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To the president-elect: Listen to the whispers of your predecessors

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By the time of the publication of this editorial, the election will be over and the 45th president of the United States will have been chosen.

Whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will take the oath on Jan. 20 next year, the next president will be facing a myriad of problems both domestically and overseas. A sluggish economy, an astronomically growing national debt, a significantly larger dependency on public assistance than ever before, an economically counterintuitive Affordable Care Act, which is oxymoronic in name, and a growing sense of societal division among ethnic communities are just some of the national afflictions for which the new president will have to try to find a cure.

Internationally, the continued civil war in Syria and its resulting refugee crisis, China challenging the United States in the South China Sea, Russia’s incremental adventurism in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine and their placing of missiles in Kaliningrad near NATO allies Poland and Lithuania, the progression of ISIS further disrupting the Middle East, and a threatening North Korea are just some of the foreign affairs challenges No. 45 will have to contend with.

Our 45th president will have no restive honeymoon in which to slowly formulate policy and plans. He or she will have to be ready from day one to assure friend and foe alike that the president is in control steady and sure.

So in order to assume the correct productive attitude, it would be beneficial for the new president to reflect upon the advice of those who have struggled to be an effective chief executive in our nation’s history.

It has been often stated that any elected official within the Washington Beltway covets the presidency. However, when the reality of actually obtaining the presidency sets in the unique burden of the Oval Office can call into question those original aspirations.

Our country’s eighth president, Martin Van Buren, stated: “As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it.”

Similarly, the nation’s 15th president, James Buchanan, told his successor Abraham Lincoln: “If you are as happy to enter this office as I am to leave it, you are a happy man indeed.” Also, our 11th president, James K. Polk, perhaps said it best: “It is exceptionally true that the presidency is no bed of roses.”

Although unbridled ambition is the greatest commonality among those who wish to be the leader of the free world. The awesome responsibility of the presidency is not fully realized until an individual takes the oath of office.

The pursuit of the Oval Office often times may muster the underside of the human character. As was clearly expressed by our 19th president, Rutherford B. Hayes: “Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office seeking.” This adage has certainly been true in this presidential campaign. The Republican nominee has widely used corrosive language about his opponents in both the primary and the general election season. In response, the Democrat nominee has used her opponent’s personal foibles against him to cheapen his public perception and promote concerns about his viability as a possible president. Surely, President Hayes’ sentiments have been exhibited by the two nominees this year. The problem with this “anti-campaign” is now that a president-elect has been determined, what kind of endorsement to govern does the future president have? Has the most caustic accuser won the mantle of leadership by and large because they were more successful at depicting their competitor in the worst light?

Specifically, this dilemma can best be explained by an utterance of our 29th president, Warren G. Harding: “Ambition is a commendable attribute without which no man succeeds. Only inconsiderate ambition imperils.”

Correlatively, President Buchanan stated: “The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among free men.” In this case, Buchanan’s assertion may be invalid considering the tenor of the campaign rhetoric this cycle was more akin to insolent middle-school students battling in a lunchroom rather than a positive political discourse explaining the candidate’s plans for our collective future. Thus, this sorrowful excuse for a presidential campaign has rendered most voters seeking who could be termed the least complaining and misbehaving child rather than choosing who would be a hopeful leader for our country.

Seemingly, an uncompromising set of principles is the most durable armor for any one who assumes executive power. Our 22nd and 24th president, S. Grover Cleveland, put it most succinctly: “Above all tell the truth.” Whether or not the president-elect will follow this simple notion of being forthcoming with the public is a puzzling question considering both candidates’ pasts, and whether or not either candidate would be willing to admit a mea culpa is also doubtful.

Our 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant, had the spirit of constructive humility when he stated: “My failures have been errors of judgment not of intent.” Americans can be rather forgiving about our leader’s mistakes if they are honest and contrite. One can argue that our 37th president, Richard M. Nixon, might have held a positive place in presidential history if he had come clean when he discovered the underhanded doings at the Watergate Hotel, rather than covering the incidents up.

The same could also be said of our 42nd president, William J. Clinton. If “President Pants Down” had just had been forthright about his dalliances and not consistently lied about them, he could eluded impeachment and his second term would not be thought of as a cruel joke on the nation.

Although Bill Clinton had his personal problems that ruined his second term, he did have a notably correct sentiment regarding the American identity. He said: “We need a spirit of community, a sense that we are all in this together. If we have no sense of community, the American dream will wither.” A president can use the “bully pulpit” to foster a universal American identity that unites us.

Speaking of that bully pulpit, the man who originated the term was our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt. His ideas about the American identity were not dissimilar to President Clinton’s notions in regard to the matter. Roosevelt stated: “There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americans.”

Considering the state of minority and ethnic relations currently, the president-elect will face a country spilt by divisiveness of culture. If the next president listens to the historic whispers of former presidents, the president-elect could bring us together as a nation and heal many of our society’s open wounds.

Furthermore, if the president-elect shakes off the mud of this dirty election and embraces the sagacious words of advice from presidential predecessors, the new president could serve the office grandly. One just has to listen attentively to the messages of the past, such as the words of our 40th president, Ronald W. Reagan: “America is too great for small dreams.” Or one could hear the honest intentions of our 39th president, James E. Carter: “The best way to enhance freedom in other lands is to demonstrate here that our democratic system is worthy of emulation.” Or one could listen to our 41st president, George H. W. Bush: “The United States is the best and fairest and most decent nation on the face of the earth.”

Our nation still holds the greatest possibility of opportunity for individual freedom and liberty across the globe. We simply need a chief executive who can lead our country not only in the operating minutia of government, but also as a uniting force of our diverse citizenry. Hopefully the president-elect will closely listen to the pearls of wisdom that were earned from the executive experiences of the presidential predecessors.

Moreover, our next president would be wise to heed the hard-honed words of our 33rd and 36th presidents. Harry S, Truman philosophically said: “A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.” Further, the words of Lyndon B. Johnson should resonate in the ears of No. 45 as well: “A president’s hardest task is not to do what’s right, but to know what is right.”

Like most of us, I hope and pray that our new leader hears the whispers of the presidents of the past. For if they acutely listen, the president-elect will hear the echoes of hard-earned wisdom.

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