"What Do I Want in a President?"

 In 1952, I remember being told that a President should be like us – only a step above. Perhaps it was my innocence (and while my parents were Republicans), but both Governor Adlai Stevenson and General Dwight Eisenhower seemed to satisfy that suggestion. The world seems quite different today. 

 

 

Sydney M. Williams

https://swtotd.blogspot.com

 

Thought of the Day

“What Do I want in a President?”

July 27, 2023

 

“It is fun running for president if you know you cannot win.”

                                                                                                                Attributed to Governor John H. Sununu

                                                                                                                As quoted by Senator Mitt Romney

                                                                                                                The Wall Street Journal

                                                                                                                July 25, 2023

 

New Hampshire’s former Governor John Sununu had a quality lacking in most candidates today – a sense of humor. It is not that today’s candidates do not enjoy a laugh, but none appear to have the self-deprecating humor of President Reagan, a man whose temperament endeared him to the public. Consider: “I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of emergency – even if I’m in a cabinet meeting.” Heading toward 2024 and another Presidential election, humor is high on my list of desired qualifications. 

 

This essay was suggested by a good friend. It may be something you, too, might want to try – and then see how various candidates (if any) conform to your standards. As I begin to write, I recognize the relevancy of that aphorism that the perfect is the enemy of the good. One can cite qualities and abilities preferred, while recognizing one will have to settle for someone with less than a perfect score.

 

A few of the qualities I deem important:

 

            Character Traits                                               Abilities                                   Knowledge

 

                        Integrity                                 Common sense                                        

                        Humor                                   Willingness to delegate                       Economics

                        Empathy                                Understand feasibility                         Geo-politics

   Diligence                               Good speaker & listener

                        Consideration  

                        

                        

As well, the good candidate should have a love for the U.S. and have had experience outside of politics, preferably in business or the military. They should be able to keep cool when tempers flare, and they should show no favoritism. While George H.W. Bush said he didn’t do “the vision thing,” a President should have a view of the future that he or she can articulate. As for race or gender, those make no difference.

 

The 2024 Presidential race is shaping up to be difficult for those who care about the Republic: Two men out in front; one an egomaniac whose sole purpose seems to be exacting revenge; the other a corrupt politician whose sense of values can be seen in his refusal to meet his granddaughter. The No Labels Party, therefore, with founding political leaders like Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD), Governor Pat McCrory (R-NC), appears (at first glance) a commonsensical alternative. However, third party candidates in the U.S. do not have a good history, apart from being spoilers. Since 1832, when the Anti-Masonic Party nominated Attorney General William Wirt, only twelve third party candidates have received any electoral votes, and none has been successful. Among the best known are Theodore Roosevelt, of the Bull Moose Party, in 2012; George Wallace of the Reform Party in 1968; and John Anderson (1980) and Ross Perot (1992) of the Independent Party. With the exception of Roosevelt, they will be relegated to footnotes in presidential histories.

 

But could one be successful in 2024? I don’t know. It would be difficult but not impossible. Abraham Lincoln was the first individual to win the Presidency as a Republican, a Party that had been founded six years earlier by forces opposed to the expansion of slavery. In 1860, in a four-way race, he won 40% of the popular vote but 60% of the Electoral College vote. Not surprisingly, four years later he won 55% of the popular vote and almost 90% of the Electoral College vote. Since, the two Parties have dominated presidential politics. 

 

Perhaps today’s two front runners will falter, stumble, or fade away. Perhaps people along both political divides will have more choices than now seems probable. Primaries do not start for seven months; thus, while it is an optimist’s dream, there may be time for other Republican candidates to surge in the polls and for different Democrat candidates to emerge. I pray that will be the case. At any rate, it is worth pondering what traits one prefers in a candidate before the lever is pulled. And don’t fall for the early voting trap – a procedural change designed to book early as many votes as possible; despite exhortations to the contrary, early voting benefits politicians more than voters. The latter should wait as long as possible to send in their absentee ballots, or, better yet, wait until election day to cast their votes.

 

We live in an age when most every word spoken and every action taken are recorded, and today’s communication technology means that blemishes are given as much publicity as virtues. For the voter, separating what is true from what is not has become Herculean. Nevertheless, judgements must be made. As for my criteria, they may seem an impossible dream – and perhaps they are. One would be excused for thinking me a combination of Dr. Pangloss and Walter Mitty, whistling “Over the Rainbow” in La La Land. Yet we must have standards, if only for our sanity. As political speak grows louder we should not be swayed by glad handshakes, fake smiles and promises from insincere politicians. We should look deeper. The Presidency of the United States is the most powerful job on Earth. He or she should be beyond reproach – at least as much as possible. Judgements of the candidates should not be arrived at lightly.

 

G.K. Chesterton, in All Things Considered, wrote: “It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.” Likewise, it is a test of a good political system whether one can poke fun at those who represent us, while honoring their offices. As the 2024 election nears, let us not lean on an ideologically driven media and/or a tech universe. Instead, let us, in good spirits, seek out and support those whose views of government are in accord with ours, but who also have the character to serve as President of all the people.