If I Were PresidentBy Lori Ricker

For my sweet friend Cherokee…. Dare to dream, be all you can be!

By Lori Ricker

If I were President….

I would live in a big white house

and stay up all night talking to my

friends.

President Ford, in his pajamas, meets with staff members Steve Todd (military aide) and Terry O'Donnell in the President's suite. 11/19/74.

I would plant a garden,

First Lady Michelle Obama, chefs from around the country, and a group of children harvest vegetables from the White House Kitchen Garden during a “Let’s Move!” event on the South Lawn of the White House. 6/4/10

have lots of parties,

Kennedy state dinner for Pakistan: July 11, 1961

and play football on the front lawn with

my dog.

President Obama playing with the White House dog named Bo in May 2009.

If I were President….

I would have my own plane

so I could work as I traveled the world

President Reagan working in his state room aboard Air Force One. 2/19/81.

and still have meetings with my

staff.

Richard Nixon's Staff Meeting on Air Force One, November 7, 1972

I could even have my own helicopter!

The President prepares to board Marine One

My dogs could come along for the ride.

If I were President….

I would travel to different countries,

meet a prince,

President Barack Obama holds a bilateral meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates in the Oval Office of the White House on 4/26/11

a queen,

President Bush toasts with Queen Elizabeth II, left, during a state dinner at the White House on Monday, May 7, 2007.

and religious leaders.

On October 6,1979, President Carter welcomed Pope John Paul to the White House where the two men met privately in the Oval Office for an hour.

If I were President….

I would put my picture on the

currency.

like Abraham Lincoln

and George Washington.

If I were President….

I would have to have the Secret Service

by my side.

They would watch and protect me

Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy (far right, striped tie) was a member of President Ronald Reagan’s Secret Service Staff on March 30, 1981…

and keep me safe from harm!

That same Secret Service Agent used his body on that same day to stop an assassin’s bullet and save President Ronald Reagan’s life…

They would keep me safe while I exercised

Secret Agents run with President George Bush at the Kennedy Space Center.

and protect me while I toured the country.

Secret Agents walk along the Presidential motorcade.

If I were President….

I would have to sign all types of

important papers,

The first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation before the cabinet.Painted by F.B. Carpenter ; engraved by A.H. Ritchie, c1866.

while many people watched,

FDR signs the GI Bill on June 22,1944

and these papers could change many

lives.

Eisenhower signs 1957 Civil Rights Act.

If I were President….

I would help those in need.

Every year since 1984, Jimmy and his wife Rosalynn have given a week of their time and their valuable construction skills to a Habitat for Humanity project somewhere in America.

Here in America

Here, the President and Mrs. Clinton help prepare Thanksgiving Dinner for homeless people at New Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, DC.

and around the world.

President Carter helps rebuild homes in Thailand after the 2004 tsunami tragedy. In this photo, he is helping to press bricks.

If I were President….

they would make a statue of me,

President Andrew Johnson statue in Greeneville, TN.

put my face on a mountain,

Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

or even name a national park after

me.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Fairfield, North Dakota

If I were President….

I would stop the fighting

and bring our soldiers home.

I would replace the bombs

with candy

and create world peace,

if I were President!

Who will be our next President of the United States of

America?

Could it be you?