Instead of another droll economist, yesterday’s luncheon speaker was a Washington “insider.”  He made  some interesting comparisons about our Presidents.  For example, both Clinton and Obama sustained large losses in the first mid-term election of their first term.  However, President Clinton is a person who wanted to be “liked” and changed his policies.  Today, he is a popular former President.  Even some Republicans respect him.  On the other hand, President Obama is so confident in his own intelligence and the correctness of his positions that he will not change them, believing it is his job to do the “right” thing and that history will be kind.

So, what recent President was most like Obama?  President George W. Bush – because he was also more concerned with being right than being liked.  He was so convinced that occupying Iraq and Afghanistan was the morally right thing to do that he ignored the growing opposition from the American people.  History has yet to be kind to his legacy.

The point our speaker was making is that Americans will not follow for very long, no matter how good a leader the President may be, unless they are being led in the right direction.  Since nobody is perfect and makes mistakes, let us hope the next President is flexible enough to lead us where we want to go, not where he thinks we should go.  But, how do you measure a person’s flexibility?

Of course, maybe inflexibility is just another reflection of gerrymandering to produce rabid partisans?