Friday, December 4, 2015

Robert Gates writes in WaPo: The kind of president we need

. . . "Restrained from questioning the motives of those who disagree and treating them as enemies with no redeeming qualities." . . .
Robert M. Gates   The writer served as secretary of defense in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations.

"Many Americans are mad as hell at our political leaders — both Republican and Democrat — and are giving voice to their anger through the likes of Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The anger is understandable. The federal government is paralyzed, unable to tackle any of the major problems facing our country or even accomplish basic functions such as enacting annual budgets for federal departments and agencies. The anger derives equally from governmental ineptitude, arrogance and corruption, and self-serving politicians more concerned with getting reelected than with the nation’s future.
"The next president will face major domestic problems, as well as the challenges posed by Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, terrorism and a Middle East in turmoil. What kind of qualities should we be looking for in a new chief executive? Based on my experience working for eight presidents, of both political parties, here is my take:" . . .
. . . "The next president must lead in restoring civility to our political process. We must hope that the president we elect next year will again and again remind all Americans of our common destiny, and that our fate as a nation and as a people is bound up with one another. Our new leader should appeal, in President Abraham Lincoln’s words, to “the better angels of our nature.' ”

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