The Commander in Chief: The Qualities Needed of Leaders of Freedom-Loving Nations in the 21st Century

by Emilio Iodice

Overview

What qualities should the President of the United States have? What leadership traits should the head of a democracy possess to succeed in times of war, peace, and national emergencies? In The Commander in Chief, Emilio Iodice describes, through the lens of American Presidential history, what it takes to be a successful world leader in the 21 st century. He examines the character, actions, strengths, and weaknesses of US Presidents and identifies values essential for effective leadership, and the maintenance of a strong democracy. Along with well-known traits like sound decision making, courage, the ability to communicate and character, special emphasis is on humanistic values like empathy, humility, and respect for diversity. These traits are put to the test by a critical, bi-partisan examination of scenarios where Presidents used these attributes to lead, like Lincoln’s determination to emancipate the slaves, or Truman’s controversial decision to use the atomic bomb. The result is a holistic examination of presidential character. It helps us in the critical task of choosing the next President, Prime Minister, Governor or Mayor or leader of any institution in a nation that loves freedom and human rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781734558586
Publisher:	Cranberry Press, LLC
Publication date:	11/17/2020
Pages:	379
Product dimensions:	6.33(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.92(d)

About the Author

AWARD WINNING AUTHOR, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN, EXECUTIVE, DECORATED AMERICAN DIPLOMAT AND PROFESSOR Professor Iodice spent over three decades as a senior executive in the public and private sectors, as an educator and as a university administrator. Those thirty years of experience include being a key official in Washington working for several Administrations, reaching the top ranks of the civil service and the diplomatic corps. He remains among the most decorated officers in American history with a gold medal for heroism, a gold medal and silver medal for exemplary service, nominations for the Bronze Medal and numerous commendations andcitations. He served as Minister in key US missions abroad including Brasilia, Mexico City, Rome, Madrid, and Paris and departed after being named to the list of future Ambassadors. Among his honors are being knighted by the former king of Italy. He received Medals of Honor from Spain and Italy. At age 33, he was named by the President of the United States to the prestigious Senior Executive Service as a Charter Member. He was the youngest career public official to reach this distinction. After the Foreign Service he was named Vice President of Lucent Technologies in charge of operations in numerous countries and later taught full time a Trinity College in Washington, DC. In 2007, he was named Director and Professor of Leadership of the John Felice Rome Center (JFRC) of Loyola University Chicago. He served as Director until 2016. During that time, the JFRC acquired its permanent home in Rome and was modernized to be an American university with state-of-the-art technology and a world class roster of professors. Alumni from the Rome Center contributed to its operation and to the creation of a new building, inaugurated in 2019. In 2012 his bestselling book on tenor Mario Lanza was published entitled, A Kid from Philadelphia, Mario Lanza: The Voice of the Poets. In 2013 his second book, Profiles in Leadership from Caesar to Modern Times was published.” In 2014 he published Sisters, the story of two extraordinary people, his mother and aunt as well as Future Shock 2.0, The Dragon Brief 2020 a work of fiction based on fact looking at the future of the world. In 2014, he published Reflections, Stories of Love, Leadership, Courage and Passion. Two award winning books were launched recently, When Courage Was the Essence of Leadership: Lessons from History and Across Time and Space: Chronicles of Courage, Hope, Love, Persistence and Leadership. Professor Iodice sits on the Boards of Marymount International School and Istituto Marymount, in Rome Italy. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Values Based Leadership and is a regular contributor of articles and editorials. In Italian, he writes regularly for Ponza Racconta which is a web site for the island of Ponza in Italy, the hometown of Professor Iodice’s parents and grandparents.jos de Dios ”

