Knowing the traits that forged the best U.S. presidents could
have helped US voters grasp what's necessary to succeed in the Oval Office.
Here are some interesting historical perspectives on the key qualities needed for success:
• Show vision.
The best-rated presidents conveyed the direction they wanted to take the
nation. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, fixtures at the top of
historical rankings, exuded that quality of setting a futuristic tone. Thus
Washington shaped the presidency, and Lincoln reshaped the nation. Ronald)
Reagan had it too. His concept that it was possible to win the Cold War was
visionary. Almost no one else, in or out of government, thought there was any
prospect of that.
• Have
self-confidence. Washington was
secure enough to recruit the greatest minds ever assembled in a Cabinet: future
high-ranking Presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, plus Alexander
Hamilton. The first president knew he needed their help to shape the nation. Lincoln,
a one-term congressman, had no problem deferring to or overruling his secretary
of state, William Seward, who many thought was more qualified to be president.
• Be humble. It's
not just that Lincoln had the ability to reject advice from more qualified
people. It's that sometimes he listened to the advice, took it seriously and
changed his mind. The 16th president could acknowledge that he very well might
be wrong on issues. That attribute prevented Lincoln from making the
catastrophic mistakes that someone who lacked humility might make. Washington
and Lincoln were secure enough that they didn't feel they were the smartest
people in the room. The same could be said of Harry Truman. The 33rd president
called George Marshall the greatest man in the country and that if the former
Army chief of staff could take the presidency, he'd resign in a minute.
• Character does
matter. The top-ranked presidents who were most upstanding were Lincoln,
Washington, Reagan, Truman and Dwight Eisenhower.
• Be diverse. Career
politicians were less capable as president when rated against men who entered
office with varied backgrounds. Some soldier-presidents — such as Washington,
Eisenhower, U.S. Grant and Truman, with their sense of management were highly capable
presidents. The ones who didn't plan on being president from the time they were
little tended to excel! For example, political ambition came to Ronald Reagan
late in life and Washington thought he'd die a soldier. As it turned out, the
general won the Revolution and became the father of the USA.
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