ANALYSIS | Over the decades and centuries, American voters have employed a myriad of great political leaders. Americans have also ushered in a profusion of not-so-great political leaders. But in light of the upcoming Presidents Day, and all that this holiday symbolizes (no, it’s not just a day off from work or school), we will focus on the former.
As the 2012 election peers around the corner, President Barack Obama and his Republican adversaries ought to look back on the qualities of these great political luminaries that came to define the United States of America.
George Washington (1789-1797)
President George Washington — the first U.S. president, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and, arguably, the most prodigious general in American history — led the nation to a profound victory over Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Washington’s leadership was unparalleled, and both his military and political achievements have positioned him as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, presidents in American history.
“We now have a national character to establish,” Washington wrote as the American Revolution came to a conclusion, “and it is of the utmost importance to stamp favorable impressions upon it.”
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
President Abraham Lincoln’s ambitious vitality for civil equality has earned him a bold heading in American history books. To put it mildly, Lincoln had an exhausting administration, as he led the country through a tumultuous military and constitutional crisis to preserve the Union.
In his avidity to resolve the American Civil War, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation — ordered on Jan. 1, 1863 — declared the freedom of slaves in the 10 states then in rebellion, commencing the process of freeing approximately four million slaves. Indeed, as Lincoln proclaimed in his infamous Gettysburg Address, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
President Ronald Reagan, a hero among modern conservatives, captured the White House in 1981 after defeating incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Simply put, economic growth during the Reagan years was remarkable: Real growth averaged 3.2 percent during his eight-year tenure, higher than both the Ford-Carter years and the Bush Sr.-Clinton years — and that’s even with inheriting a stagnant economy riddled with double-digit inflation, double-digit interest rates and double-digit unemployment.
Moreover, President Reagan’s leadership was exemplary, as he effectively rallied the country and put an end to the Cold War. Indeed, speaking at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in a symbolic declaration that rang throughout Europe and the rest of the world: “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe… open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”