The Moral Leadership of American Presidents

My thoughts about the recent election turn to the fact that the election is NOT the end of the road rather it is the beginning.  The President-Elect must take the responsibility to lead and govern the country.

Read this insightful blog post, in Westmont Magazine, which was written in the summer of 2015, about the moral leadership of American Presidents. Many of my favorite authors contributed to this: Jon Meacham, Doris Kearns Goodwin. Bob Woodward and Ronald C. White.

Jon Meacham states that "I find that again and again, no matter what the subject is, we return to the question of leadership. Moral leadership is in fact the central task of our presidents when it’s done correctly.”

In their talks, the four authors informed and inspired their audiences with stories from the lives of presidents and reflections on their moral leadership.  

Their legacies revealed a moral aspect to their leadership. 

Doris Kearns Goodwin states about Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
“They both left behind legacies that revealed a moral aspect to their leadership, their programs, legislation that advanced the cause of liberty, economic opportunity, and social justice."

What do the next four years portend for us?

So the question, as we look at the recent election and see the Trump transition in progress, is how can Donald Trump provide moral leadership when he takes office as president on January 20th? Because, while we cannot predict the future, one thing we can guarantee is that there will be economic, social and foreign policy crises over the next 4 years that require clear and focused moral leadership.

The facts

Donald Trump is a minority president. Hillary Clinton received over two million more popular votes.  President-elect Donald Trump alleged Sunday, without evidence, that "millions of people" voted illegally for Hillary Clinton and otherwise he would have won the popular vote. It's an unprecedented allegation by a president-elect. It only further polarizes the nation into those who voted for him and those who opposed him. 

Trump was able to "draw to an inside straight" to win the election by winning 3 rust belt states (Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania) by the slimmest of margins. He accomplished this by playing on the fears of many voters.  His outrageous lies, his racism, his narcissism, his xenophobia, his sexism 
and his lack personal and business ethics are all facts that were obvious during the campaign.

(See this article which basically asks how can he avoid the perception of working for the best interests of the American people when he is refusing to put the management of his financial and business interests at arm’s length during his presidential term?)

A president-elect's transition usually is a sign, historically, of what his administration is going to look like. What we see are basically Feuds, Turmoil and Conspiracies.

(This is from NBC News First Read)
"There's one more consequence to the rants, feuds, and conspiracy theories: They end up delegitimizing the media -- and the country's democracy. Think about it: Every time Trump claims, without substantiation, that millions voted illegally, and every time the news media call him out for it, that only delegitimizes the media among Trump's supporters. And then when the same media write and cover Trump's conflicts of interests (or policy proposals or anything else), those same supporters won't believe a word of it. Will the media be alone in this challenge? Or will members of BOTH parties decide that what's happening to two key institutions -- the press and the vote -- is worth fighting for? By the way, who has been the biggest driver of the story that millions voted illegally in the election?" These are the kinds of lies being broadcast.

My prediction for the next four years are more Lies, Feuds, Turmoil and Conspiracies.

BUT much more importantly, when we face major economic, social and foreign policy crises, which are inevitable, there will be an inability to provide moral leadership to unite the country as has been possible in the past.  Winning the presidency is one thing, but at what price?

"He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart." (Proverbs 11:29) 

That is, When people create problems within their family, community, or country, they ultimately suffer the consequences of their actions. We all  hope and pray that the damage to our country can be kept to a minimum.