80% of American kids don't want to be president.

[buttmunch]

Wanna be President? American kids are saying, "Thanks, but no thanks."
A new online poll conducted by Scholastic magazine says more than 80% of kids don't want to be the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth.

Amazingly, that's a nearly total flip from 2004, when 75% of the elementary and middle school children did want to rule the roost from the White House.

"It would be a very difficult job to run a whole country," said Veronica, a poll participant from Ohio. "You would be under a lot of pressure and lots of people would be counting on you for answers."

But Nate, from Maine, said the gig "could be fun" and would give him the chance to help fellow Americans.

"If you're President, you can control what's going on in the world," Nate said.

Scholastic editors say they have no idea why kids' opinions have changed so dramatically about the nation's top job. They don't necessarily believe it is linked to President Bush's growing unpopularity.

"We are always surprised by things kids do and say," said Suzanne Freeman, executive editor of Scholastic News Online.

About 30,000 children in grades 1 to 8 participated in the latest poll, which editors caution is completely unscientific.

More than 21,000 kids voted in the 2004 version, which included an almost identically worded question.

Teachers are encouraged to use the polls as a way to teach students about current events and help them get involved in national affairs.

Some classes line up chairs on opposite sides of the classroom to demonstrate differences of opinions while others decide how to vote en masse.

"It's an educational exercise," Freeman said. "It's a fun way to get into the news and things that are going on in the world."

nydailynews.com

Of course they don't want to be president. Being a 'star' is presented as the ultimate pursuit in life while working hard towards a goal is presented as lame, if it's presented at all. Mind you, I'm not sure how hard the current White House occupant worked, but still...