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Mike Pence on the qualities and character of a president
Excerpt from a commentary by Steve Chapman on Pence's 2010 speech to the Federalist Society's National Lawyers Convention:
The presidency's "powers are vast and consequential, its requirements -- from the outset and by definition -- impossible for mortals to fulfill without humility and insistent attention to its purposes as set forth in the Constitution of the United States," declared Pence, his gaze steely and his jaw firmly set. Of power, he said, "Those who are entrusted with it must educate themselves in self-restraint."
"A true statesman lives in what Churchill called a continuous 'stress of soul,'" Pence informed his audience. "And that's why you must always be wary of a president who seems to float upon his own greatness."
Pence told a story to illustrate the humanity and humility of Calvin Coolidge. "A sensibility like this -- and not power -- is the source of presidential dignity, and it must be restored," he said. "It depends entirely upon character, self-discipline and an understanding of the fundamental principles that underlie not only the republic but life itself.
"It communicates that the president feels the gravity of his office and is willing to sacrifice himself, that his eye is not upon his own prospects but upon the storm of history, through which it is his responsibility to navigate with the specific powers accorded to him and the limitations placed upon them not merely by man but by God."
For those who feared Obama's presidency would bring about the destruction of America, Pence solemnly invoked the "great generations" that have gone before us: "They are silent now, but from the eternal silence of every patriot grave, there is yet an echo that says, 'It's not too late. Keep faith with us. Keep faith in God. And do not, do not ever despair of this republic.'"
"A true statesman lives in what Churchill called a continuous 'stress of soul,'" Pence informed his audience. "And that's why you must always be wary of a president who seems to float upon his own greatness."
Pence told a story to illustrate the humanity and humility of Calvin Coolidge. "A sensibility like this -- and not power -- is the source of presidential dignity, and it must be restored," he said. "It depends entirely upon character, self-discipline and an understanding of the fundamental principles that underlie not only the republic but life itself.
"It communicates that the president feels the gravity of his office and is willing to sacrifice himself, that his eye is not upon his own prospects but upon the storm of history, through which it is his responsibility to navigate with the specific powers accorded to him and the limitations placed upon them not merely by man but by God."
For those who feared Obama's presidency would bring about the destruction of America, Pence solemnly invoked the "great generations" that have gone before us: "They are silent now, but from the eternal silence of every patriot grave, there is yet an echo that says, 'It's not too late. Keep faith with us. Keep faith in God. And do not, do not ever despair of this republic.'"
10 replies
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"...those who feared Obama's presidency would bring about the destruction of America"?
Obama's presidency saved America from the depredations of the W B*shitx administration. It is the Trump/Pence organized crime administration that is most likely to bring about its destruction. 
