| 100% | OLDENOUGH | 9 | 35 to be president, e.g. |
| 57% | SPEC | 4 | Materials to be used, e.g. |
| 54% | TACT | 4 | Knowing when to be silent, e.g. |
| 53% | TRIVIAGAME | 10 | "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," e.g. |
| 51% | AGE | 3 | 35, as a minimum to be U.S. president |
| 51% | OPTION | 6 | To be or not to be, e.g. |
| 51% | ASPIRE | 6 | Have hopes ("I ___ to be a doctor," for e.g.) |
| 50% | AGE | 3 | 35 is the minimum one to be U.S. president |
| 50% | PUN | 3 | "I used to be a banker, but I lost interest," e.g. |
| 49% | SOLILOQUY | 9 | "To be or not to be ...," e.g. |
| 48% | PUN | 3 | Mae West's "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted," e.g. |
| 48% | UDALL | 5 | Arizona politician Morris, author of “Too Funny to Be President” |
| 47% | RACIER | 6 | Less likely to be G-rated |
| 47% | IAMB | 4 | Hamlet's "To be," e.g. |
| 47% | IAMB | 4 | Shakespeare's "to be," e.g. |
| 47% | GORE | 4 | He "used to be the next president" |
| 45% | PICKUPLINE | 10 | "Come here often?," e.g. … or a hint to 17-, 30-, 35- and 43-Across |
| 45% | EGOMANIAC | 9 | "Any man who wants to be president is either an ___ or crazy": Dwight Eisenhower |
| 44% | ADVANCEDDEGREES | 15 | Post-college goals, e.g., or a hint to what the starred answers are progressively "awarded" |
| 44% | LEADER | 6 | President, e.g. |
| 44% | HANDHELD | 8 | Portable, e.g. a device designed to be carried |
| 44% | TYLER | 5 | President when Texas was admitted to the Union |
| 43% | PHISH | 5 | Pretend to be a credit-card company over e-mail, say |
| 43% | AGE | 3 | 35 is the minimum for a U.S. president |
| 43% | ABE | 3 | President who was married to Mary Todd, for short |
| 43% | FDR | 3 | President whose national memorial is next to MLK's |
| 43% | OSSIE | 5 | Davis who was married to 35-Down |
| 43% | MIA | 3 | G.I. to be worried about |
| 42% | OFFICEMAXIM | 11 | "You don't have to be busy to look busy," e.g.? |
| 42% | AGE | 3 | 18+, e.g., in order to be able to vote |