Characteristics of An Ideal President
In our current environment, the person serving as the President of the United States has unfortunately been a divisive factor. Generally the President is considered to be the most powerful person in the country, if not the world. With a pen and paper, as President Obama quipped, the President can do quite a bit through the executive power that has been delegated to them, first through the Constitution, and more recently, by Congress. One of the political buzzwords used with increasing frequency is executive overreach, which is the idea that the Chief Executive, the President, is doing more than is legally and constitutionally permitted.
With concerns of executive overreach in mind, as well as how divisive the person of the President has been in recent times, and taking into consideration we are heading into the 2020 election season, let’s take a look at the top 4 qualities that would potentially make an ideal president:
1. Humility
2. Principled
3. Unity
4. Wise
Humility
A person who is humble is not proud or arrogant. They do not brag or try to make themselves look better or more important than they are. They are courteous and respectful. Someone who is humble is also someone who is willing to admit when they make mistakes. A person who is humble because of these things will also likely be more honest. Our first president, George Washington was a humble man who simply wanted to live his life and had to be convinced to serve. He believed in God, and humbly prayed to Him for guidance. A humble president is also more likely to give praise and credit where they are due and not take the glory for himself. This makes it easier to work together with others.
Principled
Someone who is principled will base their decisions on those principles. Far too often we see the attitude that “the end justifies the means”. When ends justify means, just about any means to the end will do. A principled person will let those principles guide their means to attaining the end. In what might be one of the most confounding statements in the modern political era, President George W Bush said, “I had to abandon free market principles in order to save the free market system.” A President guided by principle would never make decisions like this. Instead, a President who governs based on principle would be open to different policy options as long as they are in line with their principles instead of being set on one policy option.
Unity
“Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”
Mattie Stepanek
The last time the United States seemed truly unified was 9/12/2001, the day after the attacks that brought down the Twin Towers in New York and killed thousands of Americans. Since then, our unity has been destroyed. Pundits and commentators from various parts of the political spectrum discuss the possibility of a second American Civil War. Part of the reason President Obama was elected in 2008 was because he was believed to be a unifier. Overall, the American people want to be unified. Mattie Stepanek said “Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” Many of the most notable achievements of American history have been in times of national unity, for example helping win World War II and landing men on the moon. Rick Wadsworth once said “It’s more important to be unified than to be right.” Being a unifier, also takes humility. However, when one is committed to working together with others, and putting the good of the nation ahead of personal accolades, a leader can truly lead a nation to greatness.
Wise
Wisdom is perhaps more important than intelligence or being a policy wonk. A wise president will use good judgement in appointments as well as policy decisions. A wise leader will look at how their choices will affect everyone. Instead of making a decision based on impulse, emotion, or simply on what a particular person says, a wise leader will look at a variety of options and weigh the pros and cons.
Finally, in addition to these principles, a characteristic that would make a potentially great president would be a commitment to making the State as small and impotent as possible. The quote “A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have” is variously attributed but that does not change its veracity. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and many of the Democrats running for the Presidency currently are showing this right now as they debate how much of an individual’s wealth and property they can confiscate through taxation in the name of the common good. Tax rates in excess of 70% have been suggested by some. The bigger the State is, the more money it needs to take through taxes to fund itself, and the more power it seeks. Another variously attributed adage is that “That government is best which governs least.” The State is essentially a personification of one final adage from Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” No matter who is in charge, the nature of government is to grow and to become more corrupt, more confiscatory, and more oppressive.
An ideal president would be one who bases decisions and actions in principle and wants people to be as free as possible and not one who wants to expand government power and his own wealth and fame. A president like this would deserve to be remembered alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and to be carved into the face of Mount Rushmore, but he or she wouldn’t want these honours even if they were offered.
Garrett Leeds is the founder of the Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness Project
