Our country is so rotten now due to corruption almost to the point of hopelessness. With what the President said in the SONA, he will look funny, actually an imbecile, if he will not be able to cause the incarceration of some corrupt officials. Such failure might even cause his downfall. Problematic the situation might be as a good number of those who should be behind bars might be his relatives, supporters, friends, or otherwise known to these people.
Such a sticky situation, however, is determinant of what makes a great president in contrast to an ordinary one. Greatness involves sacrificing one’s personal preferences if not interests. It is taking the path that hurts, or that causes sleepless nights. Or even worse the choice which causes shedding of some weight in just a few days.
Being in one’s comfort zones hardly makes anyone stand out or noticeable. It is being run of the mill or being ordinary. It is being a failure big time in the pinnacle of power.
This is the time for a president to bite the bullet and go forward to greatness. There is no other choice. The opposite direction would be becoming a joke or being an abject failure.
For us ordinary people, we are too far from that quandary. We can afford to sleep soundly or stay comfortable. We only have ourselves to answer to or to worry about.
The President on the other hand is responsible for all of us or our welfare. If he cannot make bold decisions which means sacrificing a lot, to borrow the language of his mother– the former first lady– he would be considered just a big loud fart.**