The Crucial Role of Personal Character in Presidential Legacy

Abstract

Personal character is crucial and important in carrying out the day-to-day activities of the modern presidency, but it does not ensure success in their presidential legacy. They even use presidents as models, such as Herbert Hoover, who was a superb Commerce Secretary and had all the characteristics of a great president. He demonstrated his good character in numerous humanitarian activities during and after World War I, but he was not a good president; qualities that had served him well in other situations, such as steadiness and conviction, prevented him from being flexible when it was needed during the Great Depression. Richard Nixon, on the other hand, was re-elected as president despite displaying negative characteristics such as misuse of position, dishonesty, and so on. Transparency, sternness, open-mindedness, flexibility, and empathy are the most important qualities for a president in my opinion, because he should uphold integrity as a role model for the country and lead with strictness when necessary, be flexible to changes for the betterment of the country, and be gentle as well. Indeed, a president's public and private behavior should be distinguished because a president acts in public for the god of the entire country, taking necessary measures to ensure the well-being of every citizen, while their private life should be viewed as that of another ordinary citizen who also wants the best for the country.