“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt
“My fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy
“No collusion!” Donald Trump (2017-)
You get the idea.
This President’s Day, which by the way has to be the most terrible use of a Monday as a holiday, my thoughts turn to leadership and what a president–any president– contributes to the intellectual, moral, educational, and spiritual life of this country. We’ve had some great presidents who’ve led us through terrible times and we’ve had good, mediocre and ineffective presidents who, for whatever reason, fell short of greatness. We’ve also had presidents who split the bill, most notably Nixon and LBJ, who did some things that great presidents do, and other things that severely damaged the country for decades.
I don’t think we’ll need to worry about whether Donald Trump will ever rise to greatness as a president. He is clearly unable to unite the country because he only sees politics and governing as a zero-sum game, and in order for him to win, someone else has to lose. And if he can win at the expense of common sense or unity or nationalism or rising above partisan politics, then all the better. So rather than rallying the country against a Russia that clearly tried to influence the 2016 election, the president has turned it into a referendum on his personal brand. Saying that he’s against domestic violence, much less saying it one week after allegations with pictures emerged about one of his staff members, is both laughable and tragic. I can’t think of any other modern president that would need to say such a thing. It was obvious. Not with this president.
It’s the same with the tragedy in Florida. Mental health is certainly an issue, but when the president has tried for more than a year to repeal a law that mandated mental health coverage for all health insurance policies, then his words are simply words. Add that to his fealty to the NRA and their laughable/tragic commitment to having everyone in the country armed and you have a president who will not compete with the best of our executives. He is simply too divisive, too ignorant of policy and too devoid of compassion.
As for the tax cuts. Yes, I did receive more money in my last paycheck, but my best financial strategy is to now put it in an interest-bearing account because I’ll need it to pay back taxes next April because I won’t be able to deduct enough taxes and interest to keep my cut. Imagine a tax cut bill that makes teachers pay more. Unfathomable.
This President’s Day, let’s reflect on what a great president would do to help solve our problems, unite the country and move us forward towards a greater future. Then let’s elect someone like that in 2020.
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