Table of Contents

Preface 1Introduction 5 The Achilles Heel of Leadership: The Human Dimension 9Part One: The American Presidency 13 Chapter One: Presidential Power 13The Global Leader 13The Roles of the President of the United States 14We Elect a Government when we Elect a President 17Select and not Settle for our Leaders 18 Chapter Two: What to Look For? 21 Past and Present words and actions matter 22Personal Presence 31The Blackmail Factor 32Chapter Three: A Great Country Needs Great Leaders 33Technology and Creativity 35Diversity, Tolerance, Individualism 35Economy and Entrepreneurship 35 Our System of Law 36 Education 36Music and Entertainment 36A Nation of Beauty 36 Cities 36 Sense of Morality and Social Consciousness 36Remember the Greatest Generation 36Resilience 36 Part Two: Leadership Qualities of The Commander in Chief 39Chapter One: Reformer 39Theodore Roosevelt: Civil Service, Campaign and Economic Reform 41Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation 47Chapter Two: Experience 53The Presidency is not a Position for Trainees 54The Governors 54James Buchanan: Considered one of our Worst Leaders 56The Value of Business Experience 57Abraham Lincoln 57Warren G. Harding 58Herbert Hoover 58Franklin Delano Roosevelt 59Harry Truman 61George W. Bush 62George H.W. Bush 62Jimmy Carter 63Wendell Willkie: First Major Business Leader to Runfor President 63The Concept of “Unfiltered Leaders” 68Chapter Three: Communicator 71Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address 73Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator 76John F. Kennedy: The Berlin Wall 79 Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Fireside Chats 82Social Media and the Presidency 83Chapter Four: The Brain Trust and the Understanding of Collaboration 87The President’s Cabinet 89FDR’s Brain Trust 91George Washington and the first “Team of Rivals” 97President Lincoln’s Cabinet 99George H. W. Bush’s International Coalition in the Gulf War 102The Ability to Work with the Congress 104Woodrow Wilson’s “New Freedom” 105FDR and the Congress 108Lyndon Baines Johnson: Man of the Congress 109Chapter Five: Character, integrity, ethical behavior, and trustworthiness 113Theodore Roosevelt: Attempted Assassination 115 The Altruism of William McKinley 121Presidential Temperaments 123Guardian 123Idealists 124Artisans 124Rational 124Calvin Coolidge: Example of A Guardian President 127The Fall of Edmond Muskie 129The Resignation of Spiro Agnew 130Gerald Ford: Vice President 132Richard Nixon: Watergate 133The Impeachment of Bill Clinton 135Chapter Six: Visionary 141John F. Kennedy: A Man on the Moon 143Ronald Reagan’s Vision for America 145Theodore Roosevelt and the Square Deal 148Chapter Seven: Emotional Intelligence 153The Components of Emotional Intelligence 154Self-Awareness 154Self-Regulation 154Internal Motivation 155Empathy 155Social Skills 155Lincoln’s Strength, Empathy, Compassion and Moral Compass 157Thomas Jefferson: A Model of Presidential Leadership 160The Self Confidence of George Washington 162The Resilience of FDR 163The Optimism of Ronald Reagan 163IKE’s Ability to Persuade without Dominating 164Theodore Roosevelt: Powerful Emotional Intelligence 165Truman: Unafraid to Decide 166Jimmy Carter and Camp David 167Franklin Roosevelt’s Fatal Secret 168Chapter Eight: Courage and Wisdom 173Gerald Ford and the Nixon Pardon 175Franklin Roosevelt and Polio 177FDR and the Holocaust 183Lincoln and Slavery 186Chapter Nine: Decision Maker 191The Presidency: The Buck Stops Here 193John Adams: Keeping us out of War with France 198Abraham Lincoln and the Attack on Fort Sumter 199Woodrow Wilson: The Decision to Go to War 202The Manhattan Project 204Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Attack on Pearl Harbor 207The Internment of Japanese Americans 210Harry Truman: Judgement at Nuremberg 212The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb 220Thoughts Over the Use of the Atomic Bomb to End the War with Japan 223The Firing of General Douglas MacArthur 227Chapter Ten: Humility 233The Humility of Abraham Lincoln 235Chapter Eleven: Passionate and Energetic 243Presidential Styles 245Active/Negative 245Active/Positive 245 Passive/Positive: 246Passive/Negative: 246Theodore Roosevelt: The First Modern President 247Chapter Twelve: Flexible and Comfortable with Change 253Eisenhower and the National Security Council 255Chapter Thirteen: Loves Learning 265Abraham Lincoln: Technology and Shakespeare 267FDR: Avid Reader and Collector 269Chapter Fourteen: Respects Diversity 273Lincoln and the Jews 274Chapter Fiveteen: Trust 277The Vietnam War 278The Watergate Scandal 281FDR: Gaining the Public Trust 284Conclusion 289Bibliography 291About the Author 297Index 301