The President’s ability to succeed, I believe, is influenced by the time he lives in. This is because the Presidents are mythicized through their term and after; allowing them to have a much greater influence than many might think! These mythicization, idolization, and demonization are all influenced by the era these people lived in and how they were thought of even during their Presidency, not just long after.
George Washington was idolized for what he was able to do, the actions that led to the creation of the nation we hold today. He was present in the right time to achieve these goals, living in the time of revolution against the British Empire. The man even turned down the position of Commander of the Revolutionary forces, suggesting someone else but his fellow delegates pushed him enough that he would agree. Despite his hesitations, his results would let him be the first President voted in unanimously! The era he lived would all allow him to achieve the goal of founding the United States and lead to his place as President of the United States.
Jimmy Carter fell into obscurity and ridiculed despite success in aiding Africa and improving health there. It was not seen as an overly important thing to the American people at the time so he did not feed into the mentality of the people of his time. While many Americans will mock his term and successes, the people of Africa do greatly appreciate him and his stance against the dominating white minority in South Africa. Despite the good there, it was overshadowed by other failings that people were more influenced by such as; the Soviets invasion of Afghanistan which played into their Red Scare and even the Iranian hostage situation which hurt his image. In the end, he failed to win a reelection thanks to the drop in popularity.
Overall, I think that there is indeed an importance to the times a person is in. The events that will occur, the views of the people on those events, and how people view your success and failure. The ability of a President to succeed is interconnected to these events and how they use the tools at their disposal to try and do what’s best for their nation.
Brent,
I do agree that the current political environment is an important factor when analyzing the presidency, but it is not the defining factor for success or failure. Let me explain. The political environment provides the basis for all presidents or candidates. To a certain extent, you can say that the environment will create a certain candidate or even directly influence the president’s policy making through public decision. You could even argue that what is defined as successful now will change and has changed overtime. Regardless of these facts, the hard hitting moments of decision making in the presidency is reliant on the individual and their competency level. Was the president competent in working with other branches of government? Did they understand how to properly seek advice and understand their audience? And did they understand the political environment well enough to achieve their goals? These are all questions that can be applied to any presidency and the answers will differ amongst each one. Of course, this is due to the fact the presidency is more defined by the individual.