system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do people who have absolutely no chance of winning even bother running for president?

I mean, people like George Pataki (R), Rick  Santorum (R), Lincoln Chafee (D), Jim Webb (D) among others, so why do these people even bother running when they must know that all they're doing is wasting their time and money?
gpt
In some cases, a long shot candidate does actually have a chance to win, Bill Clinton is an example of someone who wasn't a top tier candidate when he started but was able to pull it off.

But usually it's for a few other reasons. One is the lay groundwork for a run in the future, many presidents ran multiple times (Reagan, Bush Sr, JFK, Nixon, etc) before winning. Second, is the possibility of getting picked as a VP candidate (Biden wasn't a strong candidate in 2008 but his running helped his chances to be VP). Third, in order to raise your profile for other ventures, like being a talking head on fox news or msnbc, writing a book, or running for another office.

Running for president raises your profile and gets you a lot of attention. This can be lucrative. A really good example in this election is Carly Fiorina who wasn't well known before she ran but is attracting a lot of attention based on her debate performance. 

She'll get attention as a possible VP pick (especially if Hillary is the eventual Democratic nominee) and even if she doesn't get picked, she'll probably be a regular voice in Republican circles.