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What you need to wonder what it actually
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takes to become president of the United
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States? The official checklist is
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surprisingly short. The Constitution
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simply says you must be a natural-born
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citizen, at least 35 years old, and have
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lived in the country for 14 years.
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That's it. No rules against a criminal
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record and no upper age limit. But
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that's just the ticket to enter. The
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real race is a different beast entirely.
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It involves years of building a
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political career, raising hundreds of
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millions of dollars, and surviving a
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brutal gauntlet of state-by-state
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primaries and caucuses just to win your
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party's nomination. Then comes the final
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hurdle, the general election. And it's
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not about winning the most votes
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nationwide, it's about winning the
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Electoral College. You need to capture a
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majority. The magic number is 270. It's
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a system where you can win the popular
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vote and still lose the presidency. The
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rules are simple, but the game is
