Within the context of a hotly contested Presidential election year, with multiple flawed candidates, I thought it prudent to quote a columnist from the Tampa Bay Times, David Brooks.  This is a fellow that I seldom agree with, but his words in today’s fishwrap rang true.

“A great nation doesn’t divide in times of natural disaster. It doesn’t choose leaders who angrily tear it apart.  Instead, it chooses leaders like Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, leaders who radiate sunny confidence, joy and neighborliness.  That is what FDR and Ike and the Gipper were able to do with their leadership styles.  With fireside chats and golf jokes, they were neighborly even in times of great difficulty and stress.  But they were also able to set an emotional tone that brought people together and changed the nature of Americans’ relationships with one another.  During their presidencies, the bonds of solidarity grew stronger and the country more formidable.  They were able to cultivate a deep sense of unity, responsibility and sacrifice.  They didn’t call for sacrifice as something painful, but as what one did for one’s friends.”

Does this passage remind you of the current crop of leadership in our troubled times, names like Clinton, Trump, Sanders, and Obama ?   I didn’t think so !       WHAT THE HECK !