Here's something you didn't mention in your excellent list of motivations: Money When you're a politician you raise campaign chests, and when you retire, you

Here's something you didn't mention in your excellent list of motivations: Money When you're a politician you raise campaign chests, and when you retire, you get to keep those contributions. So, running for president puts you on the national stage, allows you to raise a lot more money. For someone like Ron Paul this was a win-win. He secured a nice retirement while getting out there and invigorating a grassroots Libertarian movement and also getting his message-- which I think nobody can dispute he's genuinely passionate about-- out there. For someone like Rick Santorum, though, it's either to help secure his seat against his next challenger, or just greed...