Recently, Caroline Kennedy wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times that she called “A President Like My Father." So what. Why should I care what Caroline Kennedy has to say?
Even if we miss a false memory of a president over forty years gone, why does her opinion matter? Caroline was five days away from her sixth birthday when John F. Kennedy died. How could she have any more insight, memory, knowledge of what he was like as a person, let alone his presidency, policy or political effectiveness, than any astute historian or person who was a least an adult in the early 1960s?
What’s funny is that I can’t answer that question, but I believe, somehow, she does have that knowledge. Maybe it’s the precocity and unbelievable control she had as a six-year-old not to weep or discuss her father’s death in front of John Jr. Maybe it’s her steadfast dedication to rewarding others for public service – something she feels her father held above all else.
Whatever it is, Caroline Kennedy is a reticent and thoughtful woman. I met her last December when she visited The Martha Stewart Show. While a boring guest (and embarrassed, when they played “Sweet Caroline” at the commercial break), I admired a kind of humorous pensiveness to her answers on and off the air. That she is a Kennedy merely gives her access to the New York Times – to you caring what she has to say, to this guise of a name that, over the past fifty years, has become drowned in the boom of its historical echo. You’d hardly think the slight, almost frail, shoulders of this lady could manage the feat. But she manages with quiet aplomb.
While Caroline may never be appropriate for public office, in her January 27 op-ed column she very shrewdly outlines the leadership characteristics that are not only appropriate at any time in history, but very necessary right here, right now. Caroline writes:
I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.
This exact person is necessary because we’ve been deprived him or her for far too long. The present leadership in the White House is anything but inspiring. The present leadership is talk show fodder and diplomatic disaster. The face of that presidency does not incite pride. The face of that presidency causes consternation for international travelers and apologetic smiles at foreign customs.
We are desperate for true leadership and a person who inspires may be our only hope. The role of President of the United States is not just as commander-in-chief, diplomat, doctor, CEO and ethical guide; the role of President is also as coach. Forgive the sports reference for a moment; my next president has to make me want to play the game because, right now, I’ll play but I couldn’t care less if we win or lose.
Caroline Kennedy is right: The ability to inspire is the single most important quality for our next president.
I was born sixteen years after President Kennedy was shot and killed. But he still represents something to me. He represents what America should be. I’m almost certain he was not what his legacy has become – that's why it’s a legacy and why he was a man – but I don’t care. I’m thankful for that legacy. I’m thankful for that inspiration. And, although I never had it, I want it back.