a job nobody really wants......

Trying to decide whether they should call George Washington "His Excellency" or some other regal name, our first President simply said that "Mr. President" would do just fine. It was then that the history of leaders to America was really born. These first men were not politicians, per se; indeed, most were farmers or businessmen. One thing they had in common was the idea that they needed to secede from British rule, and build a nation based on freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Seems like an easy thing to do, huh? First you have to convince the country ruling you that you no longer wanted to have any ties, or pay taxes to them. Then you have to fight a war to press your point. Upon winning the war, the real hard work begins. Now you have to set up a system to govern the people. Great minds and wordsmiths gather to put a list of rules in effect, and in our case, the Articles of Confederation and Constitution are born.

That it is agreed upon to have a strong central government, a leader must be chosen, and on April 30, 1789, George Washington held the first priviledge of being President. In his wake, forty-two men would follow him into service, holding the highest office of our nation. It would be a job that required much of anyone who took the oath of office. History shows us that it was, and is not an easy job. There were great and not so great leaders among them. Some due to poor circumstance, and some due to poor decision making, left a few with a "not so favorable" legacy.
However, there were a few that remain fond in our minds, and we've even carved a few faces in Mt. Rushmore to preserve our reverence to them. In Washington D.C., you will find monuments and museums abundant with historical data, statues and paintings; all of which fill in the missing pieces about each man that became President.

We know that each man that took up residence in the White House had many obstacles to overcome. Besides the consensus of your fellow constituents, you had to be voted in by the people, to work for the people. This could prove to be a heavy weight to carry around. In a few instances, some men coming into office endured some personal tragedies prior to walking through the front door. In four other cases, the nation grieved the loss of a President from assignation. In all cases, each man that served came away looking years older than their age.

As much as we believe it to be the "Top Kahuna" of jobs, it is demanding, and it's hard to get it right. If you look through history, each election year since 1789 holds it's problems of trying to get the right person into office, and we hold that same tradition today. It's never been an easy task, and never will be. As a nation, we want to believe that the man we vote in has our best interests at heart, after all, we are his employers and need the reassurance that he is on our side. We also need him to be proficient in world affairs. Since the world has gotten considerably smaller due to aviation and technology, this has become an important element to our survival. We are sadly still looking for such a candidate.

If the job of President were part of a want-ad page, it might read something like this:

WANTED~ Someone who likes to work long hours. Must be able to manage over 280 million people, make snap decisions and oversee government. Benefits, plenty; rewards, few. House and staff included. All those with thin skin need not apply.

Perhaps the next election will give us some choices we can really work with, as we are long overdue. The challenge will be difficult to whoever lands in the Oval Office, as the war on terror will march into the future. It is not going to go away when our present President leaves in a few years, as much as we'd like it to. If you look through the annals of history, you will see men who accepted the challenge, only to come away beaten, tired and broken by the office. They, too, had to oversee wars, internal discontent, and failing economies. They all went in with good intentions, and came away with heavy shoulders that sagged under the weight of the office. This makes me wonder why anybody in their right mind would ever want this for a job.