Trustworthiness in the White House

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.