Why would anybody want to be president?

I have grown very skeptical of those who say they want to become president.
I can only ask, "Why?"
Being president of the United States isn’t just about living in the most famous mansion in the world, or working at the most powerful desk. It is a serious and solemn responsibility, the decision to run for which must be met with a strong sense of duty; not want.
Consider what being the president of the United States is like:
Freedom is something you are charged with securing for everyone else; it is not yours to practice. From the time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to bed at night, your time is not your own; it belongs to everyone else. Your entire day is planned to the minute. You operate on a schedule, a routine right down to your cup of coffee in the morning. You are not allowed to go anywhere by yourself, so you cannot go wherever you want; only where you are told to go.
Privacy is something you no longer have, because you gave that up the day you announced you were running for president. You can’t even go to the bathroom without an escort, who has to make sure everything is safe for you to take a leak.
Unless you are Bill Clinton, your sex life is put on hold for the next four to eight years, because when you have the urge, the First Lady is either out of town on tour or you are ushered out to the Rose Garden to present someone with an award and a handshake. And when the First Lady has the urge, you are too exhausted to lift your big head, much less the little one.
Peace is something that sleeping babies have; not you. It is what 300 million other Americans rely on you for. While average Americans are busy toiling away in their homes or at their jobs under the guise of peace, you are busy trying to maintain it for them. In fact, all of the turmoil going on around the country and the world keeps you up most nights, so sleep is something many people take for granted; you long for it.
Security is a feeling most people have of being protected and cared for. It is a burden to you, because you are surrounded by it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Security deprives you of privacy and personal time, because either one of those can leave you a vulnerable target.
Rights are enjoyed by all Americans, except you. Unlike those you are sworn to protect and defend, you do not have the right to say whatever you want whenever you want. Doing so can mean dire consequences for yourself and/or your country, depending on who you say what to, how you say it, and when. Your job is to uphold the people’s rights, not to practice them yourself.
If happiness is contentment, then you are miserable, because of all the unhappiness and discontent you have to deal with every minute of every day, 365 days a year for at least four years.
Although you are supposed have weekends and holidays off, you are on call 24/7 and end up working every single day anyway. As president, there is always something presidential that needs to be said or done on any given day and at any given time—even while the rest of America sleeps. If an ambassador’s ill-timed joke insults a world leader in an opposite time zone, you are awakened in the middle of night to deal with it.
Your position as the most powerful person in the world requires you to work even when you are ill, because the fate of the entire free world may hang in the balance. The office of president requires you to speak when you just want to be quiet. It requires you to smile when you feel like frowning. It requires you to be in control even when you feel like to losing it. It requires you to be strong when you just want to break down and cry.
Is it any wonder why every president looks a generation older when he leaves office than when he first arrived?
All of this begs the question: Who in his right mind would want to be president of the United States?
Apparently, a lot of people do. There are a dozen or so going out of their way and spending themselves into oblivion right now just for a chance to get elected to the office.
I have surmised that anyone who wants to be president of the United States is either (1) just ignorant of what it really takes to be president; (2) a sadomasochist who is a glutton for punishment; (3) a narcissist, whose self-aggrandizement is more important than anything else; (4) a zealot whose ambition has no limits; or (5) all of the above.
I venture to guess that every one of the 2008 presidential candidates are either one or all of these.
Ignorance can be corrected. Sadomasochism is forgivable. But narcissism and zeal have no business occupying the office of the most powerful human being on the planet. Too many despots have attempted to rule the world and millions have died because of their narcissism and zeal.
No, the right person for the office is someone who doesn’t “want” to be president of the United States. Running for president is not the same as applying for the job you want or working toward a dream you’ve always had. It isn’t about “want” at all. Rather, what it’s about is a sense of duty; the same duty a soldier feels when he enlists. Going to war is not something a person “wants” to do, but it is something that some people feel they have to or need to do: Duty.
A lot of criticism has been directed at republican presidential candidate and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson for his lack of enthusiasm toward his presidential campaign. Mr. Thompson has said that he doesn’t “want” to be president, but instead he is running for the office because he feels a duty to do so. Even Congressman Duncan L. Hunter, R-CA, has demonstrated he is running for president out of duty; not want.
While the rest of America doesn’t think so, here at least are a couple of guys who get it.