Is it important for a president to have serve in the active military?

Greg D	bush didnt and look what happened

darrell m	No. If it was a lot of our Presidents would never have been elected.

Me	no

Tom M	no

fade_this_rally	imo, yes

dodgerblue_2008	In time of war I think it is.

Precinct 1099	I think it would help. It would show a willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for one's country.

Click Here	Not important if the president has aspects that outweigh this.

Politicalâ˜®	i think it is even though war is never the answer. if they go to war they realize how bad it is and how horrible conditions are.

Robert J	Well, obviously if hilary is going to be a president, or if she thinks she is, that should answer your question

daniel k	Well, the president is commander in chief of the U.S. Army, so to that effect it may have some influence. How important it is is arguable.

Sean G	No, not really But they should have a respect for those who do Serve. As time Progresses, there will be fewer Veterans in elected office as fewer Americans choose to Serve. By the Way Greg D. FDR never served a day in his Life and 407,000 American G.I.'s were killed & 550,000 were Wounded under his watch, how does that compare to Bush? Was FDR a Chickenhawk?

desertviking_00	Not necessary. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were our Presidents during the two World Wars. Neither had ever served a day in uniform. Dwight David Eisenhower was the first of the seven Presidents I served under. But, I was less than pleased when he appointed two brothers who were Fundamentalist Christians as Secretary of State and Director of Central Intelligence.

tbr_brnd	No, I don't. It could help but should not be necessary. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, among many other great presidents were not in the armed forces and look how great they become. Just because you were in the army doesnâ€™t make you a good person and just because you were not in the army does not mean you would be a bad leader either.

Mike A	well, you asked so i will tell you, savage style.. i don't want no sissy leader who whimped out of serving this great nation. i want a leader who layed in the mud, shot guns, spit blood and is ready to fight for this nation. service for this great nation can start at a young age. we don't need no sissy leader who slept in at prep-school and worked 9-5 at the law firm. we want soldiers. fighters. a man of character. someone who would take a bullet for this nation.

samuraiwarrior_98	I think it helps give them a better perspective on things. Many civilians don't understand how the military works or operates and why there are some of the constraints that there at times. Civilians tend to base things on the way things operate and work in the civilian world and the military operates a little differently and very few organizations or businesses outside of the military have or do what the military does so that further compounds the problem.

Corey	I feel that a yes and no best answers this question. Yes because the president is familiar with certain tactics that are necessary in time of war. No because perhaps that quality will not be necessary in a time of making peace with other countries rather than continueing to attack And usually the president is not that only person that can make the military decisions he has help and that what his cabinet is for Recently mccain has taken the time to criticize obamas lack of military action. i find this to be kind of pointless and just an excuse to get the negativety going before the main show is in view. McCain has plenty of military experience but last time I checked that was not one of the requirements in order to me elected president so yes and no but if i had to pick a side I would say NO

Roadkill	No, but officers get a lot of training on dealing with people. It takes a lot of people skills to tell someone you need to go across the street and perform "x" task while some bad guys are trying to kill you. Oh, and you need to get going right away. Not just anyone can pull that off. We've got professional military people that can help a President with the military options and possible outcomes he can expect. It is important that the president recognises that he has professional military people working for him and listens to them.