Presidents Day inevitably raises the question of what characteristics we want to see in our presidents. This leads us to our consensus greatest presidents, namely George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Both were known for their honesty: Washington had the famous “I cannot tell a lie” story with the cherry tree, and Lincoln carried the nickname “Honest Abe.”
So the simple answer to the question seems to be honesty. But it’s not quite so simple when it comes to leaders of a modern, global power who are imbued with enormous responsibility. A cynic might point out that honesty did not even define these greatest of presidents: The Washington cherry tree story is almost certainly a myth, and Honest Abe was less than honest when it came to his secret negotiations with Confederate leaders to end the Civil War.
Nonetheless, honesty matters quite a bit.
