[Neurons] 2020 Neurons #42 PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGES

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall   

2020 Neurons #42

August 27, 2020

Reflections on Politics #2

 

 

PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGES

 

When he became president, he was actually an unlikely choice.  He had so
many things against him and yet over a wild selection process up against so
many other very able candidates, four of whom were expected to become
president rather than him.  At the beginning there was no expectation that
he could become president, none at all, but that's what happened.   As a
Washington outsider, he was viewed widely as completely ill-equipped and
unable to handle the presidency.  What did work for him was his level of
energy and activity, he did get things done.  He also had a hands-on
approach to his leadership ... and as an extrovert spent most of his time
talking with people both in and out of the office.

 

He thought of himself as the voice of the people, the forgotten man.   At
first, he hired and fired associates to help him run the government.  There
was a lot of turn-over in the first couple years.  It took a full three
years to evolve things so that they reflected his policies and were
effective.  His administration suffered in the first year or two from people
who were actually spies from his enemies who lacked loyalty and honesty and
who did many things to undermine the things that he attempted to do.  His
enemies tried everything they could to discredit him.

 

In terms of the press and the press's response to him, "he was publically
called just about every name imaginable by the press ..."  One newspaper
labeled him "the craftiest and most dishonest politician that ever disgraced
an office in America." (p. 66).  He suffered "severe and unjust criticism."
(p. 68).

 

Now those quotes (above) come from the book, Lincoln on Leadership (1992) by
Donald T. Phillips.  The names that they called the president included "a
grotesque baboon, a third-rate country lawyer who once split rails and now
splits the Union, a coarse vulgar joker, a dictator, an ape, a buffoon,
etc."   That was politics 1860.  Of course, none of that was about Donald J.
Trump, it was about Abraham Lincoln.

 

Further, Trump is no Lincoln and he would do himself a lot of good if he
would emulate Lincoln's kindness, his ability to ignore insults, and forgive
violations.  He would also do so much better if he did as Lincoln did-  stay
absolutely focused on one thing and not get sidetracked on personalities.
Lincoln focused on uniting the union and freeing the slaves; Trump should
focus on "making America great again."

 

One thing about leaders, especially leaders who get things done, and who
take a bold stance for his policies- he will be criticized and mocked.  And
this becomes even more so when he is not a Washington insider, not someone
from the swamp.  Put up a non-politician, who doesn't know the deceptive way
of talking out of both sides of one's mouth at the same time, against those
who have vested interests and who are indebted to so many others - and you
will have a person who everyone in the swamp will hate and do whatever they
can to get rid of him.

 

If all of that happened to the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln,
I suppose it will happen to others.  I also suppose this is politics as
usual.  We can do better than this- much better.

 

For more, see Political Coaching: Self-Actualizing Leaders and Countries
(2015), Chapter 23 is exclusively on Abraham Lincoln.

                                                                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




 

 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director 

International Society of Neuro-Semantics 

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO. 81520 USA                             

               1 970-523-7877 

 

    cid:261CED33-4408-4124-862B-B9A4B37A367A

 

cid:image002.png at 01D6149D.5CB2A1C0

 

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