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Should I Run for President??

2024-07-05 · letter vlog · Hank · 4:11 · watch on YouTube

Topic: US politics & society · mode: Personal essay · tags: timely hook, self promotion, civic or action cta

Hank says that though people urge him to run and Montana Democrats asked him to run for local office, he won't, and argues that no one without substantial government experience should run for president: government is complex, and outsiders are ineffective, as Donald Trump's administration showed; he closes with a sock-photo plug for Good Store.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — People tell Hank to run for president; his embarrassing YouTube past no longer disqualifies anyone, so the real reason is that he doesn't want to

  • ★ Hank says people sometimes tell public internet people to run for president, and he occasionally gets the impression people would actually vote for him. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Hank used to think his embarrassing YouTube past ruled out running for office, but recent politicians have shown how much cringe nonsense a viable candidate can get away with. (playful) — 00:00:00 · YouTube
  • ★ Hank jokes that Lauren Boebert got intimate at a touring production of Beetlejuice and was thrown out for vaping, and everyone forgot, so his own past should be fine. (playful) — 00:00:29
  • ★★ So instead of saying he can't run for office, Hank has to admit the real reason: he doesn't want to. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Hank says people from the Montana Democratic Party have asked him whether he would be interested in running for a local office; he didn't want that and said no. — 00:00:29

00:00:58 — Montana Democrats asked him to run locally and he declined; no one without big government experience should run for president

  • ★★ Hank finds it cool that a political party looks for influential people who would hopefully represent their communities well. — 00:00:58

  • ★★★ Hank believes no one without a big hunk of government experience should run for president, and hopes no one would vote for him in a presidential primary. — 00:00:58

    “I do not believe anyone who doesn't have a pretty big hunk of experience in government should run for president.”

  • ★★ Hank says it makes sense for people like him with little government experience to explore running for state or local office. — 00:00:58

00:01:27 — Government is complex; the appeal of outsiders, money in politics, and what looks like corruption is often expertise

  • ★★ Hank says government is complex: the US president manages nearly 3 million federal employees, deals with foreign leaders, sends Americans to war, leads a party and must work with 535 members of Congress from 50 states. — 00:01:27 · United States Congress, United States
  • ★★★ Hank says no one will be good at the presidency because they are 'based' or have good vibes. — 00:01:56
  • ★★ Hank says many people love the idea of an outsider because they believe the system must have corrupted anyone inside it. — 00:01:56
  • ★★ Hank says we have let money become far too influential in politics, and there is something to be said for a candidate who builds influence without buying ads with money from special interest groups or donations. — 00:01:56
  • ★★★ Hank says what looks like corruption sometimes is corruption, but sometimes it is knowledge of complex systems and careful legislating so that 50 senators feel comfortable voting yes. — 00:02:30
  • ★★ Hank says you do want a leader with an audience and supporters, but also with experience inside the system. — 00:02:30

00:02:59 — Trump as evidence that outsiders are ineffective

  • ★★★ Hank points to Donald Trump as a sign that outsiders aren't effective: his was the most dysfunctional administration in living memory. — 00:02:59 · Donald Trump
  • ★★ Hank says one of Trump's best-known accomplishments, appointing more Supreme Court justices in four years than Obama did in eight, was something he could not have avoided. — 00:02:59 · Donald Trump, Barack Obama
  • ★★ Hank says Trump's other signature act is refusing to accept the results of every election he lost, helping destroy many Americans' faith in America. — 00:02:59 · Donald Trump, United States

00:03:28 — Conclusion (Hank should not run) and Good Store sock-photo request; see you in August

  • ★★ Hank says the only major non-COVID legislation Trump's administration passed was one forgettable tax cut, though it had both houses of Congress for its first two years. — 00:03:28 · Donald Trump, United States Congress
  • ★★★ Hank concludes that people without experience of how government works should get some before leading the United States, so he should not run for president. — 00:03:28 · United States
  • ★ Instead of president, Hank says he would like to become the world's leading sock salesman. (playful) — 00:03:28
  • ★★ Hank asks viewers taking their awesome socks on an adventure this weekend to photograph them and tag thegood.store on social media or DM it, using the hashtag #Rockyoursox. — 00:03:28 · Good Store, Awesome Socks Club
  • ★★ Hank says he and Zoe will review viewers' sock photos next week (week of 8 July 2024). — 00:03:28 · Good Store

In the description and comments

  • ★★ In the description Hank finds it important that a 'generic Democrat' polls better against Trump than any actual Democrat. — video description · Donald Trump
  • ★★ Hank writes that real people get torn down by others building themselves up, because a competitive, valuable media environment makes any content that can be made get made. — video description
  • ★★ Hank writes that the moment he ran for office, many people would like him less because he would be examined far less flatteringly. — video description
  • ★★ Hank writes he has no interest in running: he is too busy with things he is excited about, and it sounds miserable. — video description
  • ★★ In a comment Hank says he thinks he would do well in local or state office but doesn't want to: selfishness, not modesty, holds him back. — creator comment
  • ★★ In a comment Hank says any Democratic presidential candidate would be much better than him because they have experience inside government. — creator comment
  • ★★ In a comment Hank, having had power himself, says thoughtful people with power face brutal compromises and attacks, and are disliked partly because power keeps them from acting as we would. — creator comment
  • ★★ In a comment Hank says Trump cannot do everything he says he will; treating his threats as real would give him power over us. — creator comment · Donald Trump

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Donald Trump

Also: People: Barack Obama · Lauren Boebert · Zoe Rider

Projects: Awesome Socks Club · Good Store

Works: Beetlejuice

Organizations: Federal government of the United States · Montana Democratic Party · Supreme Court of the United States · United States Congress · United States Senate · YouTube

Concepts: campaign finance · expert · political corruption

Places: United States

Policies: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Only in the description or credits: Democratic Party

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