Chapter 1: A mandate to lead
memorandum (personal and confidential)
To: The President Elect
From: Madeleine K. Albright
Date: Election Night, 2008
Congratulations on your success. Well done! You have won a great victory. But with that victory comes the responsibility to lead a divided nation in a world riven by conflict and inequity, wounded by hate, bewildered by change, and made anxious by the renewed specter of nuclear Armageddon.
In days to come, leaders you've never heard of, from countries you can barely locate, will assure you of their friendship and offer you assistance. My advice is to accept, for you will need help.
We Americans like to think of ourselves as exemplars of generosity and virtue, but to many people in many places, we are selfish, imperious, and violent. The voters will want you to transform this perception while also protecting us, defeating our enemies, and securing our economic future — in other words, to do as promised during your campaign.
The president of the United States has been compared to the ruler of the universe, a helmsman on a great sailing ship, the Mikado's Grand Poo-bah, a lonely figure immersed in "splendid misery" (Jefferson's description), and "the personal embodiment [of the] ... dignity and majesty of the American people" (William Howard Taft's).
Students of the office have identified an array of presidential roles: commander in chief, master diplomat, national spokesperson, head administrator, top legislator, party leader, patron of the arts, congratulator of athletic teams, and surrogate parent. Your political advisors will want you to focus on activities that will keep your poll numbers high and get you reelected. I urge you to concentrate on duties that will restore our country's reputation and keep us safe.
On January 20, 2009, you will place your hand on the Bible and, prompted by Chief Justice Roberts, swear in front of three hundred million Americans and six billion people worldwide to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Following George Washington's example, you will add a heartfelt "so help me God." The oath completed, you will become the world's most powerful person. It will no longer be happenstance when you enter a room and the band strikes up "Hail to the Chief." You have attained our nation's highest office; the question, not yet answered, is whether you have what it takes to excel in the job.
. . . .
That's hysterical, the way he's stuttering gives away the fact that he doesn't believe a word he's saying.
