CLASSROOM LAW PROJECT
Selecting the Next President
Backgrounder
Qualities of a Great President
Vijai P. Sharma, Ph.D
Did you know that stubbornness and disagreeableness are two characteristics that are
associated with great presidents?
Well, how about disorganization? Imagine being a bit disorganized associated with
presidential greatness! For example, Abraham Lincoln was famous (or notorious) for
that.
Sounds incredible, doesn't it? And yet, according to recent research, these qualities,
alongside highly admirable and enviable qualities, are identified in the great presidents
of our nation.
Three psychologists, Drs. Steven Rubenzer, Thomas Fasschingbauer and Deniz Ones,
interviewed one hundred presidential historians, the experts in the field. These experts
rated presidents on their psychological characteristics and behavior for the five years
before they became president. The psychologists did not take into account a president's
behavior while in the office because the pressure of the national circumstances could be
different from one president to another and those differences could have confounded
the results.
These psychologists with the help of the historians identified the characteristics and
qualities of the ten greatest presidents of our nation, namely, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin
Roosevelt, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow
Wilson, Harry Truman, Andrew Jackson, Dwight Eisenhower, and James Madison.
Let me continue with the not-so-noble qualities of the great presidents.
After all, we have to appease the cynical side in us, which has become a little more
"noisy" from our disillusionment with contemporary political leaders. So, here are
several more beside the stubbornness, disagreeableness and a lack of order and
organization: great presidents did not keep their desk neat in the oval office; historically,
great presidents were found to be low on straightforwardness; they could bend the truth
a little to suit their purpose; they could bully or manipulate people to get their way and
they were willing to fight if picked on.
There are interesting contrasts in the present and the past presidents: Most modern
presidents are clearly "extraverts," outgoing and highly sociable. The early great
presidents scored lower on this quality even when compared to an average American of
present times. Perhaps we all have become more extraverted than an average person
of the past. Perhaps, modern presidents have excelled in this trait because of the role
media plays in modern politics.
LESSON 1
9
CLASSROOM LAW PROJECT
Selecting the Next President
Let's now get to the qualities that really made our great presidents great. Striving for
achievement with high aspirations for one's own self and for the country was found to be
one of the most important qualities of all great presidents. Ambition is inconsequential
without personal competence. Competence including superior intellectual ability was a
big predictor for presidential success.
Most successful presidents tend to be hard working and persistent. "Presidents who
succeed set ambitious goals for themselves and move heaven and earth to meet them"
say the researchers.
Great presidents tend to be open minded. They are attentive to their emotions. They are
willing to question traditional values and try new ways of doing things. But, when it
comes to faith and morals, they are traditional in morals and tend to rely on leadership
from church and religious figures on these matters.
Great presidents of the past were more imaginative and more interested in art and
beauty than the less successful presidents. They were "tender minded," with great
concern for the less fortunate.
Great presidents have exceptional ability to tolerate stress and adversity. The single
quality most consistently associated with presidential greatness is assertiveness.
Incidentally, the researchers say that all presidents could be classified into one or more
of eight presidential types. These include: the "Dominators" (such as Richard Nixon,
Andrew Johnson, Lyndon Johnson, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk or Teddy
Roosevelt); the "Introverts" (such as, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Richard Nixon,
Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, James Buchanan, Woodrow Wilson and Benjamin
Harrison); the "Good Guys" (such as Rutherford Hays, Zachary Taylor, Dwight
Eisenhower, John Tyler, Cleveland, Gerald Ford or George Washington); the
"Innocents" (such as, William Taft, Warren Harding or Ulysses Grant); the "Actors"
(such as, Ronald Reagan, Warren Harding or Bill Clinton); the "Maintainers" (such as,
Bush, Ford or Truman); the "Philosophers" (such as Lincoln, Jefferson, Madison or
Carter); and the "Extraverts" (such as FDR, Kennedy, Clinton, Theodore Roosevelt,
Reagan or LBJ).
Let's now discuss our psychology as we get ready to vote. Those who support one
candidate will see all the noble qualities in their guy and the negative ones in the other,
and the supporters of the other guy will do the opposite.
Copyright 2001, Mind Publications, mindpub.com/art377.htm
LESSON 1
10