ABSTRACT
Throughout history, leaders of countries have frequently been corrupt and vicious ideologues. The American framers were aware of this even before Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro, and other monsters rose to power. These twentieth-century tyrants had nothing on the likes of Genghis Khan, Charles II, and George III. A strong argument can be made that the United States of America was born from the very rejection of tyranny. Nowhere is this rejection more forcefully articulated than in the litany of charges and accusations leveled against George III in the American Declaration of Independence. The character of the leader of a country is obviously important. In this essay we will explore the consequences of the chief executive's character, looking first at the framers' views and then examining Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, the two recent U.S. presidents whose characters have been most sharply questioned. The American framers, like many contemporary thinkers, held a dim view of human nature and strongly believed that power tended to corrupt.
