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Crisis in the Presidency
| Article
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14150 |
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Section : |
EDITORIAL
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1988 |
1,717 Words |
| Author
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Morton A. Kaplan
Editor and Publisher |
The American presidency is widely regarded as the world's most powerful office, but it is in a state of crisis. President Kennedy was assassinated in office. President Johnson fled from a nomination that would have been his. President Nixon escaped impeachment only by resignation. His nominated successor, Gerald Ford, could not win election. Jimmy Carter was discredited and suffered resounding defeat. And the seemingly impervious Ronald Reagan has lost his Teflon and most of his influence in the wake of a series of calamities.
Is it possible to govern the nation anymore? Are the any leaders capable of doing the job? And, if there are, is there any possibility of nominating and electing them? These are serious questions and they deserve serious answers.
At the dawn of the Republic, in a simpler (and better?) age, giants were available: Washington, Adams (John and John Quincy), Jefferson, and Madison. These men were skilled in statecraft both internal and external and they possessed intellectual capabilities that would be astounding in today's candidates. Their hopes and plans for the nation were informed by deep study of ancient and modern societies. They were familiar with the scientific currents of their age, and they had linguistic skills we cannot match. I remember reading with awe the letters John Quincy Adams wrote at the age of eleven and knowing that I do not today possess comparable skills of expression.
They were aristocrats who were educated in an aristocratic school system. Their grade school teachers probably had better-trained minds than do most college teachers today. However valuable in other respects the democratization
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