George Washington and the attributes of a President
Tom Nichols, who taught at the U.S. Naval War College, wrote a brilliant article in the Atlantic back in October. I will work from memory here, but it made a huge impact on me. When the Founding Fathers were getting this country started, they worked from a blank slate. Some wanted to have a King, but most said, No that is what we are rebelling against. It was interesting that they could not come to agreement on who was fit to be the first leader. GW did not want to job. He wanted to be back on his farm at Mt. Vernon. He expected they would come ask him and, since there was no one else to fill the role, he reluctantly agreed.
President Washington put a lot of thought and additional sacrifice into defining the role. He did not think of himself, but knew he was setting the model for a long time into the future. He made a lot of difficult choices to create the right dignity and respect for the position. As Nichols put it (I did look it up now instead of relying too much on memory) -
Washington was a stoic (see the Stoic pages), who believed in always acting with honor and being open. He insisted a president should, more than anyone, adhere to the laws and codes of the country. He wanted the office to be humble and in servitude to the country. His greatest act of loyalty to the office was so willingly giving up all power even though he could have made the new office into anything he desired.