Voting.

When our republic was formed, it was determined that the states would elect representatives to a national convention, and the representatives, as delegates from the states, would elect a chief executive to be called “president.” Our first president was George Washington, hero commander of the Continental Army that defeated Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Washington won a majority of delegates from every state. John Adams, who received the second highest number of delegates, was elected vice president. Thomas Jefferson was appointed secretary of state.

In 2020 we will elect or reelect a president. We have had presidents with high standards and a few who have failed to meet a high bar. What are those standards? Peggy Noonan, writing in the Wall Street Journal (“The Century of the Postheroic Presidency,” 12/28/2019) says the following:

We have entered the age of the postheroic presidency. Certain low ways are forgiven, certain rough ways now established. Americans once asked a lot of their presidents. They had to be people not only of high competence and solid, sober backgrounds, but high character…But the heroic conception of the presidency is over.

President Clinton was the first president in modern times who didn’t serve in the military services. Clinton of course had other failings. President George W. Bush served honorably in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War era, but his national service prior to his election as the forty-third president did not compare to that of his father, our forty-first president.

In my mind, the last president to meet all the high standards we should set for Commander-in-Chief and leader of the free world was President George H. W. Bush, also known as “Bush 41.”

What are the standards we should collectively set for the office of the President of the United States of America? Here is my list:

1. Educational excellence: President George H. W. Bush graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University.
2. Relevant experience: the senior President Bush was a successful businessman in Texas, a member of Congress, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador to China, Director of the CIA, and vice president under President Ronald Reagan for eight years.
3. National service with distinction: President Bush was a navy pilot in World War II and received the Navy Cross for bravery.
4. Temperament: those who knew him best described him as a person of great humility, modesty, and an even temperament.
5. Integrity: even his political enemies regarded President Bush as a person with high personal integrity, meaning he was honest and fair.
6. Morality: There were never any hints of inappropriate behavior relating to President George H.W. Bush, who was married to his wife, Barbara, for seventy-three years until her death in 2013.
7. Leadership: though never considered a gifted orator, President Bush understood the basic tenants of leadership and was an exceptionally effective leader.

There are now, in my opinion, just five people who are likely to be our next president.  They are President Donald Trump; former Vice President Joe Biden; Senator Bernie Sanders; Senator Elizabeth Warren; and Indianapolis Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Look at the following table and determine how you would judge these people as they compare to the high standards for president.

If you complete this exercise you are likely to find that Peggy Noonan’s assessment is valid. The choices we have are all challenged in some ways. I won’t share my assessment, but I will say that, in my mind, none come close to the standards of President George H. W. Bush. Our vote will come down to values. Which of the candidates most closely shares our values, or which is more likely to support the political positions our values dictate? These are different questions.

My values revolve around faith, family, and flag. I believe in freedom of religion, and my faith is important to me. I believe in basic human rights, including the rights to life, liberty, and happiness. The government’s highest responsibility is to protect life. All lives matter, in my mind, including the lives of unborn children. Finally, I believe in a strong and well-funded military. The most important job of the national government is providing national security.            Though none of the candidates meets the high standards we should establish and maintain for president, they each represent positions that reflect the values they will support. In the November election it will be a binary choice. We will be forced to choose one or the other, flawed though they both may be. I will pull the lever based on the values that are important to me.

Perhaps Peggy Noonan is wrong. There may be a man or woman of this century who meets the high standards we once set for our nation’s president. It won’t be 2020, but it may come soon. I sincerely hope so.