At stake on Election Day is the reality of the presidency

Presidential campaigns can be abstract, petty and distracting. But the reality of the presidency only becomes clear the moment a president takes the oath.

When President Barack Obama gave his first inaugural address in 2009, he carried a secret in his jacket pocket. There was a terrorist threat during the ceremony. If the attack occurred, he was ready to pull out evacuation instructions and read them to the nearly half a million people standing before him on the National Mall.

For voters who have not yet cast their ballot, the following is your elected president:

The next commander in chief will control thousands of nuclear warheads and command troops in more than 150 countries. They will confront Russia and China – adversaries working together to destroy the international order America created and promoted.

Russia threatens NATO countries; China threatens Taiwan. America is committed to protecting both, and so will the next president.

There are complex challenges in the Middle East, as President Joe Biden has learned.

These are them known Threats. It's almost certain that the next president will be in for a surprise.

During the 2000 election campaign, the issue of terrorism was mentioned only once and in passing in the presidential debates. It dominated the next two decades.

In 2016, the son and brother of a president tried to focus the electorate on the defining question of the presidency: “The next president will face an unforeseen challenge; “That’s almost certain,” said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. “It could be a pandemic, a major natural disaster or an attack on our country. … Because.” that is the question. These are not the things we are talking about today. That is the big challenge May happen.”

The pandemic did arrive. The next president may need the temperament and focus to handle another attack, a truly catastrophic cyberattack, or a financial crisis that devastates the global economy.

At home we heard a lot about the border, high prices and abortion. In addition, the next president will face long-looming problems that have plagued successive administrations:

• Chronic price increases in health care, education and housing are blocking access to the American dream.
• Artificial intelligence is on the verge of major upheavals in the labor market.
• The level of debt and deficit could overwhelm the economy if not addressed.
• The damage caused by climate change will be irreversible.

You can't command troops to solve these problems. It requires vision, patience, and a willingness to take action for which you may not get credit.

Americans vote for more than just one person. They are choosing the values, temperament and character that the next president will bring to the executive branch, which has a million civilian employees (4,000 of which will be hired by the winner on Tuesday).

The idea of ​​the American experiment is that voters understand all this and rely on reason to choose the best man or woman to face these challenges.

For most of American history, this was a given. But the system is now under attack from misinformation from outside and within, including from Donald Trump, who built his campaign on the lie that he won the last election.

So the first test of the next presidency will come before the oath is taken… in how a candidate manages to win or not.

The story was produced by Robert Marston. Editor: Chad Cardin.

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