Return to Answer

I considered other professions, but eventually decided upon politician.

• Preacher
• Salesman
• Trial Lawyer
• Mediator
• News Anchor
• Public Relations
• Inspirational Speaker

All of these would certainly be different with Joe's condition. I would certainly welcome a careful case for any of the above for being a better choice or something that I did not consider.

Perhaps at the level of the President of the US you get necessarily become more isolated. So maybe Joe will not run for the top office, maybe he limits his office to mayor of a large city.

On the other hand, if you get used to being mayor, maybe governor seems normal. And once you get used to being governor, becoming president seems normal. I know I've had this conversation with at least once of my politician friends and this is pretty much how he described it -- i.e., he was more impressed with office and its responsibilities, but after a while it was just normal.

Perhaps at the level of the President of the US you are necessarily more isolated and thus not living a normal life. So maybe Joe will not run for the top office, maybe he limits his office to mayor of a large city.

On the other hand, if you get used to being mayor, maybe governor seems normal. And once you get used to being governor, becoming president seems normal. I know I've had this conversation with one of my politician friends and this is pretty much how he described it -- i.e., initially he was more impressed with the office and its responsibilities, but after a while it was just normal and the other senators no longer seemed above him in terms of being beyond just normal people like him.

In private he can instruct his advisors, etc. the tell me what you really think, don't worry about disagreeing with me. In fact he could get the best and brightest to advise him specifically about how to best use his superpower.

When caught in impromptu press contacts, etc. He could still control the message in acceptable ways. To dodge a question about current events, "I am not sure we know all of the relevant facts at this time but I am following the events and share your concern, next question place." or "I am not taking questions on that at this time" or "I don't have time to answer this right now" Best thing is, since even the reporters trust Joe, no controversial followup questions will trouble him.

• As a Democrat: "I think abortion should be rare but legal. But ultimately at some level it is wrong to force a woman in what has to be a very personal decision."
• As a Republic: "I think abortion should only be legal in very restricted cases. Although I am very sympathetic to the women carrying an unwanted child, I cannot agree that killing an innocent baby is something a moral people can endorse."

Joe can memorize the stock phrases he needs to answer most questions to convey his precise intent. Deal with other question using his dodge phrases.

If you have a superpower and don't use it you are simply wasting an opportunity. This waste will very likely eat at you as a failure of characters (if good) or failure to take advantage (if evil). Avoiding the power will cause Joe harm, and logically if Joe is good, harm others by not having the benefit of his beneficence.

In private he can instruct his advisors, etc. to tell me what you really think, don't worry about disagreeing with me. In fact he could get the best and brightest to advise him specifically about how to best use his superpower.

When caught in an impromptu press conference, etc. He could still control the message in acceptable ways. To dodge a question about current events, "I am not sure we know all of the relevant facts at this time but I am following the events and share your concern, next question please." or "I am not taking questions on this subject at this time" or "I don't have time to answer this right now" Best thing is, since even the reporters trust Joe, no controversial followup questions will trouble him.

• As a Democrat: "I think abortion should be rare but legal. But ultimately at some level it is wrong to force a woman in what has to be a very personal decision."
• As a Republican: "I think abortion should only be legal in very restricted cases. Although I am very sympathetic to the women carrying an unwanted child, I cannot agree that killing an innocent baby is something a moral people can endorse."

Joe can memorize the stock phrases he needs to answer most questions to convey his precise intent. He can deal with other question using his dodge phrases until a better opportunity to answer carefully arises.

If you have a superpower and don't use it you are simply wasting an opportunity. This waste will very likely eat at you as a failure of character (if good) or failure to take advantage (if evil). Avoiding the power will cause Joe harm, and logically if Joe is good, harm others by not having the benefit of his beneficence.

I thought that some people would not consider the life of a politician to be normal, but did not address it. I know some politicians personally. They seem to lead what is a very normal life. They love their spouse and kids, enjoy their kids and friends. Maybe they go to a ball game occasionally including their kids playing sports.

Perhaps at the level of the President of the US you get necessarily become more isolated. So maybe Joe will not run for the top office, maybe he limits his office to mayor of a large city.

On the other hand, if you get used to being mayor, maybe governor seems normal. And once you get used to being governor, becoming president seems normal. I know I've had this conversation with at least once of my politician friends and this is pretty much how he described it -- i.e., he was more impressed with office and its responsibilities, but after a while it was just normal.