Moral Qualifications of a President
In the Hamilton’s Federal Papers, the one (#68) dealing with the election of a President, much quoted now since the Electors are supposed to be the last guard preventing a foreign power to meddle with the election, a remarkable passage caught my eye:
“The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single State; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States.”
The qualifications spelled out by Hamilton are without exception those that Trump does NOT possess. Thus it appears that with all the extraordinary foresight that went into the framing of the Constitution and its Amendments, it was not seen likely that a sociopath, loudmouth and imbecile like Trump would ever get into the position he is now in.
Leave a Reply