What Makes an Ideal President?
Different people have different ideals about everything; this includes who would make the best president, as much as some would wish otherwise. But there are some metrics that can be used to measure certain qualities that I think would be ideal for a president to have—as close to ideal, at least, as one can realistically get to. I won’t be talking about things such as their gender or ethnicity; those aspects, as far as I’m concerned, have no relevance to a president’s qualities or their performance. But regarding what does make an ideal president, their personality is a good place to start; based on the five-factor personality model, I think the ideal president would have a high degree of conscientiousness, extraversion, confidence, and agreeableness, while maintaining an even balance between curiosity and caution. The first four qualities are all good for helping someone do their job in an efficient manner while working with other politicians, and being willing to go against the grain if they feel the need to; the fifth quality ensures a degree of open-mindedness without the added cost of a lack of critical thinking—we wouldn’t want a president who is open to baseless conspiracy theories. All these qualities, I think, would make for an active president who’s positive about the role they play. They’re also qualities that I think are more often found in young- to middle-aged adults; thus, I think the ideal president would be younger than average—at least, younger than what you usually see in the halls of power. But I don’t think these qualities make an ideal president all by themselves; a president could have all these qualities and still be a terrible president. Thus, I think the ideal president must have a solid ethical foundation too, and they should be willing to prioritize those ethical principles over their place in the political ecosystem if they feel like they absolutely must.
Of course, this leads me to the necessary qualification that the president’s ethical principles may lead them to try and become dictators, even if they don’t realize it themselves. That’s what the Constitution is there for—to hold back politicians of all stripes from becoming tyrannical. And for the most part, I think it’s done a fairly good job of both preventing would-be dictators and holding them back if they do get into power. However, I also think there is one specific aspect of the Presidency in which the Constitution is too lax—executive orders. The Constitution doesn’t say anything specifically about executive orders, but as they’re currently conceived, I can’t help but see executive orders as a means for the President to get around Congress, as opposed to working with them, to set their agenda. Ergo, I think there should be similar rules around executive orders as around bills—if bills must get Presidential approval before becoming law, then I think it only makes sense for executive orders to get Congressional approval also. I also have my thoughts on the impeachment process, but I don’t want to get too off-track.
Lastly, to get back to what makes an ideal president, there are certain aspects of their background that matter. Ideally, a president’s background would grant them a lot of worldly experience; a president who’s well-travelled, been to different places, and met many different people with many different backgrounds of their own is a president who’s going to have more of a connection with the public—including all the different minority demographics and diasporas—than a president who’s never been outside their hometown, or otherwise done any of those things. Which leads me to an unmentioned sixth quality that I think a president should have—they should be able and willing to step outside their comfort zones when it’s called for. That seems like a very inherent quality that a president must have to perform well at their job. Abraham Lincoln was not a “woke” progressive by any of our modern standards, so issuing the Emancipation Proclamation had to have been uncomfortable for him, especially knowing its potential for ending his entire Presidency. But he did it anyway, and now he’s considered one of the US’s greatest presidents.
Given the nature of politics, it’s very hard to find a politician who has all these qualities; however, if you do look for all of them in potential candidates, I believe that this should be the tiebreaker. After all, if a president doesn’t have the courage to step outside their comfort zone, then they don’t have the courage to do all that’s necessary to perform well in the office. And I think most people would agree—that would be disastrous for all of us.