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The next President will face cross currents and tidal waves of crises not matched since Abraham Lincoln saw the Union was falling apart or Franklin Roosevelt witnessed the economic collapse of 1933 and later the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Like Lincoln and FDR, he must answer a call to greatness, move to unify the nation and join with Congress to mobilize the nation's best minds and build partnerships and strengthen alliances abroad. Otherwise he will be a one-term President and preside over a nation in decline.
His first step must be to form a bipartisan cabinet of two able members from the other party, as Franklin Roosevelt did in 1940 when he recognized the threat posed by Hitler and prepared to meet the challenge of war. Second, he must recognize that as President he must form a working partnership with Congress. Contrary to what some Presidents—most notably Woodrow Wilson and George W. Bush—have believed, such an embrace does not mean giving up Presidential power.
Abroad, the President needs to re-invigorate both our Atlantic and Pacific alliances, remembering that, at its best, NATO won the Cold War without firing a shot—the perfect victory. Furthermore, there are able and creative members of Congress who can be brought into this dynamic partnership.The President’s leadership with the Congress, with the American public, and with the Alliance means listening as well as talking, for only through such civility will we arrive on higher ground and accomplish what now seems impossible. Lastly, like FDR, he must seek to mobilize the entire nation to face the strategic, financial and budgetary crises as our great Presidents did during World War II and the Cold War.
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