The Characteristics of an Effective President - Essay Example

An analysis of the Qualities of an Effective President and Solutions to Challenges that Face Presidents The next year2016 will be witnessing most American going to the ballot box to elect their next president and other electoral leaders. However, they should first do their homework of analyzing each candidate’s characters, policies, ideologies, history, and leadership experience. Doing so will enable the Americans to ascertain whether a candidate is suitable enough to help solve the challenges facing the nation (Bennis 24). Although an ideal presidential candidate does not exist, an active president should at least possess several of certain traits that make great political leaders. Apart from the obvious leadership skills, he or she should have viable visions, excellent organizational capacity, and considerable political skills. The skills will enable the president to deal with issues that presidents encounter. Issues that top the list of the challenges that presidents confront are decline in economic levels, high levels of unemployment and federal budget deficits. The potential candidates have displayed the willingness and varied abilities to move the nation to a better place. Hillary Clinton has demonstrated an ability to be a good president, given her vast experience in a law firm and in the government. Scott Walker closely follows her in experience, intelligence and skills. He can thus make a good president, although not as good as Clinton. Another presidential aspirant, Jeb Bush, has demonstrated an ability to steer the nation into a great future. However, he does not seem to be as experienced as the other two aspirants are. An effective president should have qualities that will enable him or her deal with challenges in order to steer U.S. to a brighter future. Characteristics of an Effective President Effective presidents have viable visions for their country. Kennedy Reagan, Eisenhower, and Nixon are some of the presidents who had grand ideas. They can inspire, propose feasible policies, and outline a set of overarching goals (Greenstein). Vision also involves being consistent in viewpoints and standing firm in setting the terms of policy discourse. They can effectively act as anchors for the whole community and politics. He or she should have internally consistent policies and programs that have intended consequences. A good vision will help the president steer the country away from problems towards achieving a better future. President George W. Bush was lacking when it came to the ability to implement a vision for the nation. For instance, the short-term victory of his government in the Iraq war ushered in an array of guerilla warfare against the military men of America in the U.S.A. Organizational capacity is another trait of effective presidents. Presidents with such trait can forge a team and effectively use it. They can navigate around the subordinates’ tendency to tell them what they perceive he wants to hear. The presidents strive to separate wise advice from false information and rumors. For example, Kennedy engaged the services of his brother Robert and another adviser to scrutinize his advisers’ proposals for pitfalls and flaws. The president also promoted diversity in the recommendations and pieces of advice reaching him by igniting some conflicts between his assistants. Greenstein says that effective administrators also have the ability to create workable institutional arrangements (54). An excellent organizational method will enable the president to have subordinates that support him and help him in steering the government forward. Effective presidents also have excellent political skills as one single-most useful skill ensuring the survival of the presidency. The president should be in a position to consider all factors and actively spearhead his policy in convincing people to believe in him or her. The president should apply his office powers in an assertive manner, and create and maintain support from the public (Greenstein 57). He should also establish a reputation among fellow policy makers as a determined and skilled political operator. Johnson was a president who exhibited skill and will by establishing his political reputation. He kept Congress in session until Christmas of 1963 to enable him win in one of the administrative contests. He consequently won strong support from the public, driving a message to the opposition that it will be costly to ignore his policies. Challenges Faced by American Presidents Presidents encounter many challenges during their terms that need to be solved. The greatest challenge is economic concerns (Dugan). Many Americans are negative about the economic status of the nation. The currently rising economic level of countries such as China means that most Americans have lost confidence with their presidents. They want someone who would find ways of encouraging growth in economic level. Additionally, there are many poor Americans while some individuals have amassed a lot of wealth. Furthermore, Dugan says that the housing market is struggling as many citizens own homes that are too expensive to afford and hence face foreclosure. Others face diminishing home values that come with large-scale foreclosures. The interest rates are high and hurt the public. The problem of unemployment is another challenge that confronts presidents immediately after they are sworn into the office. Many American youths are poor because they lack a reliable source of income. Most of them end up practicing criminal activities, drug abuse, and other illegal activities to sustain their lives. Presidents thus have a task of trying to create as many job opportunities as possible to solve the issue of unemployment. Many Americans feel that sending work abroad and poor manufacturing policies are some of the main reasons behind the high rate of unemployment among the Native Americans (Dugan). Other reasons include high taxes, lack of domestic policies that encourage small local businesses, and a high level of government regulations. Of late, presidents have also faced a challenge of federal budget deficient. Most Americans believe that deficit and spending is a worrying trend that may drive the country to deeper economic crises (Dugan). Previous governments have had trouble in trying to balance between expenditure and sources of income to support the federal spending. They may thus end up planning many projects but fail to outline the sources of funds that will finance the projects in an appropriate manner. Hence, a deficit in the federal budget appears. Consequently, it forces them look for funds mainly through imposing heavy taxes on citizens. As a result, the heavy burden on Americans has sparked complaints. The presidents thus encounter a difficult time in trying to cut the spending and tax. They have to ensure that they do not overcut spending on vital sectors such as healthcare, defense, and social security. Otherwise, they may make a majority of Americans lose confidence in them. Solutions to Challenges Faced by Presidents Presidents need to look for solutions to these and many other challenges that confront them. They need to enact policies that will encourage the growth and expansion of the economy. There is a need to address economic fairness to enable equal distribution of resources among the Americans. It will reduce the tendency of having a large portion of the public wallowing in poverty while few people continue amassing wealth. Equal distribution of resources