this month, in Washington DC, and I'd like to solicit tips and tricks to make the day go smooth for me. The last time I was in DC was 8 years ago, and it was for a day trip. What to do? What to avoid? What is security going to be like, will they have food and drink for sale, etc. If you went in 2009, what was it like? How did you survive the day? Also, I have written both of my Senators for tickets, and have heard nothing back from them, so I'm going under the assumption that I didn't get any. Thus, I will probably be watching the ceremony on the National Mall. If I end up here, where's the best place to stand? I'm flying in from Seattle for this, I'm not missing it! More planning I have done: I'm staying at the hostel on 1009 11th Street, NW for a couple days before and after. I understand that it's within walking distance to the National Mall.

I also went ahead and ordered the Metro Inauguration 2013 Day Pass, which will work as a 'flash pass' on the buses. Plus, neat souveneir. ^__^

The third thing I'm doing is packing a really light purse for the event, as I read the security detail won't be allowing in backpacks, and having in it printed maps, my Epi-Pen and medication (in a marked medicine bottle), magazine, cell phone, and a granola bar or two. I don't know if that backpack ban for just the ticketed folk, or the entire area.

I'm sure I'm missing things, so please, fill me in!

It shouldn't be this hard when Toronto is barely 100 miles from Buffalo, OK?

SMPA — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:47:25 -0800

I want to change the world. Or at least make it easier/faster/cheaper to send my niece and nephew, currently living less than 500 miles from where I live, a flipping Christmas package. Who should I bother to help get this done? (the first two paragraphs consist of a rant with illustration; you can skip to the first bolded line for the actual questions.)

Okay, fine. We live in a stupid bureaucratic nightmare world, where lines on maps create major hassles. I accept that mailing stuff internationally is a royal pain, as a general concept. Languages, treaties, blah blah blah, whatever.

But this is Canada and the United States. We speak the same language, and have a VERY long mostly-undefended border (and nearly everyone in Canada lives really close to that border,) and we signed a treaty (way back when Bill Clinton was less than halfway through his first term,) saying that commerce should be significantly easier in North America already. These are post-industrial countries! You can drive to Toronto from here in less than two days, and bring all kinds of gifts with you! So, why is it still so flipping hard to mail the junior members of my family some stickers and fake tattoos and Christmas cards - let alone books and toys?

This is the question part - What I want to know is, who do I bother to get some progress on this specific issue?

Should I set up a petition on WhiteHouse.gov? Send emails to members of the Senate and House foreign relations committees/Western hemisphere subcommittees? Write to the Postmaster General? Harass the Universal Postal Union? File some kind of statement with the State Department? Rail about this in public and hope the media notices?

What I really want is for it to be much easier/faster/cheaper for a normal human being in the United States, Canada, or Mexico to send a package with not-dangerous stuff in it to other normal human beings in one of the other two countries.

I'm not even sure exactly who makes things this way, where the problem(s) is/are, or who could change the way it all works. Does the President of the United States even have any power over this at all? The US Postal Service is a relic of a bygone era mixed up with bizarre early twentieth century standard operating procedures, and apparently everyone and no one is in charge of this kind of policy stuff. I don't know a thing about Canada Post, and I had to go look up who does mail in Mexico just to finish this sentence (Correos de México is apparently the answer, and the article listing postal entities by country needs a lot of expanding.)

Anyway, again: I want to take some constructive action, and vent my spleen to persons in authority, and maybe help in actually improving this situation. Who do I turn to in my hour of need? I am prepared to devote at least 10 hours of my time this year to the effort, BTW, and spend upwards of 20 first-class stamps on a letter-writing campaign, if necessary.

(If there is an advocacy organization already devoted to this issue, I will quite possibly espouse you for sharing it with me, unless that disturbs you or I decide it's too creepy once I calm down. I'll heart you forever no matter what though.)

Dear Mr President, Am I Free to Say Your Name?

Effigy2000 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:14:42 -0800

Protocol demands the proper way to directly address the US President is as "Mr President." Has anyone (not related) to the current or former US President ever publicly addressed them by his first or last name directly to his face? What happened? If this hasn't happened, what would be the consequences of doing so?

Tell me about a fictional peoples.

coolxcool=rad — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 08:56:17 -0800

Does there exist a demographic of humans currently living in the United States of America that are "on the fence" about who they will be voting for in the upcoming 2012 presidential elections? Additionally, I'd like some sort of description of these people. I'm asking because it seems that, at this point, any one who cares and has put in a little amount of study in to the candidates would have already made up their mind, and, most likely, won't be changing it.

