Where Is Our Churchill ?

            In this period of electioneering frenzy, what we need most of all is a calm reflection on our purpose as a nation. At the same time we need a statesman with the talent to lead us out of this political morass.

            On June 4, 1940, Winston Churchill gave a speech to a nation beaten down by the disaster at Dunkirk and ready to accept inevitable defeat. Churchill was expected to salvage what he could by negotiating with Hitler for the best terms he could get. Instead the people of Great Britain heard Churchill vow never to surrender. And they rallied behind him. Why? Because Churchill, perhaps the greatest statesman in history, was a man of character, courage, and genius--the right man at the right time.

            Where is our Churchill? Who among our national figures has the moral character and bedrock principles to restore our faith in America? Is it our fate to have a presidential campaign pitting a corrupt liar on one side and an unprincipled charlatan on the other?  We must do better than that.

            So what should we look for in a yet undiscovered statesman? Using Winston Churchill as our model, we should look first for a person who embodies the values that made this country great: liberty, free enterprise, individual responsibility, and belief in our constitutional democracy. Second, we should look for a person with a moral compass who would never compromise principle for the sake of ambition or violate his oath of office to advance his ideology. Third, we need a person with a belief in America’s exceptionalism, who will acknowledge our leadership role in this world and never apologize for it. And fourth, we need a strong defender of freedom who will never appease the enemy or abandon our allies.

            Is there such a statesman hiding in the wings, ready and able to respond to the call of duty?  If an ineffective system of primaries and caucuses cannot produce a Churchill of our own, perhaps an open convention—in either party—can.