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Morality and Efficacy in Leadership
Peter Robinson issued a writing challenge in Romney on Trump:
To what extent is Mitt Romney correct? [Romney asserted: “To a great degree, a presidency shapes the public character of the nation.”]
I found myself turning back to questions of personal versus political morality or virtue. That brought back contrasts between Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. On that pairing, I recalled a national talk show host claiming, in 2006, that personally morally upright men did not have what it took to do what good leaders must. This was a superficial riff on The Prince. My response at the time, spring of 2006, still seems fairly on point [clarifications in brackets]:
