John McAfee for President

by miket • 11 years ago

123 48 11 years ago

See, if McAfee says the right things, I think he'd end up doing well - as well as a fringe/joke candidate could do. He's pro-gun and quite anti-government. If Trump can do it, why not McAfee?

And the scrolling seems off or hijacked in some way, on the "How to Vote" page, it's the digital equivalent of having your breaks cut.

adventured• 11 years ago

The Trump phenomenon is built on three decades of national, tabloid level fame. His name and image recognition is the primary reason he's out in front of the other mostly bland or non-recognizable candidates (not to mention the obvious anti-establishment thing going on that has been much discussed).

McAfee can't do what Trump is doing, because he's not actually famous on any meaningful scale. Relatively few Americans know who he is or would recognize him. They also would be unlikely to automatically associate the name with the anti-virus product, "McAfee" means nothing to most of the population. Practically anyone in the US born between 1940 and 2000 knows who Donald Trump is.

seren• 11 years ago

Even though I know who he is, at a very basic level, McAfee is the annoying anti-virus I can't disable at work, and the only time I have to deal with it, is when my computer is grinding to halt.

Not the best name association.

at-fates-hands2• 11 years ago

> His name and image recognition is the primary reason he's out in front of the other mostly bland or non-recognizable candidates.

Perhaps initially, but its not true now.

The reason Trump is killing it in the poles is that he can't be bought, and he doesn't pull punches and he speaks his mind. Something people who are fed up with the political correctness have been starving for. He's also resonating because he's talking about doing things voters want to hear - securing the border, getting tough with China, creating jobs, and taking out ISIS.

ck2• 11 years ago

Apparently the ultimate way now to show off how you have money to throw away (or other people's money to throw away) is to run for president.

It is the ultimate conspicuous consumption item.

vegancap• 11 years ago

I prefer McAfee to the other front-runners in the U.S. election. That's for sure.

drfuchs3• 11 years ago

Right, and his running mate will be Hans Reiser? Seriously, last I heard, the guy is pretty clearly a murderer. Or lunatic. Or both. http://memeburn.com/2013/01/john-mccafee-anti-virus-pioneer-... etc. etc.

brohee3• 11 years ago

AFAIK he was never really under suspicion. But being possibly paranoid he thought he was, and he didn't trust Belize justice system (and is possibly right about that).

drfuchs3• 11 years ago

Of course he was a suspect. He'd had an escalating battle with his neighbor, who coincidentally turned up shot to death. http://gizmodo.com/5959812/john-mcafee-wanted-for-murder

tempodox• 11 years ago

I'd rather vote for Frank Zappa if he were still around.

nerdy• 11 years ago

Wait, THIS John McAfee?

[NSFW, Rated "R"] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpRvaQsGIY8

sp3322• 11 years ago

He did an AMA recently https://www.reddit.com/r/netsec/comments/3hr9f0/i_am_john_mc... and an interview with Uses This a while back https://usesthis.com/interviews/john.mcafee/

Edit: To clarify, the Uses This interview was done while he was being threatened in Belize. That's why it's all paranoid.

paulmd• 11 years ago

I'm a big fan of his Slashdot AMA, which he mostly spends informing you about the best ways to bribe policemen and smuggle drugs while you're in Central America.

http://interviews.slashdot.org/story/14/04/06/2344201/interv...

witty_username• 11 years ago

It's a slightly satirical video.

eloisant• 11 years ago

Maybe he was genuinely fed up with the MacAfee antivirus, people associating him with it, so he made the video so Intel would not want to share the name of their product with him.

That's a pretty smart move. Sex, drug, weapons... A bunch of things a respectable company wouldn't want to be associated to.

Kenji• 11 years ago

I don't know what problem people have with him... Imagine he was serious about the campaign...

He is a murderer

Well that is still not proven and the government of Belize is not exactly the most trustworthy entity about this, so in no way is it this clear. Even if it was true, let's face it - after their presidency, every former president is a murderer.

He is a lunatic and insane

And Hillary Clinton is not?

He is paranoid

Well at least he's more paranoid about the STATE than about the CITIZENS so that would sway things around a bit.

However, I'd love to hear his stance on abortion, gay marriage, etc. I presume he'd be quite liberal, again, a point for him.

But yeah, sadly, he doesn't even stand a chance.

mydpy• 11 years ago

I love the music playing in the background of his video.

nnq• 11 years ago

...should I feel guilty for fantasizing an apocalyptic WW3 scenario with the USA lead by MacAfee and Russia led by Putin? the world would turn to ashes, but boy it would be fun to watch :)

grkvlt• 11 years ago

"Some men just want to watch the world burn...", I guess?

bdg• 11 years ago

"Don't blame me -- I voted for Trump"

doe88• 11 years ago

I must say I find his speech in the linked video [1] very well written. I certainly was more used to his usual erratic behavior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=246&v=sMz6GV3b1ys

quinndupont• 11 years ago

Anyone know where this video was shot? Is McAfee a big book collector?

jeffbr13• 11 years ago

In front of a green-screen, if the halos around his hair are anything to go by.

itsmillertime4u• 11 years ago

Yeah I'm 99% sure that's a green screen video special effect. The origination of the backdrop I don't know but I can assure he was not in that room when the video was recorded.

adultSwim• 11 years ago

Already enough megalomaniacs in politics...

Still, I would probably vote for anyone who isn't a warmonger (tragically, doesn't seem like either major party will nominate someone who fits this criterion)

smrtinsert• 11 years ago

John McAffee, Wrong on Security, Wrong on Ashley Madison, Wrong for President.

chuckgreenman• 11 years ago

I am legitimately confused, this is a prank right? right?

mindcrime• 11 years ago

I could get behind McAfee. I think I agree with him on his views on privacy and surveillance at least. I just need to know more about where he stands on foreign policy, taxation, and a few other things.

But I still think he'd have been better off pursuing the nomination of an established (albeit "3rd party") party than starting a new party from scratch this late in the game. That is, unless his ideology truly is completely different from that of any existing party.

mrmondo• 11 years ago

He has become a double entendre parody of himself, it's really the quite an amusing play on the state of the American political system.

While I think that Stephen Colbert could make a fine president, John McAfee; while playing a similar game, could not.

sparkzilla• 11 years ago

I made a news timeline of McAfee if you'd like to catch up: http://newslines.org/john-mcafee/?order=ASC

badloginagain• 11 years ago

It's like reading a trainwreck in chronological order.

kelvin0• 11 years ago

The funny thing is that whomever becomes head of state, most of the system and it's influential players stay the same. Basically, the way I see it nothing changes, just a different face on the news.

coco1989• 11 years ago

He looks seriously high..

jMyles• 11 years ago

I.... Wow, that was actually a good speech.

wnevets• 11 years ago

Once hes installed as President we'll never be able to get rid of him

sctb• 11 years ago

Previously:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10189288

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10190859

John McAfee for President

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