Noble Leadership in the U.S. Political System and the Presidential Elections of 2016

Vice President Joe Biden' Presidential Race Announcement

In his speech on October 21, 2015 announcing that he would not enter the 2016 Presidential race, Vice President Biden, while gracefully declaring that he would not be throwing his hat into the campaign ring, issued a clarion call for what is most needed--because it is most lacking--at this time in U.S. political culture:

I believe we have to end the divisive partisan politics that is ripping this country apart. And I think we can. It’s meanspirited. It’s petty. And it’s gone on for much too long. I don’t believe, like some do, that it’s naive to talk to Republicans. I don’t think we should look at Republicans as our enemies. They are our opposition; they’re not our enemies. And for the sake of the country, we have to work together.

As the president said many times, compromise is not a dirty word. Look at it this way, folks — how does this country function without consensus? How can we move forward without being able to arrive at consensus?

On the topic of “justice” he further stated:

I also believe we need to keep moving forward in the arc of this nation toward justice — the rights of the LGBT community, immigration reform, equal pay for women and protecting their safety from violence, rooting out institutional racism. At their core, every one of these things — every one of these things is about the same thing. It’s about equality. It’s about fairness. It’s about respect. As my dad used to say, it’s about affording every single person dignity. It’s not complicated. Every single one of these issues is about dignity.

And the ugly forces of hate and division, they won’t let up, but they do not represent the American people. They do not represent the heart of this country.

Kudos to VP Biden for demonstrating what Noble Leadership sounds like!