Wisdom Through Surrounding Figures

The President’s Cabinet is a collection of advisors and secretaries from which the Head of the Executive Branch draws their information, opinions, and conclusions.  The importance in choosing the members of this Cabinet, as well as various other staff, lies in the later views of the President, through the discrimination of those he is surrounded with. This deals directly with one of the ideas expressed in Nicolo Machiavelli’s, The Prince , when it argues that choosing one’s secretaries is something to fuss about. The importance of the counselors themselves comes into focus as we have seen President Barack Obama shuffle the members of his Cabinet, mid term.

In The Prince , Machiavelli states that one will be considered wise when they are seen knowing how to recognize the capable among them. (Machiavelli) In the case of our modern day society, concerning elections, there are two ways in which someone can be seen as a capable candidate to a presidential nominee. One is of the honorable, in which they are most capable to serve the country the best, and advise the President truthfully and intelligently. The second, not so honorable, is when one is seen to be most capable of pleasing the American people; in essence, they will attract more votes, despite their future work ethic in office.

It is considered wise when a prince is able to identify those who are incapable, even after they are chosen. A prime example would be President Obama’s former White House Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers. In looking at her time as part of the Obama Administration, the ways in which the views of her reflect onto the President.

 It is part of her job to make sure that everything at White House events runs smoothly. Yet, during the first state dinner of the Obama Administration, this was not the case. Rogers was out mingling with guests and taking in some spotlight for herself, rather than hanging back and supervising. In result, two uninvited guest were able to sneak in past guards and even go so far as to shake hands with the President. “Rogers admitted that nobody from her staff was working at the gates and check points when the Salahi's slipped in” (Travers 1). After this incident, Desiree Rogers was forced to step down from White House Social Secretary. This showed that President Obama was able to recognize that she did not act responsibly and that she was incapable to perform her duties, to serve.

The accusations for this incident added to sides of Rogers that had been brought forth by previous occasions. Before her position on Obama’s staff, Desiree had been living a somewhat high profile lifestyle at home in Chicago. Obama had already been criticized for seeming like too much of a celebrity. This is always unprofessional and was something Obama wanted to dull down. Desiree Rogers did not help with this. In fact, she made it worse.

In her time working for the Obama Administration, Rogers continued to live glamorously among her fashion industry friends. She even scored the covers to Vogue magazine and the Wall Street Journal magazine. Especially in this bad economy, profile like these can bring negative opinions from the public. Rogers was even an important guest at the New York Fashion Week, as she “was photographed sitting in the front row next to Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour” (Chozick 4).

Yet, the biggest fumble Desiree Rogers may have made, was to “brand” the Obama Presidency. Her job was to promote the presidency and show it for what it really was and relate it to the American People. But, she treated it like a “brand,” like a product, and marketed it through the events she organized. “‘We have the best brand on Earth: the Obama brand,’ Rogers says” (Chozick 1).

Rahm Emanuel was appointed to be Obama’s White House Chief of Staff. He was seen as weak and to idealistically level out the President’s more liberal views and tactics. Even though he was the first to have the healthcare passed in so long, he did not pass it up to Obama’s standards. Consequently, Obama relieved him from his office on the grounds that did not perform strongly enough. Obama had to be mean to set things straight, something that should be done by others. The President should not have to appear mean to be a powerful leader. Obama ran his campaign in the direction of hoping America would love him, not fear him. Fear and love, as well as meanness are also some other topics covered in Machiavelli’s, The Prince .

People will always judge others by who they are surrounded with. So it goes, “it is always who you know.” In the case of our United States politics, a perfect example would be Senator John McCain. Essentially from the beginning, he was harshly criticized by many for his choosing Sarah Palin as his co-candidate in the Vice President position. The majority of Americans viewed her as incapable to serve and largely inexperienced. This disapproval reflected strongly back on to John McCain, effectively contributing to his loss in the presidential election.

In the section of The Prince , concerning the secretaries of princes, Machiavelli also talks about how the wise can understand others’ opinions, but also have and draw their own conclusions. “There are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others” (Machiavelli 41) This relates to the Obama Administration in a direct way which can be explained through the ideas presented in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book, Team of Rivals. This explains how President Abraham Lincoln chose men who would think differently from him to be part of his Cabinet. President Obama has tried to mimic this in his own Cabinet. This can bring a variety of ideas, morals, and knowledge to the table when decisions must be made. The president can also know for sure when his ideas are the most appropriate when the people who think differently from him are in agreement with them. All of this brings President Obama in the first class of intellect, alongside renowned President Lincoln.

The opposite of this was expressed in the Bush administration. President George W. Bush only brought to his Cabinet people who would think the same as he did and always agree with him. He also admitted that most were definitely smarted than himself, so he could just follow what they said was the best course of action. In doing so and stating these things, President Bush placed himself in the lower, second class of intellect that Machiavelli talks about.

There are many ways in which the actions of others can mar one’s own reputation. People will always be judged, in partial, according to the other people they make themselves surrounded by. This is why the choosing of the President’s Cabinet is such an important task. One can be considered wise by society when those they draw upon are viewed in the same. These are just some of the propositions expressed in Nicolo Machiavelli’s The Prince . 

Works Cited

Chozick, Amy. “Desiree Rogers’ Brand Obama.” The Wall Street Journal. 30 April 2009. http://magazine.wsj.com/features/the-big-interview/desiree-rogers/1/

Machiavelli, Nicolo. The Prince . Ó1515. W.K. Marriot.

Travers, Karen and Jake Trapper. “White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers Steps Down.” ABC News. 26 February 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-social-secretary-desiree-rogers-steps/story?id=9956948&page=1