Donald J. Trump is perhaps the most polarizing man ever to ascend to the Presidency. Ever since the founding of our republic, those interested in voting have been concerned about the kind of man who would lead the nation. So, to help those who, for some unknown reason have taken to hating a man, the President, they don’t know, let us explore ideas about the best person for the office.
Do you want a moral person, one whose private and political life is devoid of scandals and unseemly actions? If so, we have actually chosen one of those. How did it work out? Jimmy Carter was elected President in 1976 and served one term in the White House. He was notably and proudly a Christian, even to continue teaching Sunday School while in office. His personal morals were beyond question, and his devotion to his wife, Rosalyn, was exemplary. Yet, on his watch we had the Iran Hostage crisis, where 52 of our citizens were held for 444 days before being released. Eight brave servicemen lost their lives in an ill-conceived and abortive attempt to rescue them. In addition, the mood of the nation was summed up by President Carter himself, as he termed it a “national malaise”. His signature achievement was hosting the leaders of Israel and Egypt, who signed a peace treaty. Yet he has been ranked quite low in terms of leadership and inspiration for the nation, generally falling into the lowest third of the Presidents.
How about electing a person experienced in government? Perhaps one of these who have spent most of a lifetime in an official capacity would have the ability to do well. Guess what? We have tried at least two of these — James Buchanan and Richard Nixon. Buchanan was elected in 1856 and served one term as President. He was called “Old Functionary” due to the many offices he had held. He was a U. S. Representative, U. S. Senator, served as a foreign ambassador and was in the cabinet of his predecessor. How did that turn out? During his tenure, we suffered a depression, he was tainted by the Dred Scott decision of 1857 (which declared a black man property, not a person), and did very little to avert the coming of the Civil War. Periodic rankings of the Presidents have him last or next to last. Richard Nixon most of us have heard about. He, too, spent his adult years in government service. Elected to the House in 1946, he moved to the Senate four years later. Then candidate Dwight Eisenhower selected the young Nixon to be his running mate for the 1952 Presidential campaign. Winning, Nixon served eight years as Vice-President. What happened after his election to the Presidency in 1968, and reelection in 1972 is well-known. The Watergate scandal caused him to resign the Presidency to avert an almost certain impeachment and removal from office.
With national security always a major concern for Americans, a renowned military man might seem the right fit. We have had six of such in our history: George Washington, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, U. S. Grant and Dwight Eisenhower. Other Presidents had military experience, but these were leaders in significant wars in our history. Washington is noted for his leadership in America’s War for Independence. Since he was the first Chief Executive, his actions were without precedence, so is difficult to qualitative judge. But others aren’t so fortunate. Andrew Jackson, hero of the War of 1812 and the Indian Wars, was a crude, profane man. He also presided over the Trail of Tears and caused the Panic of 1837, one of the worst depressions in our history. William Henry Harrison, a leader during the War of 1812 and the Indian Wars, cannot be evaluated, as he died only 31 days into his term. Zachary Taylor, a stalwart in the Mexican War, was elected in 1848, but his refusal to “fix” the growing tension between North and South helped fuel the crisis. After he died in 1850, his successor signed the various components of the Compromise of 1850, delaying the Civil War for ten years.
In 1868, the nation chose the Civil War general, U. S. Grant. No hint of problems in his personal life were seen, as he was devoted to his wife Julia, even though his legendary drinking was probably exaggerated by his enemies. But his administration contained numerous and very serious corruption schemes, perhaps the most of any administration in U. S. history. The only other true military “genius” selected as President was Dwight Eisenhower, who oversaw the European part of World War 2. Ike had few serious flaws during his eight years in office, and is considered, of late, to be one of the better Chief Executives we have had. But no other such general is on the horizon to begin a political career that can end in the highest office in the land.
Do you want intelligence in your leader? Jimmy Carter was arguably one of the smartest men to be President. See above, under morality! Woodrow Wilson was a Princeton professor and leader. He was elected in a three-way race in 1912, and saw his nation enter World War 1, resegregation of government offices in D. C., the passage of the income tax amendment, and the beginning of a giant federal bureaucracy. How about good looks, one who seems to be the epitome of what we want to be the face of our republic? In 1920, Warren Harding won, in part because he was such a good-looking Senator, and he was not connected with the previous administration. His personal life was a disaster, as he had multiple affairs with women not his wife, and even fathered a child out-of-wedlock. During his short-term in office (he died after a little over two years into his only term), major scandals erupted in the Interior Department and the Naval Department. Only Grant’s term was more riddled with such ongoings.
Is being well-spoken a prime consideration for some voters? How well has that worked out? Two examples come to mind — John Kennedy and Barack Obama. Kennedy was able to inspire people with rhetoric (read again his inauguration address), but his private life was less than stellar, he almost blundered into a nuclear confrontation between us and the Soviet Union. His assassination prevented much in the area of positive achievements. Barack Obama was such an orator that one newsman claimed that “a shiver ran up his leg” when he heard Obama speak. It is far too soon to judge his eight years historically, but he accomplished the disaster called Obamacare, doubled the national debt, worsened race relations in the nation, and promulgated many more regulations that hamstrung businesses. Coming into office after the Great Recession, his policies oversaw the worst recovery from a recession since World War 2.
So — what kind of President do you want? An outsider, one who is not beholden to the entrenched establishment? Abraham Lincoln was such, although he had been a U. S. Representative 12 years before being elected President. He led the nation in the Civil War and reunited the country, freed the slaves to bring America closer to the ideal that “all men are created equal”, as declared by the Declaration of Independence.
Perhaps, with less than a year and a half in office, the true outsider is what we need. President Trump, with no experience in elective office, has overseen a boom in economic activity. He has rolled back regulations at a record pace, and with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the GDP for the second quarter is predicted to be as much as 4% or better, while that averaged under 1.5% in Obama’s eight years. Unemployment is at a 69 year low, with black and Hispanic unemployment the lowest since they were first measured. With all the failures of previous Presidents who have had even “great” resumes in government, this Chief Executive seems to be outpacing the accomplishments of most of his predecessors. Those who are the Resistance and the Never Trumpers will never admit it, but electing the most “pure” outsider to run the government seems to be the perfect solution to guiding our ship of state.