We Need a Real Leader

“The United States has stumbled into empire. It now faces the crisis of Rome that the empire will annihilate the republic. I argue that of all the institutions of our Constitution, it is the president who can preserve the republic while managing the empire. I also argue that the greatest threat to the republic is living in denial about what the United States has become. The issue, then, is how to manage the unintended and unwanted in the next decade.” – George Friedman, Stratfor.

I was reading this quote on the cover of an email I received from Stratfor (if you aren’t signed up for their free emails then you better get signed up!) and I immediately thought about President Lincoln. If you have never had the chance to actually read about him then I highly suggest you do. I made the mistake of just going by what I learned about him in school. I recently finished a biography on him which I really enjoyed because it would talk a good deal about his life and what was going on in the country at the time and then it would go to several pages of his letters, excerpts from talks and full speeches, and statements made to small groups of friends that illustrated his thoughts and feelings during the time period being discussed.

Our nation is being ripped apart because there is no clear and powerful leadership in the country. When Lincoln came into office the Presidency was looked at as more of a pomp role and the nation was literally being ripped apart for well known reasons. He came in and changed the role of the president and pushed the Union to be something better and led the war as wars should be led (He ran the war in the same way another hero of mine led in a war). While everything he did was not popular, in fact he was a rather embattled president, he had the reputation (and his letters reinforce that reputation) of being a man who would listen to all sides and then clearly make a decision with plenty of explanation as to why the decision was made. All of Lincoln’s decisions stuck to who he was and his core beliefs. While he was willing to listen to all sides and admit when he was wrong, he never wavered from his core belief in the constitution and his interpretation of what that document meant.

I believe President Obama started out on the campaign trail wanting to do the same thing with high hopes and a great vision but he is not strong enough of a leader and because of that he has given in on too many issues and he has allowed others to drive how things are run. He has turned the Presidency into a pomp role again. I would be interested to see if any previous President while in office sat in on so many talk shows and ran so many “town hall” meetings, in essence continuing their campaigning throughout their presidency.

My concern is that we have yet to hear about anyone from any party who would be strong enough of a leader, who could take up the mantle of being another Lincoln. Anybody know of anyone who might fit?