Gordon L. Weil
On December 8,
1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress for a
declaration of war against Japan, which had carried out a surprise
attack on Hawaii a day earlier.
He sought to inspire Americans to fight
in the new world war. “The American people in their righteous
might will win through to absolute victory,” he said.
He said nothing about America First,
the national organization determined to keep the country out of the
war. Instead of gloating about his wisdom in starting war
preparations or sneering at his critics, he focused on national unity
at a time of crisis.
On March 4, 1865, at the end of the
Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln did not glory in victory, but
called upon the country to show “malice toward none, charity for
all.” He did not even mention the defeated Confederacy.
Both Lincoln and Roosevelt are
considered to be among the greatest American leaders. They earned
their greatness not because they claimed it for themselves, but
because their actions led others to honor them for their courage and
leadership.
When the entire country is under
attack, presidential leadership comes sharply into focus. Pearl
Harbor in 1941, 9/11 in 2001 and Covid-19 in 2020 have all been
national threats, whose outcome has been uncertain. All have caused
harm and fear.
Whatever Americans thought of their
leaders' policies, in these crises each found words to reassure and
encourage the entire country.
While Americans cannot expect that the
president will always have the right answer to a crisis, the people
benefit from a president who exhibits qualities of leadership that
ignore partisan battles and stresses common values and hopes.
What are characteristics of leadership
that are needed?
Above all, the people seek a call to
unity. Lincoln understood that Americans were linked by common
ideals and a shared history, which he believed should be stronger
than any dividing force. It explains why African-Americans, Indians,
and people of Japanese descent fought in World War II in the armed
forces of a country that severely discriminated against them.
Leadership also requires presidents who tell the truth. Americans
expect to rely on what they are told. Then, they will act as the
situation requires, whether that means enlisting in the armed forces
or wearing a face mask.
People also look for consistency in
messages from the White House and government. If they are to commit
to a course of personal and community action, they want to know that
their leaders are also committed. An unsteady signal undermines a
willing response.
In a crisis, people will work together.
Cooperation and shared sacrifice may come naturally, but they
respond to leaders who set the example by setting aside past
grievances and partisanship.
Leadership requires courage. Leaders, like all people, make
mistakes, and we expect them to acknowledge their errors. Even more
important, leaders need to have the courage to do what the situation
requires, no matter the cost to themselves or their political
futures. This is the basis of greatness.
President Donald Trump fails these
tests of leadership.
The main point of his presidency is a
focus on himself and his hope that winning in 2020 will remove any
doubt about the legitimacy of his 2016 election. Everything about
government is subject to that interest, not about leadership.
He awards himself greatness, an
attribute that can only come from others. He uses
self-congratulation mainly to promote what he thinks is his standing
with voters, always with an eye on his re-election. He glories in
his title and his false sense of success.
Not all presidents are great leaders,
even when the times call for leadership, but few are destructive.
Unfortunately, Trump is among that few.
“When somebody is president of the
United States, his authority is total,” he said. That view would
destroy the legacy of the American Revolution, which toppled the
total authority of Britain's king.
The essence of the American system of
government is that no person or group of people in it has total
authority. It may not be efficient, but it's what we want.
“The federal government has absolute
power,” he proclaims. If so, how can shared sovereignty, the
keystone of federalism itself, survive?
The states created the federal
government and kept for themselves all the powers not given to that
government. The federal government's power has increased, but it has
no power to abolish federalism.
In the face of criticism from across
the political spectrum, Trump acknowledged that governors would
decide on when and how recovery would occur. But he did not withdraw
his assertion of power, saying, “If they need to remain closed, we
will allow them to do that.” He has no power to “allow”
states to exercise their powers.
Only the people have total authority
and absolute power in America.
Voters will soon decide either to
legitimize Trump's theory, changing the Constitution, or to protect the
Constitution by changing the president.
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