Today we are observing what has come to be called Presi-dents’ Day. Upon election, a president assumes a unique position in American society. As the political head of our nation, he becomes the em-bodiment, both here and abroad, of who and what we are. Below are a few thoughts on the fundamental attributes any and every president should have.
He, above all others, must possess an unalloyed love of country. He, above all others, must possess an unshakeable belief in our country’s founding principles and ideals. He, above all others, must maintain an unblinking vigil against encroaching threats, domestic and foreign, that would jeopardize our safety and our precious way of life. For he, above all others, is our nation’s foremost patriot, promoter and protector.
No man or woman is fit to serve as president of the United States, no matter what other credentials or qualifications they may possess, if they are not prepared to defend and perpetuate at all cost America’s core beliefs and values. America must have presidents who believe unequivocally in America. We have no need for doubters or apologizers in the White House. A president’s faith must be thoroughly and securely anchored in Americanism, not alien ideologies like socialism, communism or globalism.
Over the years, since the founding of our nation, we have had a small number of phenomenal presidents, a great many good or adequate ones, and a few whose conduct and performance were reprehensible and disappointing, not to mention corrosive and destructive. I don’t think I need to tell you that at this critical juncture in our country’s history we can ill afford to have more of the latter class. We as voters must begin demanding and getting presidents who will inspire and motivate us to meet our nation’s current challenges without forsaking the principles that made us great. We should have no interest in anyone who is willing to settle for second best in world affairs. We should have no interest in anyone whose vision is so narrow and limited that he can offer us no road but the low road.
On this Presidents’ Day, I urge all who read this to become much more attentive and thoughtful in choosing our presidents. Please take the time to thoroughly investigate the background of each candidate. Hold them to the very highest standards of moral conduct, for in as much as we have set aside a day to honor our presidents, let us vow, here and now, to nominate and elect only those among us who are deserving of our deepest admiration.
I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph. --Theodore Roosevelt
