On a recent edition of “The Five,” on Fox News, Dana Perino stated that she believed that the most important characteristics for a candidate for President of the United States were “trust and character.”
I thought about that for a bit and decided that I would add a third: competence. If even one of these qualities is seriously deficient in a candidate, their presidency, if elevated to that office, may suffer serious consequences. Worse, the nation will be poorer as a result of their having sat in the Oval Office.
Richard Nixon, for example was, by most accounts, competent. He held the trust of a majority of the American people who elected him twice. Yet, his character led to his humiliating resignation and the dominant memory of his reign is that of the Watergate scandal.
On the other hand, Jimmy Carter was a man of impeccable character; He was a man of strong faith and was, one could argue, honest to a fault. Yet his inability to deal with Iran, the hostage crisis, and the oil crisis led many to question his competency. This led to a diminishment of trust with the result that he was a one-term president.
Candidate George Bush the elder was accomplished and competent. No one questioned his character. But when he abandoned his campaign pledge, “Read my lips — no new taxes,” it no longer mattered that he had scored a phenomenal victory in the First Gulf War. Trust was gone. He was not re-elected.
Now, in both the Republican and Democrat parties, voters are assessing a plethora of candidates. Whatever their politics and whatever their promises, these three issues must be considered;
1. Character. Does this person possess the moral integrity and character to lead the mightiest nation ever to grace the planet? Are there core values that guide this individual?
A person that I once met said of President Bill Clinton, to whom this person was known, “He’s a great guy. He is a man you’d love to have a burger and a beer with. He’s just not the man you’d leave alone in a room with your wife or daughter.” One could argue that, even though he served two terms, a poor character did affect the Clinton presidency. Yet, it is the historian who will eventually make that call at some time in the future.
2. Trust. Is this a candidate that your can trust with serious issues — issues, literally, of war and peace, life and death, prosperity and adversity? Does the candidate tell the truth even when it does not benefit him or her? When their lips are moving, can you trust what they say? Can you trust them to do right for the country or do you believe that they do what they do for their own benefit?
3. Competence. Do they have the skills to do the job? Do they have the ability, and humility, to surround themselves with people more knowledgeable than themselves in critical areas? And do they have the ability to listen and take advice?
Can they, as so many promise to do during the campaign, work across the aisle with the other party and can they help heal the deep divisions in the nation? Do they have a proven track record of success and can they learn from their mistakes and failures?
Do they have the ability, based on past performance, to formulate a plan of action and can they execute it? Do they have the personal courage and strength to confront powerful foes and deal with the criminals and mad men of the world?
These and many other questions should be asked about every candidate regardless of political party. In less than a year, a new President of the United States will be sworn in. His or her term of office will either be a blessing or a curse upon the American people.
[David Epps is the pastor of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Sharpsburg, GA (www.ctkcec.org). He is the bishop of the Mid-South Diocese which consists of Georgia and Tennessee (www.midsouthdiocese.org) and the Associate Endorser for the Department of the Armed Forces, U. S. Military Chaplains, ICCEC. He may contacted at [email protected].
