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Originally Posted by Rubberneck
We need more people in Congress who know what it's like to live from pay check to pay check, or at least by people who know that if they lost their job for a year they would be wiped out. The ones who get into office that are worth millions really have no clue what the average American faces day to day.
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This makes sense in theory, though IMHO it boils down to character either way, the kind of candidate who will put what's right ahead of what's re-election friendly. An affluent candidate can make the claim he/she cannot be bought off by special interests relative to one who needs to sleep in their DC office.
If according to Forbes we take the White House for example, Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Reagan were all quite wealthy prior to office. I doubt any of them had lives anything like the average American of their time. It is likely they were successful individuals who had experienced enough adversity in their lives, to foster the compassion required even in a strong successful leader.
In contrast Bill Clinton was among the poorest prior to leaving office, and Obama is believed to be the poorest of them all. Harry Truman on the other hand is a very highly regarded President and very much needed his pension after leaving office.