Recent Innovations in Political Campaigns?

Jaybo — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:13:50 -0800

What are some recent innovations in political campaigns? With the Presidential election coming up this fall, I'm curious about what people see as recent innovations in political campaigning (say, in the last 3-5 years) as well as things that might be new or even more important in the upcoming campaign.

I'm thinking of things like:
- the increasing importance of social media in a variety of formats (is Mitt Romney on Pinterest? If not, he probably should be.)
- comprehensive voter databases
- micro-targeting of messages & fundraising appeals to neighbourhoods, streets and even individuals
- moneybombs
- crowdsourcing of policy development
- following opposition candidates with cameras 24/7 in the hopes of catching a faux pas to post on YouTube

If Romney wins, can he kill PPACA?

royalsong — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:10:27 -0800

Can someone explain to me how November's Presidential Election in the USA would impact the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act? Bob is an acquaintance of mine and he seems convinced that everyone's poopooing over the Supreme Court's ruling yesterday isn't going to matter because Romney is going to win the election and.. totally kill PPACA with a sharp pen and a signature.. I assume.

Now, I think he's misinformed, but I am not an informed individual myself. If Romney wins, can he do anything about PPACA?

I know our President can't make laws and at best he can encourage Congress to write a bill. All he really has is a say in the end whether he signs it or not. If the current congress supports PPACA (Does it?) can a new President really swoop in and change their minds?

Or is this a case of the current Congress really not liking PPACA but can't do anything about it because they know the current President would veto anything they try to do?

If someone could help clear this up for me, I'd appreciate it. I'm one of those people that PPACA would help.. but I don't want to get my hopes up in case November brings with it the death knell of the act.

Jobs for an Ex-President?

lobbyist — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:55:12 -0800

Assume that Barack Obama will not win a second term. What, effectively, will he do with the rest of his life? If Obama doesn't win a second term, he'll be 51 and jobless, with two young kids.

If I had to guess, I imagine that he would author several more books, regularly give speeches/keynote addresses, and perhaps even go back to academia. But what political contributions, if any, would he be able to make?

Considering his age, I can't imagine him completely and totally bowing out out government.

Slow Jam the Secret Service method for me.

vytae — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:14:45 -0800

Can the president of the U.S. make a truly surprise appearance? Barack Obama's appearance on Jimmy Fallon's show earlier this week got me wondering. Was he advertised as a guest for that episode? And if not, wouldn't there be tons of extra security and screening as audience members arrived that would tip people off?

I can't get google to tell me much about security for the event, given that the topic of "security" came up on the episode when they talked about the Secret Service in Cartagena scandal. Several websites claim that this was a "surprise appearance" on the show. Would the audience members have noticed anything different, or could it really be a complete surprise when the president walks out on stage?

In addition to this specific appearance, I'm interested in the more general question of how or whether the president is able to make a surprise appearance anywhere. Can they do anything to make his entourage and security unobtrusive, or does it usually turn out as "Surprise! The president is going to be here in 2 hours after we finish inspecting the place and patting down every person within 1000 yards!"?

Alabama primary: Gingrich or Santorum?

Clay201 — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:03:55 -0800

To help Obama win, do I vote for Santorum or Gingrich? I'm an anarchist/socialist living in Alabama, where crossover voting is permitted. I'm looking for sound logic and effective strategy. None of the major party candidates have a stance that's compatible with mine. I don't actually like any of them. My sole aim is to keep the Republicans out of the White House because I think they will do ten or twenty percent more evil there than the Democrats. If Romney is denied the nomination (very unlikely) or if the GOP convention is chaotic and divided (a realistic possibility), I think it will improve Obama's chances in the general election.

Averaging together three recent Alabama polls, Real Clear Politics shows, effectively, a three-way tie:

27.0 Gingrich
26.3 Romney
25.0 Santorum
07.5 Paul

So a few votes here or there could be important. I will be casting one of those votes. To help Obama win, should it be for Santorum or Gingrich?

Santorum currently has more delegates than Gingrich. If he takes Alabama and Mississippi, it could help him push Gingrich out of the race, leaving more votes on the floor for the man to hoover up and allowing him to actually take states away from Romney on down the road. This possibility is tantalizing.

