Being president is hard. Six reasons pols run anyway

WASHINGTON — Just take a look at Barack Obama's graying hair: Running for president is hard, and actually being president is even harder.

Yet politicians are lining up around the block to consider bids for the presidential nomination in 2016, especially on the Republican side, where there's no clear front-runner. They're weighing months of constant travel, relentless fundraising and the sort of close scrutiny that can turn an off-hand comment into a career-killing gaffe — all for the opportunity to be held responsible for crises from the national debt to terrorism.

Why do people run for president?

Let's count the reasons. We've got six of them.

For starters, nearly everybody says they run to address the nation's most pressing problems. Beyond that are a combination of other factors, personal and political. And some candidates run for president for reasons other than actually wanting to get the job, or believing that's a real prospect.

"It's an office where you can change a lot of things and do a lot of things that you think are important, and I think that's the attraction," former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who ran for the Democratic nomination in 2004, told USA TODAY's Capital Download. He added: "Power is an incredible motivation."

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, who sought the Republican nomination in 2012, calls the appeal "being able to confirm that you have something to offer the country in terms of the ultimate level of leadership and qualifications and service, and the belief that you can do the job and make a big difference."

There's no shortage of prospects for 2016.

At the moment, those thought to be considering bids for the Republican nomination include a half-dozen sitting governors (Chris Christie of New Jersey, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, John Kasich of Ohio, Mike Pence of Indiana, Rick Perry of Texas, Scott Walker of Wisconsin) and a couple former governors (Jeb Bush of Florida, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas). There are at least four incumbent senators (Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rob Portman of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida) and a former senator (Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania). There's ex-CEO Carly Fiorina and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, plus speculation about a re-run by the GOP nominee the last time around, Mitt Romney.

The Democratic side is dominated by former secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose commanding position has discouraged a wide field. Still, Vice President Biden, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Virginia senator Jim Webb have indicated they'd like to run, even against the odds. So has Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — although, as a self-described democratic socialist, he'd have to join the Democratic Party to run for the nomination.

Here are six reasons that spur politicians to run for the top job in American politics.

1.To change the country's direction

Some contenders — Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, Barry Goldwater in 1964, George McGovern in 1972, Ronald Reagan in 1980 — promise to dramatically change the nation's direction.

FDR tackled the Great Depression in ways his predecessor, Herbert Hoover, had never considered. Goldwater was a hero of those who wanted a right turn from Lyndon Johnson; McGovern promised a left turn from Richard Nixon. Reagan oversaw a huge defense buildup and pursued more conservative social and fiscal policies.

Even those who fall short can have an impact.

"Goldwater wanted to move the Republican Party's center of gravity from the Northeast to the Sunbelt, and he was extremely successful by those lights," says Alvin Felzenberg, author of The Leaders We Deserved (and a Few We Didn't). The Arizona senator carried just six states but laid some of the groundwork that Reagan would follow. "He was probably one of the most influential losers in American history."

2. To make history

The groundbreakers also are more likely to clear the way for a future candidate than win the nomination or the White House for themselves.

Suffragist Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to run for president, in 1872, as the candidate of the newly formed Equal Rights Party — running even though women did not yet have the right to vote. A century later, New York congresswoman Shirley Chisholm became the first woman to run for the Democratic nomination, and the first African American to seek the nomination in either major party.

When civil rights leader Jesse Jackson ran for the Democratic nomination in 1984, he won several state contests, finished a respectable third in delegates behind Walter Mondale and Gary Hart, and then successfully challenged the idea of winner-take-all primaries. That prompted a rules change that turned out to be crucial for Obama in his campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2008.

When Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch ran for the Republican nomination in 2000, he said one reason was to demonstrate that a Mormon could contend for the presidency, though he wasn't the first Mormon to run. That would be Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter Day Saints, who ran in 1844 calling for a "theodemocracy."

3. To make a point

Candidates who run to pursue an issue can affect the outcome, even when they have little chance of winning the nomination or the White House themselves.

Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy challenged LBJ in 1968 to express his opposition to the Vietnam War — failing to win the nomination himself, but contributing to Johnson's decision not to run himself and reinforcing the anti-war sentiment of the Democratic Party.

