Does Rick Perry really want to be president?

Which leads us to another question: If really, really wanting to be president is a necessary component of a successful run, is it perhaps an even more necessary component of a successful presidency?

It’s worth remembering that Barack Obama’s decision to get into the race in 2007 in some ways resembled Rick Perry’s more than Mitt Romney’s – he was answering the call and responding to the moment, rather than systematically carrying out a lifelong plan.

Back in August, after the debt ceiling debacle, the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd penned a withering column calling for Obama to be “more alpha,” and questioning how much he really enjoyed the job of president. She wrote: “If Clinton wanted to be president 25 hours a day and W. wanted to be president four hours a day, Obama wants to be president for about 14 hours a day. And that’s fine, as long as you don’t look like you’re phoning it in when the country is dialing 911.”

But at a time of economic crisis, we wonder if the country may in fact demand a 25-hour-a-day president.