Robert Dallek's Guide To Assessing The Presidency

The book, my Bible for assessing Presidential effectiveness, is "Hail to the Chief: The Making and Unmaking of American Presidents." It's an extremely beneficial tool when analyzing the various administrations of U.S. History. It's one of those few select books that I became giddy while reading. It was if I unlocked a different world.

The nice part is that you do not have to be a historian to grasp its complexities. It's an extremely simple concept, and therein lies its genius.

In short, the book analyzes an effective President under five broad categories: V.P.C.C.T.

Vision, Pragmatism, Consensus, Charisma, and Trust.

No trait is greater than the other, as there are Presidents who embody all, some, few, or none.

Vision- This is a broad, general direction of where the country is going. Vision usually involves multiple aspects of American society. In Presidential terms, John Quincy Adams and John F. Kennedy embody this trait. If you want to hit a little closer to home, think Martin Luther King, Jr.

Pragmatism- This is a "chameleon in plaid." This is someone who understands the need to change tactics, and is quick to adapt to various changes. Presidentially, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower are perfect examples.

Consensus- This is the ability to gather support from various parties throughout the country. These are the folks who usually bring people together. Think George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt.

Charisma- These are the folks who influence with words and body language. These are masters of rhetoric, and people love them. Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan are two ends of the same spectrum.

Trust- Perhaps the most difficult aspect for a President to embody, an honest President sometimes clashes with the necessity for pragmatism. More often than not, honest Presidents usually have low approval ratings. Examples: Jimmy Carter and Harry Truman.


There are some odd cases. Richard Nixon was a great visionary leader, but a scoundrel who lacked vision. Andrew Jackson was trustworthy, but he sacked the National Bank.

Honestly, you can't fully access the effectiveness of a President until their term has long expired. Only now can we truly start to access George H.W. Bush's Presidency. As much as I love to yell at Bush, Jr., we're still in it.


So, the candidates.

Obama, Clinton, and McCain. Using the 5 points to what we already know... let's break them down.

Vision- Barack Obama has the best of the bunch. He knocks this trait out of the ballpark, and that's exactly why voters are flocking to him in drobes. Clinton and McCain have vision, but they both seem to limit themselves.

Pragmatism- Clinton wins by a longshot. She gets the job done, and she has the experience to know when change in strategy is necessary. McCain has been thought of as anti-pragmatic, but his stance on many things has changed recently to cater to conservatives.

Consensus- Barack Obama is again, the best of the bunch. He is crossing party lines often, and it's working. McCain does that too, but he is still despised by many conservatives. And we all know Clinton's history with Republicans, Democrats, Independents, etc.

Charisma- They are all fairly charismatic, but Obama's speaking ability throws him above the other two. The key: watch the crowd as Obama speaks. McCain and Clinton have their own charisma, but it comes and goes.

Trust- McCain has shown himself to be the most trustworthy, though he has shown fragments of pragmatism as of late. We simply do not know enough about Obama to properly judge. But that's a good thing (not a lot of voting records to hold against him). Clinton is perhaps the classic case of the pragmatic vs. trust issue. Not many people trust Hillary Clinton, but she'll fight for what she believes in.


Right now, vision stands head and shoulders above the rest. Obama is surging in the polls. If he's the candidate, he's going to be extremely difficult to defeat. He's breaking historical trend in his popularity, and I love every minute of it.

Personally, I'm willing to forego my own stingy liberal beliefs for great vision. My lack of faith in governing bodies in general has utterly waned. I see both parties as negligent and utterly apathetic to the cause of the needy, and the dreams of me and my fellow citizens. So, I think it's time for some J.Q.A. vision.

Since Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards dropped, hopefully the third time is indeed the charm.


I'm voting for Barack Obama... and I hope he doesn't let me and the millions of people rooting for him down.

The Asylum Narrows to Four (In Reality, 3)

McCain is the Republican candidate.

Problem: the right hates him because he deals with Democrats, and he isn't conservative enough. I think it's pretty funny... watching the idiot-train eat him alive.



Meanwhile...

