Why America Can’t Have (and Doesn’t Want) Another Great President

Aaron David Miller, Vice President for New Initiatives and Distinguished Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, discussed his new book The End of Greatness: Why America Can’t Have (and Doesn’t Want) Another Great President, at a book launch event at the Wilson Center.

On October 7, 2014 the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center presented a book launch of Miller’s new book The End of Greatness: Why America Can’t Have (and Doesn’t Want) Another Great President. Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist Tom Friedman served as a commentator for the event. Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, provided welcoming remarks.

Friedman began by asking why Miller, a Middle East specialist, decided to write a book about the American presidency. Beginning as a civil war historian, Miller described how his career has come full circle and that he wanted to explore why the United States has not had any recent great presidents, as it did in its earlier history. He discussed that he has great hope for America, despite its imperfections, and that his identity is deeply rooted in the institutions, culture, and history of the country.

Miller discussed how there are three undeniably great presidents who all rose above the narrow politics of their times: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington. He explained how crisis creates opportunity for great leadership and that a president must have the character and capacity to seize such an opportunity. Miller described how nations always struggle in their early development, at which point they need great leaders. Now that the United States has evolved, it does not need those kinds of "greats" anymore. Within his category of “close but no cigar" presidents, he listed Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Harry Truman.

Miller suggested that President Obama will be remembered for who he is and the importance of his election, but he will not be considered iconic. He discussed how it will be worrisome if America does end with another great president, because it will mean that the country is facing a major crisis. The 2008 financial disaster was a crisis, but not the great depression and didn't give President Obama the same opportunity as it did Franklin D. Roosevelt. Fortunately, according to Miller, there were institutions created during the Great Depression in place that allowed America to cope with the challenge. He explained how 9/11 was a crisis that actually became politically exclusive not inclusive, and a real opportunity for leadership was lost. Miller highlighted how an increasingly intrusive media will not allow a president to be great again, because it removes the mystique and authority that is necessary. He explained that a sign of good leadership is when a president knows how to act properly in response to circumstances of the time. His advice to the audience was to read presidential history and to stop expecting presidents to be great and instead to be good in all aspects of the word -- effective, emotionally intelligent and moral leaders.  Miller concluded by emphasizing that transformation is not something that a president can force, but rather something that is driven by circumstances and events of the time.

During the question portion of the event, Miller stressed how the goal of his book was to start a conversation, not end one. He explained how the founding fathers created a political system for an energetic executive, but also an accountable one, to limit the accretion of power. Regarding advice for President Obama, Miller recommended the president’s priorities should be to keep the country safe and to bring it back from the recession, goals that have always been priorities throughout his presidency.

By John Daniels, Middle East Program