On Ancient Greeks,Quarterbacks, and Presidential Candidates
The media this week is full of pundits criticizing that the Republicans did not appropriately vet (Random House Dictionary definition:to appraise, verify, or check for accuracy, authenticity, validity, etc.) Vice-Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin and of course that Senator Barack Obama was unqualified to be President. Well first of all to MSNBC, FOX, CBS, CNN, ABC, and the venerable New York Times you are all guilty of misusing a term. Parties nominate candidates they do not “vet’ them, it is the American election process that “vets” the candidates not network news media.
Our modern democracy was named after “Demos” which was the Ancient Greek model of democracy that was present during the time of Aristotle in Athens. Our constitution plainly lays out the requirements necessary before a person can be legally elected President. It clearly recognizes that these basic requirements and the election are the only “vetting” necessary. The Constitution does not mention newspaper reporters, cable television reporters, and unfortunately no matter how hard you look you will not find any references to Keith Olbermann. To have a say in Ancient Greece what was required was that a person should be male ( not relevant to today) and have 2 years of experience in government service with the military. Many Greek societies believed that the mark of a true democracy and civilization was that the nation could be led by any citizen not necessarily one special individual. The one thing you could not do in Greek society under penalty of death was pretend to speak expertly about something you were not. You could vote on any issue but only speak on things on which you possessed wisdom . (Many journalists are relieved this is not case in our modern society)
One of our greatest self-deceptions is our ability to be able to identify and quantify great leaders. Every year in the National Football League, millions of dollars are spent looking for the perfect potential Superbowl quarterback. Extensive interviews are held, thousands of hours of game tape reviewed, analysis of judgement under duress examined, and special physical testing is done. Coaches, sport reporters, and fans make bold predictions that one individual will be the next superstar and another a flop. In 2006, Tony Romo was bypassed by every NFL team despite being an “All-American”. Commentators said he came from too small a school, did not face great competition, was too small, and would never make it in the pro’s. He walked onto the Dallas Cowboys football team undrafted and then history was made.
A respected group of psychologists in 2000 looked at the psychological characteristics of every American President and tried to identify what were the characteristics of the most successful Presidents. What they discovered was unsettling to some. Abraham Lincoln was scored the lowest on being straightforward but was still considered honest and well intentioned. George Washington was seen to be conscientiousness but scored lower than typical Americans today on openness, extraversion and agreeableness. In fact, he was likely to be quite rigid. Results of the research indicate that great presidents, besides being stubborn and disagreeable, are more extraverted, open to experience, assertive, achievement striving, excitement seeking and more open to fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas and values. Historically great presidents were low on straightforwardness, vulnerability and order.
Ultimately, the real vetting will be done in the November elections. Lets have a little faith that our democracy just like that of the Ancient Greeks will mostly likely produce able leadership as it has for 200 years. Tony Romo was not a unique event in the vast experiences of American character but maybe represents that in every man or woman of this country there lies great potential. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington was a popular movie because it identified the soul of American democracy. Maybe now it’s time for Mrs. Smith Goes To Washington.
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