On the other hand, a case can be made that Santorum and Gingrich together take more votes away from Romney than either of them individually. Since there's an excellent chance Romney will be the nominee in the end no matter what these two guys do, maybe the best strategy is to take the numerically largest bite possible out of him during the primary. If this strategy makes the most sense, then it would be logical to vote for Gingrich.

A victory or near-victory in Alabama might help to keep Newt in the race past the end of the week. Also, since he may be a little bit ahead of Santorum here in Bama, it could be the best chance I have of seeing our delegates handed to someone who isn't Romney. Also, if/when Newt does drop out, it's likely his delegates will end up backing Santorum anyway.

The cases for each option seem equally strong.

I'm looking for a cold-blooded, logical solution to this conundrum. (Perhaps game theory is applicable?) I don't care which of the Republican candidates is the most evil. I am absolutely not voting for Ron Paul. I'm simply looking to throw the election to Obama.

Please, pretty please: explain the logic which supports your recommendation. Logic will persuade me. If you think any of my own logic is flawed, don't hold back.

What was that old computer game where you're the President of the USA in the not-too-distant future?

overeducated_alligator — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:37:44 -0800

Please help me remember an old computer game. It was a lighthearted kids' adventure/puzzle game. It takes place in the far future and you are the president or possibly the president's advisor. (It wasn't Shadow President). Puzzles involved dolphins, martians and robots. I might have played this game on an Apple ][ circa 1992. It was not text-based.

In one of the puzzles, I seem to remember the problem being that robots were listening to their radios too loud, and the solution was that they needed to wear headphones. That's the only other detail I remember.

Help me find a good, realistic political novel

Flying Saucer — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 09:08:44 -0800

I'm looking for a realistic political novel that's not a spy thriller. The recent GOP debates have put me in an election mood. I'm wondering if there are any good political novels out there that deal with a campaign that aren't necessarily thrillers.

I'm thinking of the final season of The West Wing or the movie The Contender or even, dare I say it, something like Swing Vote. Examples from real life would include the 2000 Florida recount or the Democrats almost having a contentious convention in 2008.

A search of political novels on Amazon brings up all kinds of espionage and military craziness; one "Pug Connors" novel had California seceding. That's not what I'm looking for.

I imagine someone will recommend Primary Colors or Game Changer, but I'd prefer fiction.

Does what I'm thinking of even exist?

Just for Funsies ...

CollectiveMind — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:20:43 -0800

Let's say the Congress and the President are unable to reach a deal on raising the debt limit by August 4th. And let's just say, among the things that happen is that buyers of U.S. Treasury notes, bonds, Tbills, etc. on the August 15th Treasury sale demand a much higher interest rate to compensate for the fact that the "full faith and credit of the U.S." has been tarnished. If the U.S. defaults, the stock market might fall but would it be a buying opportunity when it hits bottom, meaning is it a good time to pull money out of bonds? What about lower level bonds, like U.S. Savings Bonds? Will they also lose value? Will their yield change? What about their maturity date? Might either be adjusted? Or is it feasible to say nobody knows what will happen regardless of what we would like to believe will happen?

Peter Ustinov Impersonation of Ronald Reagan

millerizer — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:41:32 -0800

Several years ago on TV, I saw Peter Ustinov do an impression of Ronald Reagan. If I remember right, Mr. Ustinov was seated at a table or desk and was being interviewed. I have searched and searched but with no luck. Is anyone familiar with this or know where I can find it?

Which Eastern Europe Prexy at Cal vs. Stanford Big Game Last Saturday?

doncoyote — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:23:37 -0800

The president of an Eastern European country supposedly visited the Cal vs. Stanford football game in Berkeley last Saturday (Nov. 20). Google returns bupkis. Does anyone know who he was?

What has your president done for you lately?

captainsohler — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:50:28 -0800

May I have a list of President Obama's achievements since he came into office? Considering the recent criticisms Obama has been dealt; and especially since the media has decided to roll with these criticisms, it would be good to have a comprehensive list of everything he and his office has managed to do for his constituents.

That said, it would also be important to know where President Obama has made key decisions when it comes to matters of the international relations and the security of the state.

This would be the place to leave no stone unturned.

This would not be a place for snark, as it would not be answering my question.

Thank you so much.

Biography on William Henry Harrison?

