BaptistLife.Com Forums.

The mental stability of anyone who wants to serve in the government, especially the President.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... spartandhp

So here's a guy that the votes in Arizona soundly rejected (he lost his sheriff re-election by 13%) running for the senate and still trying to make the point that President Obama's birth certificate was a fake.

What a fine example of the level of intelligence, integrity and mentality of the 21st century Republican Party. Wonder if you can still run for the senate from a padded cell?

... and presidential candidates should have a polygraph lie detector test like many high level security clearances demand. And I'd add periodic lie detector tests maybe each year.

It wouldn't bother me if we had such a law. All UMC pastors are required to have a Psychological Evaluation as part of our candidacy for ordination process and I believe the last ABC/USA region I served in expected something like that as well.

I wonder if businesses are also doing evaluations of employees for some positions? They often due drug testing and background checks.

Frankly if someone can't pass a background check, why would we want them to be able to run for office?

While I think a psych evaluation could be good, I take Ed's caution well. I remember now a lawyer telling me that he would never advise any client to take a lie detector test because their accuracy is so poor and so related to who administers it that you are putting your life in the hands of something that is far less than scientific.

Of course, the odds that congress would pass such a bill is about zero. Not to say that politicians lie but.....

Ummm, sounds like more post-election sour grapes. Maybe we could test you guys for some psychological trauma. Maybe we should make voters pass a test.

How much hard science is in a psych test anyway? How much hard science is even in a DSM diagnosis?

I'd favor a tinfoil hat test, though.

Perhaps we should just continue to let the voters decide, unless we want to test them for mental stability, too.

The voters do decide, in exactly the manner provided for in the Constitution, whether or not one likes the Electoral College. But popular vote by voters previously tested for mental stability might not be that bad a thing.

Wait...
We might need to rethink this!

Why not more liberal cant on Trump's insanity and racism, as well as being as dumb as a gourd? After all, he is crazy, isn't he? CNN thinks he's a stupid wing-nut, as well as MSNBC, so could Chris Matthews of the Obama-incited trembling leg syndrome be wrong. The highest-profile loudmouth currently is Senator Durbin describing Trump's racism. Durbin is the guy who compared American GIs to Stalin's gulag gangs:
; Or, what about Hillary's basket of deplorables (white folks, too): ; or Obama's reference to policemen (actually a white policeman) as acting stupidly:; or Biden's description of a black man actually being clean: .

Interesting, to obtain certification as a 911-communications officer in Virginia, I had to have a psych evaluation--3 hours of testing and interviewing with a clinical psychologist. Funny that we don't require that for high offices like Congress, SCOTUS, and the Supreme Court, but the 911 person answering your phone had to have it.