Texas billionaire Ross Perot ran as an independent candidate in 1992 and as the Reform Party's nominee in 1996, at times leading the two major-party contenders as he railed against the perils of the budget deficit and the impact of free-trade agreements on American jobs. President George H.W. Bush blamed Perot for siphoning off votes and costing him re-election.

And independent-minded consumer advocate Ralph Nader has run for president five times, first as a write-in candidate in the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary. As the Green Party nominee in 2000, he is blamed by some Democrats for costing Al Gore votes in Florida. They say he delivered the pivotal state —and the presidency — to George W. Bush, though Nader disputes that.

4. To boost their brand.

A presidential campaign can be a pathway to places other than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

After presidential runs, Huckabee landed a show on Fox News, civil rights leader Al Sharpton got a show on MSNBC, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich ended up as a co-host on CNN. Some have followed even long-shot presidential campaigns by hawking books and delivering motivational speeches.

"That's a new category — the idea of a presidential campaign as marketing tour," Democratic strategist Anita Dunn says dryly.

It is a recent development, and an unwelcome one, agrees Pawlenty, who now is president and CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable. "Avoiding unemployment is an unflattering reason why you would run for president," he says. "But I think it's fair to say in some cases people are looking for a way to leverage their visibility or leverage their platform for other purposes."

5. Because it's the family business.

Jeb Bush hasn't run in a campaign in a dozen years, and until recently he dismissed the idea that he would run for president. But he continues to be a leading contender for the Republican nomination, in part because of his political lineage, as the son and brother of past presidents.

Among other prospective 2016 contenders, Hillary Clinton is the spouse of a former president and Rand Paul the son of a two-time Republican candidate. Mitt Romney's father, George, was the early favorite for the Republican nomination in 1968.

Family connections don't guarantee success, but they typically give contenders a head start in name recognition and fundraising. Those who have watched siblings or spouses run for and even serve as president also start out with a clearer idea of what's involved in a campaign and on the job.

Despite the nation's democratic precepts, there have been dynasties in American politics from the beginning, since the son of the second president (John Adams) became the sixth president (John Quincy Adams). In modern times, witness the Kennedys (three brothers who ran), the Doles (two spouses), the Bushes (father and son, and still counting).

Not everyone believes that's a good thing.

"There are other people out there that are very qualified, and we've had enough Bushes," former first lady Barbara Bush said on NBC's Today show last year, expressing opposition to a bid by son Jeb. "It's not just four families or whatever."

6. Because lightning sometimes strikes.

Jimmy Carter has become the patron saint of long-shot candidates.

In 1974, the one-term governor of Georgia launched the sort of presidential campaign in which he and his young driver-cum-traveling-aide, Jody Powell, called up reporters asking whether they wanted to interview him. But the burgeoning Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Nixon fueled support for the Southerner who promised, "I'll never lie to you." He won in 1976, although he would lose his bid for re-election.

When President George H.W. Bush's public-approval rating reached a then-historic high of 89% after the first Persian Gulf war in 1991, the biggest names in Democratic politics decided not to challenge him, among them senators Al Gore and Joe Biden, congressman Richard Gephardt and governor Mario Cuomo.

So Arkansas governor Bill Clinton ran — and won.

Some contenders decide to ignore the odds-makers. "I never thought of myself as a long-shot candidate," Dean recalls, though he wasn't considered a top-tier contender until his campaign was propelled by rising opposition to the Iraq war. "I had a vague path about how to win. But I just did it because I wanted to do it. I thought it was important."

Why run for president?

Not everyone who considers a run ends up making one. Dunn was working for senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Bill Bradley of New Jersey when they ran for president — and for Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Evan Bayh of Indiana when they decided not to.

"The process begins with the belief that you can be president, that you would be a good president," she says. "With everyone, that's the hurdle that people have to get over." It's followed by consideration of the impact on your family and your privacy.

For some politicians, though, the better question is: Why not run?

"If you're going into baseball," asks Felzenberg, "don't you want to win the World Series?"