by Nicolas Tomboulides
When U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced her departure last week, political commentators sprang into action trying to figure out her “true” motive for leaving.
“What’s the real reason Nikki Haley resigned?” mused the New Yorker’s Eric Lach.
“Those seeking a candidate to challenge Trump will be on her doorstep,” tweeted ex-Obama advisor David Axelrod.
When Haley held an oval office press conference with President Trump, she dispelled those rumors. But she also said something that dropped pundits’ jaws to the floor: Haley is resigning due to her strong belief in term limits.
“I’m a believer in term limits. I think you have to be selfless to know when you step aside and allow someone else to do the job,” Haley said.
It’s ironic that denizens of power-obsessed Washington don’t understand Haley’s thinking, because it was George Washington himself who established the resignation as an act of great character.
In 1783, after winning independence from Britain, then-General Washington was poised to consolidate his power and assume the role of American monarch. Instead, he turned in his military commission and returned to his farm at Mount Vernon. This earned Washington the nickname of “American Cincinnatus,” based on a Roman general who had done a similar act of honor over 2000 years earlier.
Later in life, Washington’s integrity was tested again, when he was offered a third term as president after having already served for two terms. Once more, Washington refused power, thus creating a term limits tradition that would endure for another 150 years.
Washington was out of place then; he would fit in even less today. It’s a sad commentary on modern leadership when decisions like Haley’s are viewed with such cynicism. We have come to expect that politicians and appointees will cling to titles and prestige for as long as possible, whether it’s good for our country or not.
That needs to change. By demanding term limits on more offices and applauding the leaders like Haley who embrace them, we can shift the culture away from self-service and back toward public service.