2008 Primaries, Leadership, Views on News • October 9th, 2008

Why would you want this job?

by Chris Lato

This is stating the obvious – but it is really, really tough to be President of the United States.

I was reading this story about President Bush and the financial crisis and was struck by the photo of Bush – who looks like eight years have taken a lot out of him beyond the passage of time.

I had the same reaction near the end of President Clinton’s tenure. Particularly at the end of two terms, these guys leave office battered and bruised by criticism, feeling the extraordinary stress of managing a nation in constantly challenging times, and not exactly leaving at the height of their popularity.

In Bush’s case, his two terms are defined in no small part by the bookends of 9/11 and the current economic disaster. Beyond the decisions he made, his time in office wouldn’t have been a cakewalk for any President.

But what an exhausting and debilitating job. I often wonder why anyone would want it, and what it must take to sustain the level of energy to get things done.

You may not like the current president – and judging by the approval ratings, many of you don’t – but you have to respect the office and the extraordinary difficulty of doing the American people’s work at the highest possible level. Certainly, I don’t envy the next President – he’ll be leading a nation in crisis. Whoever it is had better be able to hit the ground running. There’s precious little room for mis-steps.

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