The 2024 presidential election. Once again, America decided to throw itself under the bus. I have no rational explanation for this self-destructive behavior, but the event has started me thinking: What should We The People require presidential candidates to prove before they are permitted to declare candidacy?

 

Present requirements are stated in the United States Constitution. Here’s the essence of those requirements, extracted from https://www.usa.gov/requirements-for-presidential-candidates

 

A candidate for President of the United States must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years old, and have been a resident of the United States for the past 14 years.

 

That doesn’t seem sufficient to qualify as the top executive of any entity.

 

I, too, find it lacking, Lily. If I were assigned to revamp presidential candidate qualifications, here’s what I’d add:

 

A candidate for President of the United States of America must, in addition to the three requirements enshrined in the United States Constitution, be able to:

 

1. Drive a car (to prove self-sufficiency)
2. Make a piece of toast (to demonstrate independent survival skills)
3. Pass the civics exam administered to immigrants as part of the naturalization process in seeking US citizenship (to prove they have knowledge of how the federal government functions, or, at least, how it is supposed to function)

 

I know what the first two things are, but I don’t get the third one?

 

You are not alone in that, 9. Here’s an overview (for details, go to: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/Test_Scoring_Guidelines.pdf ): Immigrants applying for naturalization need to demonstrate two things: An understanding of the English language (defined as the ability to read, write and speak words in ordinary usage in the English language), and knowledge of U. S. government and history. The second item is determined by a civics test.

 

We’re good at tests of an academic nature.

 

Yes, we are, Lily. The civics test is comprised of 100 questions about US history and government. Naturalization applicants need to answer six out of ten questions correctly. The exam is administered orally.

 

So no one can cheat off of someone else’s paper.

 

Good point, 9. The 100 questions are available online as a pdf, so people who are serious about understanding USA history and government can study in advance.

 

 

Six out of ten. That’s only sixty percent.

 

To me, it sounds like letter grade “D” territory. Surely any serious candidate for US president would be able to achieve that low bar? Taken from the website given above:

 

A general description of how the civics portion is scored follows:

Pass:

• Provides a correct answer. This includes answers that may not be listed on USCIS

study material, but that can be easily verified by the officer through a web search or by

referring to other tools provided to the officer

• Provides an alternative phrasing of the correct answer

Fail:

• Provides an incorrect answer
• Fails to respond

 

As an example, here’s a question from the study guide, complete with the acceptable answers:

14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?

           ▪ checks and balances

           ▪ separation of powers

 

I’m guessing if a candidate answers with “It won’t matter once I’m in office” that answer would be counted as incorrect.

 

There, I’ve fixed candidate qualifications for the benefit of We The People! To review, candidate qualifications include not only being at least 35 years old, being a natural citizen of the USA and having lived in the USA for the past 14 years, they must also know how to drive a car, make a piece of toast, and pass the civics test required of naturalization applicants.

 

Better candidate qualifications for a saner tomorrow!