Colin Hanrahan

US Governmen

3/12/13

1) The three qualities that create a solid base of a good, effective President a) The ability compromise is the first quality that is needed to be considered an effective President i) JFK highlights the ability to compromise in his book Profiles In Courage ii) The President must be willing to sacrifice his wants and needs in order to better fulfill the needs of the country iii) Although somewhat obvious, the President must be able to posses a certain amount of skill in dealing with the political system of the United States (1) Must be able to play the political game in order to get what needs to be done, done. b) The ability to convey information the people is also something that is important for an effective president to be able to do i) Must be able to reach out to all corners of the country and have what he doing thoroughly expressed to all individuals ii) A great example of this would be the fire side talks by FDR that he made over the radio iii) Not just conveying information to the people but understanding the information and messages that the people are trying to send to him c) Finally the ability to have, and correctly use, a support staff and cabinet is essential to a good Presidency i) The job of president has become one that extends to so many places that it is not possible for one man to handle alone (1) The creation and use of an effective cabinet to watch over less precedent issues at times is how this can be handled ii) Although executive decisions come down to the presidents final decisions, a group advisors is something a that can greatly assist him (1) For certain situation, a differing number of opinions can greatly benefit the President in seeing both sides of the issue to make a more educated, and less rash, decision 2) Simply there is no doubt that a man what he can do should be the factor that most influences how a President should be defined a) Simply there is no doubt that a man what he can do should be the factor that most influences how a President should be defined b) The most extraordinary men have been in office at ordinary times and flourished, while ordinary men have been in office in extraordinary times and faltered i) Teddy Roosevelt is consistently considered to be one of the top Presidents in United States History (1) He built the panama canal, established national parks, destroyed monopolies, and was even the first American to win any sort of Nobel Prize (2) Yet, despite all of these accomplishments he served during an otherwise down time in American history, especially during the 20th century

Colin Hanrahan

US Governmen

3/12/13

(a) He was neither President before, after, or during any sort of major international conflict (b) There was no extreme economic dismay or tragedy effecting the country (3) Yet, if using approval ratings as a judge of the effectiveness of a President, the George W. Bush, who Certainly was in office during extraordinary times, faltered tremendously (a) Was serving as president during what was the largest attack on US soil since Pearl Harbor (b) Despite initially gaining support, the actions that followed, including the ill advised Iraqi war c) It is not to say that times cannot assist a man in achieving greatness during his presidency, for if president with the opportunity great leaders flourish in the most dire times 3) At this time (not to say that in the future things cannot change), the argument can certainty be made that Obama has not been effective during his term, using the previous factors as a base for what an effective is. a) Looking first at the 3 qualities that define an effective president i) Although compromises have been made, the Obama administration is certainly not known for this (1) The stubbornness of both Obama and the democrats in congress (blame placed on him as unofficial leader of the part) nearly lead to a government shutdown (2) A certain give and take must be expected, that has not come ii) The ability to communicate is certainly the one exception that Obama has flourished in of the three (1) He is constantly taking tours around the country, speaking in small towns and getting his message out to the people (a) Even gone on late night TV shows (2) He is by far much more well spoken and charismatic then he predecessor iii) The use of his support staff is certainly something that I believe Obama has faltered with, at least a little bit (1) In foreign affairs it seems as if he has placed all power to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (2) His chair economic advisor has been replaced twice, for a total of three different ones (a) For a country in economic turmoil this is not a good sign (3) Has been called out for a lack of diverse opinion on his staff iv) As far as judging him in terms of the times, he has not been much better then Bush (1) His Presidency is smack in the middle of a recession (a) While this allowed him the oppurtuniy to be a hero and rescue the county it seems the opposite has occurred (i) He has allowed to the slide to continue, something that certainly does not help his cause.