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Presidency could be heading into post-dignity era

“p1″>In Dr. Mardy’s weekly column, this is what he said about dignity and the office of the president.  He is a psychologist, a quotation anthologist, and the founder of “Dr. Mardy’s Dictionary of Metaphorical Quotations” (DMDMDQ), the world’s largest online database of metaphorical quotations.  If you are as impressed as I (who agree wholeheartedly with his tactful comments on this highly controversial issue), you may connect with his weekly impressions on other issues: webmaster@drmardy.com:

History has provided many unexpected twists and turns over the years, but when Donald J. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the recent U. S. presidential election, the world witnessed the biggest political upset since Truman defeated Dewy in 1948.  Trump did what almost all seasoned political observers considered so unlikely as to be almost unthinkable (a view, we are learning, many of his close advisors also privately held).

No matter how you voted — or who you cheered for — one thing is certain as Americans and the rest of the world look out over the next four years: We’re in for a bumpy ride. And while most of the political battles are relatively easy to predict (immigration, taxation, foreign affairs, health care, the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade, and the fate of Social Security and Medicare), there is one great unanswered question: Will the dignity of the office of the president be preserved?

In a 1916 speech to the National Press Club, President Woodrow Wilson said:

“A friend of mine says that every man who takes office in Washington either grew or swelled, and when I give a man an office, I watch him carefully to see whether he is swelling or growing.”

What President Wilson said about political appointments also applies to elective office, and especially to the office of president. Of the 44 officeholders, many (like Truman) grew into the position, and some (like Nixon) simply swelled.

Presidential dignity is a key dimension by which we judge presidents, and on this score, even Barack Obama’s critics would likely give him high marks. In a 2009 New York Times article, conservative columnist David Brooks wrote of the 44th president:

“Whatever policy differences people may have with him, we can all agree that he exemplifies reticence, dispassion, and the other traits associated with dignity.”

According to Brooks, the tradition all started with George Washington, who personified what Brooks called “The Dignity Code.” He explained it this way:

“p1″>”The dignity code commanded its followers to be disinterested — to endeavor to put national interests above personal interests.  It commanded its followers to be reticent — to never degrade intimate emotions by parading them in public. It also commanded its followers to be dispassionate — to distrust rashness,  zealotry, fury and political enthusiasm.”

During the recent presidential campaign, candidate Trump failed to win the endorsement of his own party’s two living presidents.  The two previous Republican presidential nominees also could not find it in their hearts to support him.  Much of their resistance to him, I believe, had to do with this elusive concept of dignity. Even Mr. Trump’s most fervent fans, when reflecting on his half-century of life in the public spotlight, would not apply the phrase “a dignified life” to the man they supported.

“p1″>Imagine, then, how difficult it must have been when President Barack Obama so graciously hosted President-elect Trump at the White House this past week.  Many critics of Mr. Trump were encouraged when he appeared to rise to the occasion, saying he was “honored” to spend the time with “a very good man.”  In his remarks, Mr. Trump even said, before stopping in mid-sentence, “I have great respect.” Was he about to say something exceedingly complimentary about a man he’d been savaging on the campaign trail? Who knows for sure.

The day before his White House meeting with President Obama, Mr. Trump also showed a touch of class when he did an about-face on his “Crooked Hillary” mantra and said of her: “Hillary has worked very hard for a long period of time and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.” Can we expect more of this kind of thing from a President Trump? Or will he revert to form?

Donald J. Trump will become the 45th president in a little more than two months. Like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, I hope he succeeds in his presidency. But, as a member of the loyal opposition, I would be less than honest if I were to suggest that I am feeling hopeful and optimistic. And, to be completely honest, I get an uneasy feeling whenever a time-honored observation from Napoleon comes to mind: “When small men attempt great enterprises, they always end by reducing them to the level of their mediocrity.”

So, the questions remain. Will President-elect Trump grow or swell in office? Will he be monumentally successful or “a politician of monumental littleness” (as Theodore Roosevelt once described John Tyler)? And, finally, after four years of a Trump administration, will the dignity of the office of the president remain intact?

Time will tell, of course, and as you ponder the most likely outcome, let your thinking be stimulated by this week’s collection of quotations on the theme of dignity:

“Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.” — Aristotle

“Dignity was the first quality to be abandoned when the heart took over the running of human affairs.” — William Boyd

“It is terrifying to see how easily, in certain people, all dignity collapses.” — Albert Camus

“By dignity I mean the absence of ludicrous and debasing associations.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” — Abraham Joshua Heschel

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