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... his approach Clinton believed he understood the limits of government, but, upon gaining office he attempted to launch an, 'ambitious personal and public agenda' (68). 'Character integrity reflects our fidelity to our own ideals as we pursue our ambitions and forge out identities' (69). Realistically and psychologically a president must be committed to his own ideals and values. It seems to be very important that a president's integrity reflects his ability to maintain boundaries. Renshon ultimately refers to two specific questions that can help one determine about character integrity: Is Clinton honest? Can Clinton be trusted?
When examining the president's integrity, there are four interrelated dimensions that must be examined. The first is the president's ideals and values; where he draws the line that 'separates right from wrong, yes and no' (73). The last three concern fidelity and follow through, president's own fidelity, and last is the concerns the president's degree of self confidence in himself and his personal identity. Political identity requires a clear, general consistent set of ideas and values. When one refers to the 'traditional Democrat, 'New Deal liberal, 'goldwater conservatives, ' or 'new Democrat, ' according to Renshon, they are all relatively the same basic idea. Clinton and Gore have stressed that a New Democrats policies are, 'neither liberal of conservative, neither Democratic of Republican.
They are new. They are different. We are confident they will work' (74). When it comes to fidelity, 'it reflects a person's willingness and capacity to follow through on the commitments that he has chosen to the best of his ability' (76). According to Microsoft Bookshelf ' 95, Fidelity means faithfulness to obligations, duties or observances. I feel that in this circumstance a related synonym that could be used is allegiance.
In my opinion, I feel that this is one of the most important characteristics a president should have. Renshon points out many instances that Clinton has backed out of his promises at the time, but some of the situations have become law since this book was written. For example, one of Clinton's campaign promises was to raise the minimum wage, and he never followed through. Again, in the 1994 midterm election, in his State of the Union Address, again Clinton promised to purpose an increase in the minimum wage, to only withdraw his statement the next morning.
During the last few months though, Clinton has been arguing with Congress to get an increase past. After many hours of heavy dispute, Clinton got a bill passed and the new minimum wage went into affect October 1, 1996. Many might say that Clinton was just following through with his promises, I still feel the only reason he did this was because he realized that the ' 96 election is approaching faster than he thought and wanted to make a better presentation to the public. Throughout this argument, the opposition stated that Clinton 'could change his mind in an instant' (83). This could be denoted as a logical and psychological oxymoron. Renshon agrees with this metaphor but argues that, 'it is not impossible for a president to find some merit in divergent views and still be able to apply his own developed framework of ideals and values to sort through them.
Not all views can have equal weight, and not all claim equal worth. The ability to make these distinctions ultimately what distinguishes judgment for empathy' (83). Another instance where Renshon rebukes the 'myth' about Clinton is when critics viewed Clinton as a, 'rambling, insistent defense of his own character. ' Renshon feels that Clinton's self image is: 'fair, open, honest, and genuinely interested in responsive to others' points of view and concerns, ' (85) He also feel that Clinton reflected a strong component of self-idealization, which most people wish to think of themselves as. Personally I feel that being ambitious is a very good quality but, I also feel that there is a time when you are ambitious or over-confident. I feel that this is one of Clinton's downfalls. For instance, Clinton feels that he can make speeches without any notes, he can just do it off the top of his head.
Some might argue that a high level of confidence masks a deeper sense of insecurity or it can even lead to vulnerability. When one speaks of relatedness, one could also say, in psychological theory, affiliation motive. Affiliation motive is the most common way of examining a person's connection with others. To affiliate means to want to belong, they are joiners and want to spend most of there time with others. In others words, I feel that you can classify this type of person as being insecure. Throughout this book, one can see that Clinton doesn't need to be liked, he just desires the need for validation. 'Validation is a more comprehensive concept than respect, affection, or, more generally, an individuals need for external assurances of his own positive self-image' (330).
On the outside, Clinton appears to be a very, 'attractive, outgoing, charming' man but in the inside, he has a very, 'angry, demanding, entitled inner psychology' (104). Many of his friends say that he wears a mask on the outside hoping that it won't eventually reveal his inner-self. 'Clinton has been characterized frequently as a man who is too trusting, but his persistent use of charm suggests otherwise. The use of charm can also stem form the belief that if you don't use it, you cannot depend on others to respond to you. Clinton's tendencies to mislead and equivocate, to market and sell his policies rather than deal with his cost and implications honestly, and his rages... ' (105). To me, this again leads to a very interesting question, Is Mr. Clinton trustworthy?
From the beginning of this book, I have been pondering that question. Renshon makes many statements that could rebuke my idea, but I found that there are many gaps in a lot of Clinton's ideas. He has made many promises but has not followed through unless his idea's were going to be viewed in a positive manner. I believe that he has plenty of good ideas and he is a very intelligent man, but I tend to agree with critics when they say he is too smart for his own good. He feels that he can do anything and with that ambition, it leads him to overexert himself.
Through this book, I have learned to respect Clinton in a different way. I have realized that there are reasons he reacts in the way he does. I believe that he is a reliable man and can be trusted to a point. I would recommend this book for one reason, to understand how the president reacts. I found it very interesting to see how Clinton was so much like his mother. The whole section revealed how Clinton became the man he is.
Understanding Clinton to the extend I know do makes me want to learn more about Dole so I can make a more educated vote this November.
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Research essay sample on Feel That This Is One Ideals And Values Clinton
