Humble, consistent leadership needed
The posturing, selfserving activities in Washington revolve around an investigation intended to show the world our system of government really works. Hopefully, the Russians are impressed although their leader, Putin, seems more amused than impressed. If we could really listen into the private conversations of leaders of other countries, I’m pretty sure they would be talking about the same topics we hear from the average American voter. The question I hear most is “are these congressional hearing about an impeachment really necessary or are they just another Washington waste of time and money?”
We might have elected a person whose previous claim to fame was television show’s performances and a history of attractive women, but he did win the election in spite of all the Democratic complaints. His record of hotel management might be tarnished by failures and poor business decisions, but the Trump organization still exists with hotels and golf courses that are way too rich for me to frequent. As far as I know, the Trump airplane that he used for his campaign was his and not a government provided perk, such as some of our House and Senate leaders use at taxpayer expense. He might be the butt of lots of television jokes and abused by the media in various forms, but he did get elected in spite of all the negative comments.
Just for the record, as I have said so many times previously, he is an embarrassment to many of us who voted for him and probably to the Republican Party as well. What we don’t acknowledge often enough, he is trying to do what the majority of Americans elected him to do i.e. bring about change in Washington. It was interesting to hear Nancy Pelosi acknowledge the passing of a change to
NAFTA as a needed improvement for America. Wasn’t trade a major issue on Trump’s campaign agenda? If our illustrious leader could harness his ego and not offend so many people with his Tweets, he might be recognized as an important president in U.S. history. There is very little doubt that he will represent the Republican Party on the ballot in 2020 because political parties like a winner — no matter who they offend as long as the people they offend are not big financial supporters.
We were recently in Texas and our discussions with friends included some conversations about politics. It was very interesting to hear younger people (under 30 years of age) discuss their support for the New York businessman/president because of what he is doing in Washington. There seemed to be no referral to his past personal life which was such an issue during the previous political campaign. What surprised me was the informed conversation of the younger age group. They were college graduates and may not be typical of all young people, however.
When campaigning becomes serious next year we might see a different Donald Trump. It would be my hope that four years of meeting other world leaders would help him see his role a little differently than he expected it to be when he took office. Hopefully the revolving door personnel turnover of his inner circle will have made him a better judge of character and made him more cautious of his choice in appointing members of his staff.
And, above and beyond all the aforementioned concerns, our nation needs for him to grow-up and govern consistently and humbly for the world’s sake.
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Editor’s note: Leo Lynch, an award-winning columnist, is a native of Benton County and has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace.