Obama's Idea of Leadership

In the September 23, 2012 CNN interview Steve Kroft said: What are the essential qualities of a leader, in your mind? Obama: Well, you know, I think that leadership more than anything is about setting a course and describing a vision for people. And you know, in the history of leadership in this country that vision isn't always realized immediately. You know, Abraham Lincoln understood that we were a single union. And it took a bloody Civil War and terrible hardship and sacrifice to achieve that vision. And that vision wasn't even fully realized until after he was gone. What I try to do is to constantly present a vision of America in which everybody's got a shot, everybody's treated with respect and dignity in which the divides of race and faith, gender, sexual orientation, that those are not the determining factors, in terms of whether people succeed but instead it's how hard you work and are you trustworthy and are you responsible and you-- do you look after your family and do you love people and love this country? Kroft: David McCullough the noted presidential historian said all the great presidents have had a number of common traits. And one of them is an understanding of history and an understanding of the history of the presidency. Is there anything that you've read or learned from your study of this area that has helped you? Any examples you can give me? Obama: Well whenever I look at the history of presidents. I deeply admire-- the one thing that I'm always struck by is persistence. It's a quality that's underrated. Being able to plough through, being able to stay buoyant in the face of challenges. And, you know, I think that's a characteristic of the American people. And, I think our best presidents are able to tap into that resilience and that strength and that grit. And be inspired by it. Kroft: Many times in our history there have been big ideas like going to the moon or the Marshall Plan. This campaign some people think has been devoid of big ideas, not necessarily that the budget deficit and some of these things aren't big ideas. But what would you like to see happen in your four years? Obama: Yeah, I gotta tell you, Steve, I think there's no bigger purpose right now than making sure that if people work hard in this country, they can get ahead. That's the central American idea. That's how we sent a man to the moon. Because there was an economy that worked for everybody and that allowed us to do that. I think what Americans properly are focused on right now are just the bread-and-butter basics of making sure our economy works for working people. And if we can accomplish that, there's no bigger idea than that. That's the idea that has attracted people to our shores for generations.