will also enable productivity. The federal government should also help in stemming foreclosures to allow Americans own homes that are conducive. Additionally, it should help in reducing interest rates since it helps in boosting the economy rather than hurting the investors. Consequently, presidents should policies that would reduce interest rates, thereby promote the full recovery of the economy. Solving economic problems will also require presidents to create more or better job opportunities to curb the issue of unemployment. The presidents may do this by boosting and encouraging investments in the manufacturing industry. They should banish the traditional practice of availing an enormous amount of work to foreign workers yet the local citizens lack jobs. Increasing infrastructure work will also help in engaging technical and informal employment. They should also lower taxes, reduce strict regulations, and encourage small businesses to enable investments. As people get better jobs, they will be able to improve their living standards. People with improved living standards are capable of being more productive than those whose life standard is poor, thereby propelling the economy forward. Presidents should look for all ways possible to reduce spending and deficit on the annual federal budget. They should lead their governments in enacting a series of policies that will cut down the expenditures. However, the government should not compromise with the necessary expenditure on vital sectors such as security, defense, and medical care. Instead, governments should eliminate or reduce spending on unnecessary projects to create room for the essential economic and other projects. Temporal cuts in taxes such as payroll tax on low-income earners will encourage people to perform better. On the contrary, the president should increase the tax on high-income earners and big businesses, as this will not affect them due to their large income. Proper spending and tax implementation will eliminate federal spending while lowering burdens on the Americans. Hillary Clinton’s Profile Hillary Clinton is a presidential aspirant who has a vast amount of experience. She has more than twenty years experience as a first lady of a governor cum president (Bio). She has served eight years as a U.S. senator and four years as Secretary of States. Therefore, Clinton has had a full exposure to the United States political systems. She thus knows a bit about what works and what does not work since she has hold offices in governments. She has weighed the weaknesses and strengths of President Obama, former presidents and other top executives in states. Her position as Secretary of States has probably equipped her with international affairs around the world. According to Bio, the position has demonstrated her presidential behavior. For instance, she expressed combativeness in handling the Benghazi affair and addressing the Congress about the issue. She has a reputation of getting her way in the Congress because she knows how to use political skills in selling her demands. She has successfully helped the Obama Administration in carrying out foreign policies. Her time in Senate saw her championing committees and legislations with intelligence and grace. She was in the most powerful chamber of the Congress. Additionally, Hillary Clinton was an attorney with a very influential firm. The company knew her to be a thorough and intelligence lady. Her vast knowledge of the American law probably came out of this career. When it comes to personal abilities, she has demonstrated intelligence, character, and drive. She is more of an authoritarian than Obama, which will help in demanding respect and complete adherence to sound policies. Therefore, Hillary can make an excellent president given her great traits. She can steer the country to great heights by using her vast experience and attractive character to solve economic issues, unemployment and deficits in federal budgets. Jeb Bush’s Profile Jeb Bush is another candidate seeking for the presidency of the United States. He was a governor of Florida for eight years (Bio). He campaigned for accountability and transparency in Florida’s public schools. His views on immigration are more enlightened than that of the other politicians in his party. Jeb has expressed that he will allow spending cuts of $10 for $1 in increased tax incomes. Floridians agree that although he is a conservative, he can compromise when necessary. He also has informed stand on foreign policy. Jeb can probably help the country in steering economic growth and solving other problems. However, he does not compare to his counterpart, Hillary Clinton since he does not have as much experience as Clinton. Scott Walker’s Profile Another presidential candidate who has a considerable amount of education, experience, and political skills is Scott Walker. In 1993, he was elected to State Assembly, where he was a chairperson of several committees and implemented several legislations (Bio). He was elected for four years in state government. He also worked as Milwaukee County Executive and Wisconsin Governor. He proposed bold policies that saw the cutting of taxes and creation of jobs. He has outlined policies to create jobs and help the hardworking taxpayers to get power to control the economy. He would probably make a suitable president who may help in executing policies that will reduce rates of unemployment and spearhead economic growth. Walker also chaired various meetings and led several teams. He thus has knowledge in organizational arrangement. His boldness is suitable for make bold political moves and commanding quick implementation in times of crisis. An ideal president should have all the qualities of a leader. Additionally, he should have political skills, organizational capacity, and viable visions. They will use these skills to solve the challenges that confront them such as unemployment among citizens, declining economic growth, and deficits in federal budgets. The presidential candidates that have expressed their interests of being the nations’ top executive have demonstrated excellent traits of making good presidents. However, Hillary Clinton stands out as the best candidate for the nation’s top executive position. She has wonderful experience, great policies, ideologies and attractive attributes that would enable her steer the country to a bright future. The process of electing and appointing leaders and presidents to offices is the best process since it allows citizens to exercise their democratic right of voting to select the leader of their choice. It allows the majority to identify and choose a suitable leader based on his or her past records. Works Cited Bennis, W. "On Becoming a Leader." Leadership 23.3 (2000): 20-31. Print. Bio. "Jeb Bush." Biography. N.p., 21 Feb. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. . Bio. "Scott Walker." Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. . Dugan, Andrew. "Special Briefing: The Top Five Challenges Obama Faces." Gallup.Com - Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Politics, Economy, Wellbeing, and World. N.p., 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. . Greenstein, Fred I. The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from Fdr to George W. Bush. 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2004. Print. Greenstein, Fred I. "Leadership - The Qualities That Bear On Presidential Performance | The Choice 2004 | FRONTLINE | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. . Read More