When it comes to running for office, be it the Presidency or United States Senate, it’s tempting to treat the matter as if it’s like Fantasy Sports and you’re picking your team for U.S. Senate or the White House. Reality is that it’s a lot harder than that. I’ve dreamed of a lot of candidates running and I’ve heard names floated that have never come to fruition. Let’s take a look at some of the whys:

1) They Don’t Want the Job

Something that’s overlooked in our discussion of readiness is that some people just don’t want to be President-as hard as that is for some of us to grasp. There is no job (Senator, Congressman, Governor, Ambassador, CEO) that is completely sufficient preparation. Being President means living every day under threat of death, being responsible for America’s armed forces, wielding nuclear weapons, and being leader of the largest organization on the planet. It’s a big responsibility and it has an impact on those who wield it. It’s been said that one 4-year term as President will age someone by a decade. The song is wrong. Not everybody wants to rule the world, not at the cost of years off their life.

2) Campaign Finances

If you’re going to run for President, you’re going to need large amounts of cash. Failure to do so or or at least have a reasonable plan for how you’re going to raise that amount of money will lead to failed campaigns or not even launching a campaign to begin with. (See: Sam Brownback.) The less a candidate can count on getting, the less likely they are to consider running.

3) Personal Finances

Running for President can take a blow to your personal financial situation. You’re not paid anything for your time. Certain personal expenses can be charged to the campaign without creating problems,  but you generally have even more expenses that can’t. Jeb Bush declined to run in 2008, partly because his personal net worth was under $2 million. Of course net worth is not money in the bank, it includes property, and other assets that can’t easily be liquidated. This will present an intersting challenge for any Bobby Jindal candidacy in any year as he’s spent most of his life in government service earning less than he could in the private sector.

Running without a financial cushion adds a whole other level of stress to the Presidential campaign. Candidates often need to find ways to make money while running for President which leads to allegations, fingerpointing, etc. When Mike Huckabee went to give a speech in the Cayman Islands in the run-up to the Wisconsin Primary, allegations were made that Huckabee wasn’t taking the campaign seriously. He was, but with his wife on leave from her work and him not bringing in any income other than a trickle from book royalties, he also had to take paying the mortgage seriously.

The two most acceptable ways to finance your life while running for President is to take a salary for a government job you’re not doing (in the House or Senate) or to already have a large fortune. If you don’t fit into either category, it’s going to be a struggle.

4) Children

Running for the Presidency is a nightmare for your homelife, because for 2 years, you’ll essentially have none. A presidential campaign is composed of hundreds of speeches, fundraisers, and events that take a parent away from their home constantly. In state or Congressional campaigns, at least a certain proximity is likely.

Presidential candidates with young children are kind of rare. Many candidates of both parties have foregone campaigns because of children. In 1992, Bill Clinton said that he didn’t run in 1988 because he thought Chelsea (then was too young. Of course, at what age a child is old enough to have a parent in a Presidential campaign varies by person. Bill Bennett said he would only consider a Presidential run once his youngest child had graduated High School. President-elect Obama’s children are much younger than that. Whatever, the age, the opinions and needs of the children will (or at least should) come into consideration.

5) Oxygen

There’s only room for so many candidates, so many frontrunners before people get squeezed out. There are only so many top-level staffers who can be hired. Usually, a candidate or two will dominate the discussion to the degree that making a run is futile. There’s essentially no room for certain candidates. The Iowa Strawpoll, while it’s a big fundraiser and not an actual primary can sometimes show where there’s really not enough interest and passion (not to to mention money) behind a candidate to make it worth their while to continue. Candidates like Lamar Alexander and Dan Quayle in 2000, and Tommy Thompson in 2008. Some men who would, no doubt, be good presidents have better things to do with their lives than banging their heads against an immovable brick wall.

6) Skeletons In the Closet

Somewhat obvious. Candidates who may have been able to hide embarassing details of their private lives from the State press may be less likely to risk exposure in the national press unless they’ve got some sociopathic tendencies.