#ImWithHer: Hillary Is Balanced And Focused
Hillary Clinton “ is centered, balanced, and grounded enough to think clearly and hold the space even in the face of confusion and chaos” because she practices meditation.
In How to Measure for a President, John Dickerson paints an image to help the reader capture what it really means to be President of the United States. He invokes the pensive solitude of The Loneliest Job, an iconic photograph of John Fitzgerald Kennedy standing alone, staring out of the window of his Oval Office. The truth of the matter is this photograph has been romanticized over the years, much like the Office of the Presidency. But Dickerson is not wrong in asserting that the modern presidency, for all its advisors, realistically rests on the shoulders of one person. On one human body; on one human mind.
No matter what the internal struggle or what agonizing decision with which they wrestle, the President must be calm, thoughtful, intentional. In their decisions, they are alone. In many cases they may not seek the council of those they love and trust most and, in a world of “enormous uncertainty,” they know all too well the decision to act, or failure to act, will have an impact that reaches far beyond the Oval Office.
Fit For The American Presidency?
A candidate fit for the office of the American Presidency will display characteristics similar to the following:
- A reliable sense of self, enabling them to ignore critics when necessary and handle criticism well when warranted
- Strong sense of values enabling them to stand behind decisions
- Calm and Even Tempered
- Good in a Crisis or High Pressure Situation
- Patience and Equanimity under pressure
- Willingness to set emotions aside and an emotional maturity capable of handling the fallout when a move doesn’t turn out as planned
- Ability to adapt and compartmentalize
- An incredible ability to make focused, intentional decisions
- Deep concern for human rights and civil liberties
- Incredibly strong knowledge of foreign policy relationships and national security, not only historically, but an ability to practically apply lessons as well
Although this is not an all-inclusive list, clearly you can understand why a president’s temperament is of the utmost importance in measuring the quality of a candidate for the office.
As Dickerson notes, “it is at the heart of all other attributes.”
How Do Presidents Cope?
They learn to dissociate. They get comfortable with the uncomfortable. They learn to live with uncertainty. They tune out trivial distractions. They sometimes talk to the paintings in the wee hours of the night.
The preferred method is typically based on temperament.
What About Our Presidential Hopefuls?
Michael Gearson in an Op Ed for the Washington Post asserts, “The attitudes and leadership style of a president inspire or infect his entire administration.” I believe this is quote is perfection as we seek to vet the temperaments of both Trump and Clinton in the coming months. So, what might each of the following administrations look like?
Trump
Donald Trump tweets insults and speaks “off the cuff” when making a campaign appearance. He is often reactive, emotional, and inflammatory. The Washington Post reports, “Donald Trump’s deficient temperament is recognized as a big campaign liability (though he, of course, says he has “one of the best temperaments” of any candidate).” He has a “winning” temperament. Right now I’m not sure if this is a campaign for Donald Trump or Charlie Sheen.
On Trump and temperament, Gearson writes,
“This is the word — temperament — that will eventually sink the Trump campaign, if it is eventually sunk. We are witnessing what happens when a narcissist who thinks he is at the center of the universe is actually placed at the center of the universe. There is the need for adulation. There are the fantasies of unlimited power — see Trump’s admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. There is the expectation of special treatment — see his debate boycott. There is the lack of empathy — see his cruel mocking of a disabled reporter.”
Clinton
Hillary Clinton practices uses well established campaign strategy and . . . practices yoga and meditation. On Hillary, the Washington Post reports,
“Last fall, when the former secretary of state responded to nearly 11 hours of grating Republican questions in a House Benghazi Committee hearing, many commentators noted her discipline, thoroughness and “unearthly stamina.” When friendly members of Congress asked her about her secret to staying focused, even-keeled and alert amidst the endless onslaught, an NPR microphone caught her explaining that she practiced meditation during the times in the hearing when she didn’t need to speak.
This wasn’t out of the blue. Clinton has a longstanding interest in meditation practice and mindfulness. As first lady, she was even ridiculed by right-wing talk radio for bringing a contemplative teacher to the White House.
Looking to her calmness and clarity in the marathon Benghazi hearing, it’s easy to imagine the ways that these kinds of centering practices could help, say, in a tense arms control negotiation with Vladimir Putin or in consoling people after a natural disaster.?
On Meditation
Whether we are discussing Google, Apple or the Pentagon, the benefits associated with meditation are no joke and could have great benefit for our Commander in Chief. Justin Talbot-Zorn goes on to state,
“The surprisingly simple practice — stepping back to focus on the breath and notice thoughts and sensations — cannot only help a public servant deal with a stressful situation like a hostile hearing but also to devise strategy and solve problems.
Timothy Wilson, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia, has argued that the human brain is poorly equipped to handle the roughly 11 million bits of information that arrive in any given moment of modern life. For efficiency’s sake, people tend to make decisions based on shortcuts — assumptions and impulses — rather than careful attention to what’s really happening in the moment. Through the practice of meditation, a person can observe and reflect on the assumptions, feelings, and internal storylines that unconsciously guide words and behaviors. According to business gurus like Bill George and Daniel Goleman, meditation is a tool to listen more effectively and act on the basis of real intention rather than habitual patterns or emotional whims.
For the president — a person tasked with absorbing large amounts of information and making sound decisions — these capacities are crucial. Meditation can be a tool for building mental concentration, considering contradictory arguments, and staying open to unexpected information.”
From Fox? SMH.
The Problem With Campaigns
A presidential campaign is a storytelling smorgasbord designed to conceal any serendipitous glimmer of authenticity that would be used to make the candidate appear . . . human. This is a problem as we try to measure the temperament of candidates in most elections. As a public we must look for the real character flaws, or lack thereof, that indicate what kind of leader the candidate will be once elected.
What are the moments that reveal the candidate’s true nature?
If we look with a critical eye — or with an open eye in the current election — the candidates will likely reveal who they really are — Temperament and all!
