The next President should be capable of getting the job done. (I think they're all willing to some degree.)

The next president of the United States ought to have a spine, be able to make his own decisions and be a true uniter who works with other nations to solve not only our problems within our borders but the crises that plague the globe as a whole.

Agreed, the next president should be able to carry on a televised conversation with the likes of Jon Stewart and not come off as a buffoon or full of rage.

The next president of the United States needs to adhere to the Constitution of the United States.
He or she needs to repeal all laws passed in the last 8 yrs that restrict our liberties. This person needs to pass a law for minimum wage to be tied to inflation + and the new amount adjusted immediately.
This person ought not to torture. They need to follow international treaties. And assist the Iraqi people after we pull out of Iraq.

The next president of the United States ought to be able to have international experience. Bilingual capability might be beneficial, too.

The next president of the United States ought to be honest about who he is.

How's this for honesty?

National reports claim President Bush told the author of a new book on his presidency that he has "God's shoulder to cry on."

"And I cry a lot," the Commander in Chief told the writer. "I do a lot of crying in this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count, as president."

Post comments here.

It's comical enough to have a (poor) actor running California but the idea of a relative nobody in the world of acting having even a remote chance of being president is ridiculous. (Was Thompson on the original Law & Order or Law & Order: Elevator Inspectors Unit?)

The next president of the United States ought to be able to unite factions of his or her own party behind a vision for the future, rather than a lust for power.

The next president of the United States ought to understand and be surrounded by people who understand how this country needs to function in the global economy.

The next president of the United States ought to worry more about sustaining core principles and bringing others to his or her point of view than "uniting the country."

The country is united. It's called the United States. We have opposing viewpoints, and working out the differences of these viewpoints through the political process, in the political discourse, is how the country works. Political disagreements are the fuel of our form of government.

Socialists and communists rule over what they call people's republics, in which political discourse is not allowed. They call that unified. I'm afraid what today's politicians too often mean when they talk about unity is censoring their critics. It's when the government is unified that I worry.

In World War 2, Germay was "unified" under a powerful socialist party. The Soviet Union was "unified" under a powerful Communist government. Mao's China was "unified" under Communism. The government walked in unified lock step, and all those who opposed it were censored, tortured, thrown into prison and sometimes murdered.

What we need are statesmen and stateswomen of good faith who are willing to disagree and argue, in order to find solutions by competing with each other in the marketplace of ideas.

The next president of the United States ought to have a deep understanding of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.