THE PROBLEM OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

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THE PROBLEM OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

• DR. MARK KELSO
• QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE
• WILDACRES PRESENTATION FOR SENIOR SCHOLARS
• MAY 15, 2007

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KEY QUESTION

• How do we select the best political leaders in
  modern society?
• Arguments
• 1. Good leadership is possible in modern
• society
• 2. The best leaders are those who put the
• common good before their own personal
• interests
• 3. In selecting leaders, we should look for
  the
• characteristics that define good
  leadership

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WHAT IS POLITICS?

• Politics is The process of making the rules,
  laws and policies that guide our lives in any
  given society

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TWO KEY QUESTIONS OF POLITICS

• Who Governs?
• To What Ends?

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QUOTES

• If men were angels, no government would be
  necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither
  external or internal controls on government would
  be necessary. In framing a government which is to
  be administered by men over men, the great
  difficulty lies in this you must first enable
  the government to control the governed and in
  the next place, oblige it to control
  itself---James Madison
• A politician is a man who understands government,
  and it takes a politician to run a government. A
  statesman is a politician who has been dead 10 or
  15 years---Harry S. Truman
• A statesman is a politician who places himself at
  the service of the nation. A politician is a
  statesman who places the nation at his
  service---Georges Pompidou
• Power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends
  to corrupt absolutely---Lord Acton
• Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown---William
  Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II

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ARISTOTLE, 384-322 BC
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WHAT KIND OF LEADERSHIP DO WE WANT?

• LEADERS WHO USE THEIR POWER TO PROMOTE THE COMMON
  GOOD
• LEADERS WHO DO NOT USE THEIR POWER TO PROMOTE
  SELFISH INTERESTS
• LEADERS WHO DO NOT USE THEIR POWER TO STRIP
  OTHERS OF THEIR RIGHTS

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BASIC AMERICAN CONCEPTS

• Democratic Authority---ultimate power in the
  United States flows from the people
• Representative Government---we elect
  representatives to make crucial policy decisions
  for us
• Checks and Balances---institutional checks within
  our system to make sure no single part of
  government has too much control
• Pluralism----each interest has the right to make
  demands on government and to punish government
  if it refuses to meet these demands

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BASIC TYPES OF POLITICAL LEADERS
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STATESMAN

• Although ambitious, Lincolns
• decisions as president often went
• against popular opinion
• In fact, Lincoln was one of the most
• unpopular Presidents in American history
• Probably the most controversial act of
• his presidency was the Emancipation
• Proclamation
• Unpopular in the North as well as the South,
• many observers, including Lincoln himself,
• felt that the Proclamation would cost him
• re-election
• Nevertheless, Lincolns response to those
• who advised him to retract the Proclamation
• was, I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.

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POLITICIAN
POLITICIAN

• Clintons critics, and even some of his admirers,
• accused him of blowing with the wind on many
• issues
• Clintons middle ground on issues was
• successful politically, but some wondered
• if he would fight for the public good against
• negative public opinion
• He caved very quickly on the issue of
• gays in the military
• He had an election year conversion
• on the issue of welfare reform
• Whether you agree with Clintons ultimate
• decisions on these issues or not, it seemed to
• many that he often put aside personal beliefs for
  
• pure political gain

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DEMAGOGUE

• McCarthy was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin
  from 1947 to 1957
• He was notorious from making false claims against
  people about alleged Communist ties
• Almost all of these claims turned out to be false
  or greatly exaggerated
• Today the term McCarthyism is used more generally
  to describe demagogic, reckless, and
  unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public
  attacks on the character or patriotism of
  political opponents
• McCarthy was censured by the Senate in 1954
• He died in May,1957 from complications associated
  with alcoholism
• While McCarthyism eventually faded away, at the
  height of his power, McCarthy was a figure not
  even the President of the United States would
  challenge

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WHY IT IS DIFFICULT TO CHOOSE A STATESMAN OR
STATESWOMAN

• Politicians are Human
• Right and Wrong are not always clear
• Public does not necessarily want the truth
• What is right is not necessarily popular
• Compromise is an essential part of politics

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Marc Landy and Sidney Milkis (2000)"Presidential
Greatness and Democratic Leadership"Key
Characteristics of Great Presidents

• 1.  Takes the Public to School---does not blindly
  follow public opinion or simply ignore it uses
  leadership skills to demonstrate to the public
  why certain actions are necessary encourages and
  provokes "deliberative constitutional government"
• 2.  "Conservative Revolutionary"---while holding
  the Constitution and laws in highest respect,
  great presidents take bold actions that are
  necessary to take the nation forward
•  
• 3.  Party Leaders---in contrast to modern myths,
  all great presidents (with the notable exception
  of Washington) were strong party leaders parties
  are crucial to "making national politics
  meaningful" and "providing ordinary citizens with
  the means of holding representatives
  accountable" parties also gave legitimacy and
  authority to the presidency---basis for popular
  and political support needed to overcome the
  defensive advantages in our system  

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Presidential Rankings
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WHY ARE STATESMEN SO FEW TODAY

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WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN OUR LEADERS
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THESE THINGS ARE OVERRATED
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LETS KEEP IN MIND

• Presidents do better than we think they
  doResearch has shown that presidents fulfill, on
  average, about 2/3 of their campaign promises
• By choosing a leader, we are making substantive
  policy choices---Research has also shown that it
  does make a difference who becomes president

• The Founders created an inefficient system---
• Checks and Balances
• Federalism
• If we wanted efficiency, we could have modeled
  ourselves on Britain
• Parliamentary Supremacy
• Unitary Government