This was the final question from the CNN/Tea Party Express debate:
BLITZER: Eight Republican presidential candidates on the stage.
You know, Americans are looking at you. They also want to know a little bit more about you.
I’m going to start with Senator Santorum. I want to go down and get your thoughts on something you would bring to the White House if you were the next president of the United States.
An example, President George H. W. Bush put in a horseshoe pit. President Clinton put in a jogging track. President Obama added a vegetable garden.
Here are the responses:
Santorum – More beds.
Gingrich – Get rid of czars, my wife’s music, something ballet-related, and a giant chess set.
Paul – He’d teach economics classes. And give boring as hell answers to personality-driven questions.
Perry – A First Lady whose husband knows how to kiss ass.
Romney- Bust of Winston Churchill.
Bachmann – Things that make the Tea Party people cheer.
Cain – “I would bring a sense of humor to the White House, because America’s too uptight.”
Huntsman – Harley-Davidson and motocross bike.
Wouldn’t it have been great if one of them had named a gun? Hell, I wouldn’t care if they said a shotgun or hunting rifle. I still would have gone nuts over a broad answer like more hunting gear. Or even something like freshly harvested venison, for the White House Chef to cook up more often. I wouldn’t expect something like more great targets to display on the walls, but with Gov. Perry in the debate, it wouldn’t be out of the question.
I don’t expect any hardcore gun nut answers from a presidential campaign, but some nod to at least one of our sports and our overall community values would be nice.
Here’s an interesting thought: Is the President exempt from the ban on guns in national park buildings where federal employees work?
Would the President have to register the guns with the DC Police? Is he considered a DC resident while in office, or does he legally remain a resident of his home state?
What other laws would (or should, if he is treated the same as any other citizen) make it illegal or difficult for the President to possess guns in the White House or in DC?
Not that we’ll ever see these questions even asked, much less answered, but it makes for an interesting thought exercise.
Heh. Perry: “My hunting trophy from the coyote I shot.” :)
Believe me when I say a motocross bike is the next most-hated thing to a gun forLiberals – and everyone I know who has a dirtbike also has guns. Generally speaking, the dirtbike crowd could substitute for the gun crowd on most any day or occasion, and they/we are also constantly under attack, all across the country, from the same set of anti-rights anti-freedom fun-hating Nanny-State bigots.
@jake – Didn’t George H. W. Bush used to wear a 3-shot belt-buckle when he was either VP or President, despite local gun bans?
Thanks, Sebastian, for the image of Gingrich wearing “something ballet-related” seared into my bleeding eyeballs.
This was Bitter’s post. If it were me, I’d tell them I’m going to park my corporate jet just outside the Rose Garden.
Jake:
The President could fall under exemptions for either military or law enforcement, since he’s the Commander in Chief of both the military and the federal law enforcement agencies. If the President weren’t authorized explicitly, he could certainly authorize himself.
The giant chess board smacks of The Village…
‘Care to play the roll of Pawn, No.6?’
If I were asked that question, I would answer them by saying I am going to turn one of the rooms into a walk in gun safe and put in an underground pistol/rifle range so I could practice and relieve stress after talking to other countries and doing presidential stuff.
…And why is Ron Paul such a bad guy for giving a boring answer? Done properly, the Presidency ought to be a boring job!
I dislike Ron Paul for other reasons. I was merely pointing out that this was a chance to make himself look remotely human, and he skipped over it.
I’m actually disappointed that the Tea Party folks didn’t take more of an opportunity to highlight Congressman Paul’s love of earmarks that direct our money back to favor his district.
I would have loved someone say, “I am going to rip out tha bowling alley Richard Nixon put in the basement and replace it with a pistol range.”
http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/floor0/bowling-alley.htm
Bowling lane is 60 foot long, you could get a nice 50 foot range in there.
“I dislike Ron Paul for other reasons.”
Like what?
Eh, my guns would stay out at Camp David – where I would be every weekend, hanging out with the Marines and shooting.
That was my thought as well, but I do wonder if the relevant laws are actually written to allow that, since he’s not actually a sworn LEO.
@ Sage Thrasher: I wouldn’t doubt that he did. I’m just curious if it was technically illegal or not. Either way, I don’t think it would be one of those crimes that a sitting president could be charged with without having to be impeached first, and I doubt anyone would seriously consider the question in the first place.
“A practice range for the Secret Service detail. Of course, I would have to inspect it daily…”
I think that I have read that there is a Secret Service indoor range in the basement of either the White House or the EOB. And as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the President can authorize himself to carry anything he wants, including the backpack nukes (before we disassembled all of them).
The VP can’t. When Bush Sr. was VP under Reagan, he showed up at the DC police department to register his shotguns, and asked the desk sergeant doing the paperwork if there many people that did so. Bush later recalled that the answer was something like, “only suckers like you.”