Changing Regard for the U.S. Presidency

UntitledPictured here is a popular meme one sees on Facebook.  And it happens to play out in my life, where a friend comments: “For the first 240 years of the U.S. presidency, Americans held up our leader as an example of excellence.  We told our children, ‘If you work hard, you might be the president.’ Now, I find myself explaining to my grandchildren, “If you don’t make good moral choices, you’ll end up being a person like Donald Trump.'”  

Exactly. Looking for the silver lining, this is a teachable moment; it’s actually an example of what we’ve all been trying to get across to our kids–but we’ve struggled because, up until now, there really hasn’t been a good, public example of this phenomenon, i.e., that material “success” is a very minor accomplishment, and it has absolutely zero to do with character.

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7 comments on “Changing Regard for the U.S. Presidency
  1. marcopolo says:

    Craig,

    Just curious, which of the 45 US Presidents would you consider people of “moral virtue” ?

    Some were better than others, (most were appalling)but which President do you admire as a pillar of virtue ?

    That’s the problem. Each President had flaws. Interestingly, the greatest of the “Nation Builders” seemed to be the most personally morally flawed, while the most moral seemed ineffective or inept.

    I’d love to hear your perspective.

    • craigshields says:

      I really don’t know. I continue to think Jimmy Carter is a person of high moral standards.

      Of course, none of this has any relevance. That no one is perfect doesn’t begin to justify Trump’s behavior. I think you understand that.

      • marcopolo says:

        Craig,

        Yes, I agree Jimmy Carter seems a decent man although often weak and indecisive as President. Compromise can be both a virtue and a flaw.

        I liked Harry Truman’s lack of hypocrisy and moral purpose, and always thought had RFK lived to be President, the world and the US would be a better place today.

        I also agree that every person is responsible for their own behavior, but it’s also important to be fair. When making comparisons, President Trump’s flaws are no more or less than the majority of US Presidents.

        • craigshields says:

          Anyone who could write most of this has to be a decent and observant person…totally inconsistent with whoever wrote the last sentence.

          • marcopolo says:

            Craig,

            Not really, Trump is a President of his time and circumstance. Cometh the hour, cometh the man etc.

            The passage of time often makes people forget the mood and circumstance of that social era.

            At 71 Trump is living in a very different world than when he was young. His wealth, vitality, health and charisma have doubtless made him feel immune to the changing world.

            The greatest change is the intrusive nature of the media. Huge sections of the media are now little more than gossip/scandal outlets. Social media, tweeting etc, has reduced the level of public debate.

            What’s in the “public Interest” is too often confused with what’s interesting to the public, which isn’t the same thing at all.

            No US president has had to deal with am America so obviously in decline as President Trump.

            All the faults of previous Presidents were swept under the carpet in the name of US expansion. Economic expansion kept the American Dream alive and papered over all the problems.

            If the standard of today’s hypocritical media were applied to 90 % of Presidents, how many could keep their reputation intact?

            JFK was forgiven his laziness and womanizing, because of his perceived glamour. Clinton was exposed, but ultimately forgiven because he was the darling of the left.

            Without a doubt the most honorable and honest President in both public and private life was the seemingly dull but quietly effective Gerald Ford.

            What is true, is the unprecedented level of hatred and outrage by the American left.

            The present compliments a female reporter of her nice smile, and is attacked by hypocritically indignant media and po-faced politicians regarding demanding impeachment for such an outrage.

            Yet even the seemingly upright Gen Dwight Eisenhower not only had affairs with member of his staff, but actually gave an order that female members of his immediate staff were “attractive and well groomed” .

            On the other hand, several prominent Democrat were furious and believed Dwight Eisenhower’s mother was of negro ancestry. FDR ordered a secret inquiry into possibility which was later said to have been used by Edgar J Hoover, at the behest of Democrat heavyweights.

            The Democrats even had a controversy over Eisenhower lack of birth certificate !

            As I said, time makes lessens controversies.

            President Trump brings a great deal of unnecessary controversy on himself. It was an mistake when someone showed him how to access twitter !

            In an era when the antics of the Kardashian family rate as national entertainment,Donald J Trump might really be a “man of the people”.

          • craigshields says:

            First, you’re mainly right about what you say about the media; it’s mostly about what the common American finds interesting.

            Re: Trump’s charisma, he does have a Svengaliesque thing going on with his followers. The lengths people will go to defend the indefensible are totally unprecedented in US history.

  2. marcopolo says:

    Craig,

    Not sure whether this is the sort of news to lift your sombre mood, but it’s a win of sorts for President Trump and the US.

    The most ferocious of the supporters of the Paris Accord, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has backed down and revised her demands for the G20 meeting to accommodate President Trump’s participation.

    For the first time Coal power sequestration technology will be classed as a “clean technology”, and included with Natural Gas etc as a climate change reduction technology.

    Merkel and the Europeans have reluctantly dropped many demands from their previous agenda after realizing the US President was serious and was unafraid to simply call their bluff and walk away.

    Among the demands drooped from the agenda are:-

    1) 2025 deadline for the end of fossil fuel subsidies, all references to the risk of “stranded assets”
    2) Calling for “the alignment of public expenditure and infrastructure planning with the goals of the Paris Agreement”
    3) Push for carbon pricing
    4) Commitment to publish mid-century decarbonisation blueprints by next year
    5)Pledge to develop a “profound” climate plan for multilateral development banks
    6)Seven references to the UN’s 2018 review of nationally-determined contributions
    7) A11 references to the 2050 mid-century pathway for net zero emissions
    8)16 mentions of infrastructure decarbonisation

    President Trump has redressed the disadvantage to the US originally contained in the manifesto by massively weakening the language in the energy part of the action plan. The language now calls for references to so-called ‘clean’ fossil fuels less explicit that the energy transition has to be built on economically affordable energy efficiency and renewables.”

    The President’s demands also provided cover to some other G20 members like the Saudis and Russia by weakening some climate sections of the document, including the pledge to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.

    The EU’s energy commissioner Maros Sefcovic, has been embarrassed by his admission to the G7 leaders in private that without the US, the Paris accord was virtually meaningless. This admissions stands in stark contrast to his public statements, and illustrates the hypocrisy and duplicity of the Paris Accord.

    Angela Merkel is to be congratulated for her pragmatic acceptance that in this matter Trump is no fool, he understands the deal he wants, and is unafraid to push the Europeans hard on behalf of the US and it’s allies.

    She is also to be praised for her admission she underestimated President Trump during their first meeting, observing, “either he is a quick learner, or is growing more confidant in the office”.

    Merkel also stated during the G7 talks, she was surprised how attentively Trump listened to delegates hours without tiring and how much information he absorbed.

    Now, if he would just close his twitter account….:)