The Democratic race is far from decided.

Obama is the front-runner now. He won all three states. For the first time, he is leading the delegates. The magic number is 2,025.

Obama has 1215 and Clinton has 1190.

There are 1,618 delegates left.

Everyone is worried about a tie. In this case, a tie means that neither candidate hits 2,025.

If both candidates split everything right down the middle, Obama will still be one candidate short. The tie means that someone's going to get shafted, as there will have to be a deal made. If that happens, people are going to feel left out, and possibly vote Republican.

Here's the weird thing:

These idiots called "superdelegates," aren't required to vote the way their district says. So, essentially, they could change their mind right up to the election.

Obama has momentum, and that's huge. I'm voting for Obama.

I've supported Kucinich, but he dropped. Then I supported Edwards, and he dropped. Third time's the charm? No idea.

Random Musings

Well, it seems I'm anti-prophetic. My guy dropped out of the race. I'm at a loss.

Barack or Hillary? I have no earthly clue. The two of them have both parts effective and both parts stupid. It suspect it will continue to stay ugly until after "Super Tuesday" (I hate saying that).

Well, the idiot field has cleared considerably. Two Democrats; Four Republicans (if you count Ron Paul). McCain looks like a shoo-in for the Republicans, barring Mitt Romney magically transforming into a Democrat and back into a Republican (which could very well happen overnight).

They love to throw out the "L" word, don't they? It reminds me of West Virginia churches. It's not even funny anymore, just sad.

As much of the Democratic persuasion as I am, I really wouldn't mind McCain (though folks can and do change in office). McCain seems to openly welcome the opportunity to work with Democrats. I also feel that he will do his utmost to keep us safe. Unlike our current President, I feel he is highly respectful of those in the military... a subject dear to my heart. His age works against him, but he is rather fit.

He would definitely be an improvement to the current status, methinks. No thanks to Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee. I'll vehemently oppose them in office.

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Heath Ledger is still on my mind. As I've said before, his passing has effected me more than celebrity before him... James Brown, Christopher Reeve, Steve Irwin, etc.

No, I didn't know Ledger. No, I wasn't his biggest fan, though I was a huge fan of his films... even before he was chosen to play the Joker. "The Patriot" and "The Order" were my two favorites from his filmography. When he was chosen to play the Joker, I rented "Brokeback Mountain" just to see his range. While the movie itself was good (save the horrible music and that one scene), Ledger was phenomenal.

This is going to last a long while. After July, Ledger will become etched into legend. Mark my words.

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John Grisham has a new novel out. When I get some dinero, I'll pick up "The Appeal." If you haven't read his works, try "The Last Juror."

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Is there some sort of black cloud over marriage? I know, divorce rates are high... what else is new? The reason for asking is that I receive a "how's married life going..." or "are you still glad to be hitched..." at every single turn.

Married life is blissful; I freaking love it. I love being married. I can't stress that enough. Perhaps people are rather stupid when it comes into getting hitched. I see marriage as a freedom, not a prison.

I've had so much bad luck with so many women. I remember all the names, and the legendary failures. I honestly thought God was punishing me because I couldn't find the one. However, when I found the one, life got a whole lot better.

Marriage is work, but it's good work. It's like getting paid for kissing. Best job I've ever had.

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The economy is in the shitter... who knew? You know, my guy mentioned the economy long before the idiot parade started. As in years before. Just remember that. As such, Bush is actually working with Democrats... and Congress is actually awake. Who knew? It's going to take a lot more work to fix this mess, though. Trickle-down economics isn't the solution. There are poor people who are in a lot worse shape than those of upper class.

Oh yeah, and the tax cuts Bush wants to make permanent? Guess what? That helps those who have the money, not those without the money. This was done by the C.B.O. (Congressional Budget Office), an independent agency. So this isn't a left-wing conspiracy theory. This is real, and it bites.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/08/pf/taxes/bush_tax_cuts/index.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61178-2004Aug12.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/washington/08tax.html

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Personally, I've got a good feeling about some positive change coming my way. A really good feeling. When this change happens, I'll be a happier person.