Should the President and elected officals with the power to send our sons and daughters to war be required to have served in the military?

It would be nice to know that the commander-in-chief would know something about what he's in charge of,wouldn't it.

I think any president should have some military background.

I vote yes. And not just the President, but all American citizens. Then we'd be certain that the President had served. Yet another benefit of universal conscription.

If one does not know the sacrifice or life they cannot know the suffrage. .. period

Most definitely. That would have kept Obama out, he would have been recycled until they sent him home on a bus.
As long as the candidate was in good enough shape to have passed the physical would be a good qualifier.


And, since the President is our Commander-In-Chief it only makes good sense.

Although beneficial, the answer is no.

The CinC should be acutely aware of effect the decisions that he (of she) makes have on our armed forces.

While my preference is to have a President that has chosen military service, I vote no on the requirement because constitutionally there is no requirement. Also, as MSG James Webb has stated it is indeed a crapshoot as to the result. Example, Jimmy Carter was Navy...entered Annapolis in 1943, graduated 1946. Ultimately ended up serving under Admiral Rickover where he learned that when dealing with nuke power plants, micro-management was a good idea. Unfortunately, IMHO, what President Carter thought he learned was that micro-management applied to everything across the board. When I reached my first permanent duty station in 1980, I was shown aircraft squadrons that could not fly & train due to lack of parts & funding, morale in the crapper and the unit I was assigned to had almost 2/3's busted for drugs a few days prior to my arrival. I almost didn't enlist because I sensed a disdain for the military from the White House and Congress at the time. My comments have nothing to do with his personality. As a matter of fact, I have it on very good authority from my Chief two years later that President and Mrs. Carter were gracious and endearing on a personal level. My observations are based on management style and policy. Foreign policy for the Carter Administration seemed to be apologetic that the United States was, well, the United States. Sound Familiar? I have often compared the current administration to his.

Ronald Reagan served, but his service during WWII was essentially P.R. He made war movies. Despite his limited service, President Reagan proudly proclaimed the United States was in fact, yes, the United States. He believed and understood that peace comes through strength, not unilateral disarmament. Simple street smarts on an international scale.

So, just two examples from recent history, ones we can most relate to.

Again, my no vote for the poll is based on our Constitution. My vote at the ballot box takes into account my preferences.

No. I would like them to have, but it's not a requirement.

I post this question as we are about to transition from what I consider one of the worst Commander & Chiefs I served for. Mr. Obama never served a day in his life and it showed. When it has come time to make some tough decisions he has either completely ignored them or taken to long to make a decision. It has cost us relationships with Allies and our military is at the weakest state it has been since the Clinton early retirement options. I'm not at all saying that Bush Jr. was the best, but when it came time to make critical decisions he never wavered. Post your thoughts and please be respectfully.