GatorFan2000 — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:44:41 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good biography of United States president William Henry Harrison? I decided a while back that I would like to read a biography of each United States president, in order to further my own knowledge of United States history. So far, I am up to William Henry Harrison, the ninth president. The problem I am running into is that he was only in office for about thirty days before he died. So there's not really an authoritative biography that I have been able to find. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

What are the longest individual presidential time limits in the world?

Omon Ra — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:24:52 -0800

What are the longest individual presidential term limits in the world? I'm trying to find out which country, with a democratically elected presidential system, has the longest individual time limit for its president. I know that the Mexican president stays in office for 6 years, the French for 5, and the American for 4. Is there any country that has a longer term?

Presidential Photo Use for a Book Allowed? Parody Exception? for-Profit UNexception?

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:04:10 -0800

Using photo of the President for a "for profit" parody enterprise? Guide me, MeFi! I am putting together a book with, let's call it "presidential humor." about our president.

Where can I get a picture (preferably free) that I can use on the book's cover? I'd assume Wikipedia (using the correct license for a particular image) but I am also under the impression that sing an image of a president in parody might NOT be OK if it is for profit?

1) can a photo of a president be used on a book (assuming I use a public domain photo?)

2) assuming a parody has special exception to it not being allowed, does the "for profit" angle make it forbidden?

you are not my lawyer... but any and all guidance would be appreciated!

Natural leadership

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:28:29 -0800

I've noticed that some people have what I'm going to call "natural leadership"--that is, even if they're put into a situation where everyone is formally equal, they're the ones everyone looks to. I've been in countless such situations, and there's almost always been one person who was the one everyone else said to check with. I want to be that guy. What do I need to do to be that guy? Is it a matter of being the oldest? The one who talks most often? The loudest? The one who says the most intelligent things? The one who's largest, tallest, or strongest? The one who has the most unrelated authority? Some of these have been true of those people, but some haven't, and I haven't been able to find a common thread or find out how to acquire the trait.

The best possible answer would cover 1) how I can maximize my chances of being that person in a newly-established group and 2) how I can maximize my chances of ascending to such a position in a group I joined after its founding. I realize the second is a much harder problem, but I've seen it done, so I know it isn't impossible.

More broadly, I want to conduct myself to maximize my authority--that is, so as many people as possible end up under my box in the formal or informal org chart, and listen to me when I say something. How do I do that?

Presidential time-usage in pictures

paisley — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:28:02 -0800

Who spent more of their Presidency on vacation, Dubya or Bush, Sr.? Who travelled more, Clinton or Reagan? It seems to me, there's got to be some organization somewhere that tracks this kind of Presidential time-utilization info, and organizes it into pretty charts and graphs. Help me find the information visualization I seek!

Help me rep my hometown and my president!

emilyd22222 — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:30:09 -0800

Where can I find a "Cleveland Baracks" t-shirt? I saw one yesterday at the mall- it was light blue, short sleeved, and featured a smiling POTUS stenciled in black over the inscription, "CLEVELAND BARACKS." I Googled and checked eBay/Etsy to no avail, but there's enough documentation of the existence of these shirts to make me believe it's not a renegade crafter's shirt.

I would prefer to not commission a hand-stenciled shirt. I guess I *could* make one myself, but dammit, I'm lazy.

Who Punches The President?

artof.mulata — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:38:54 -0800

does the president of the u.s. receive any self defense training? and, if so, what sort and from whom? and are there any good articles or books on that subject?

A President is referred to as such for life...

disillusioned — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:54:01 -0800

Throughout his introduction of President Obama, ASU President Crow referred to him as "Barack Obama", without the honorific. This bothered me immensely; I feel that it is only proper when introducing a President to refer to him that way throughout. I can't find any video of Crow's introduction, but he was referring to President Obama's focus on education and strides towards improving the nation, etc, etc.

Am I off-base here, or was Crow a bit out of line?

(Aside: despite the insane heat and it being a six-hour event, it was totally worth going to.)

Is there a good book about the Reagan administration out there?

orange swan — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:31:11 -0800

Can anyone recommend a solidly researched and well-written book that critiques Ronald Reagan's administration? Last Sunday during the Swan family Easter do at my place my brother and his 21-year-old son opined that Ronald Reagan was one of the three best U.S. presidents, that he ended the Cold War, and that his administration was good for the economy, etc.. Anything I tried to say to the contrary was dismissed as "leftist propaganda" by my nephew. So, I would like to give my brother a book on the topic for Christmas. I need something readable that comes across as very reasonable and fair-minded. Title suggestions, please?