In Chapter 11 (no moral/ethical bankruptcy pun intended) of
Mark Leibovich’s novel, This Town: Two Parties
and a Funeral--Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!--in America's Gilded Capital,
President Barack Obama’s highly publicized policy of banning lobbyists from the
White House comes under fire once again in Leibovich’s typical sarcastic, yet
entertaining tone (2014, p.261). Obama’s
pledge as a candidate for the presidency was that he would not allow lobbyists
to hold any sway of the dealings of the White House. However, it has since become common knowledge
that his closed-door policy toward the lobbyist community has transformed into
a revolving door. With a quick glance at
the presidential approval ratings, one can easily see the President’s loss of
credibility amongst the American people.
“Credibility is mostly about the consistency between words and
deeds. People listen to the words and
look at the deeds. Then they measure the
congruence. A judgement of “credible” is
handed down when the two are consonant” (Kouzes & Posner, 2011, p.33). The breach of ethical standards here
boils-down to the trustworthiness of a public official. Some may say that other members of the
President’s cabinet also had a hand in permitting lobbyists to permeate White
House transactions. Nevertheless, the
leader should set the precedence and retaliate against those who would
undermine his policy. “The more
seriously you treat your own commitments, the more seriously others will treat
them; if you take your promises lightly, others will also” (p.80).
Cited
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2011). Credibility: How
leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it (2nd ed., p. 33). San Francisco, CA.:
Jossey-Bass.
Leibovich, M. (2014). This
town: Two parties and a funeral--plus, plenty of valet parking!--in America's gilded capital (1st ed., pp. 261-293). New
York, NY: Penguin Group, LLC.
