Not a question i have to copy and paste for an assignment but ig Legal requirements for presidential candidates have remained the same since the year Washington accepted the presidency. As directed by the -Genstitution, a presidential eandidate must be anatural bern-eitizen-of the United States, a resident for 14 years, and 35 years of age or older. Understanding the Public. Ability to Communicate. Openness to New Ideas. -Sense of Timing. Ability to Compromise. Potiticat Courage. Most candidates, - past and present, have fought hard for their party's nomination. Today, many politicians make this their life's work as they move fro "h city, to state, to national office. Some candidates, however, have expressed misgivings. Many people don't know that our country's first presidential candidate, George Washington, was reluctant to accept the office. "I-cannot describe, the painful emotions which I felt in being called upon to determine whether I would accept or refuse the Presidency of the United States." Washington revealed in a 1789 speech. Washington had fully intended to retire to Mount Vernon when the Constitutionat Convention was over. But Washington's sense of duty to his new country outweighed his desire to withdraw from public life.