The candidates of today present themselves on generosity, explaining what they have done in the past and what they plan to do in the future. Machiavelli also suggests that a morally good person wouldn't last long in a high office. Presently you can't be elected unless you have morals, the President of the United States of America and his family our examples for the whole nation to look at, if they appeared to have no morals what could someone expect from our nation as a whole? .
Machiavelli was right on task when talking of things a leader must do to maintain office, he believed in a lot of principles of which leaders today use. He states that a leader must desire to be merciful, not cruel. This relates to your people looking up to you, not running away from you, Machiavelli also says "a prince must not worry about reproach of cruelty when it is a matter of keeping his subjects united and loyal" (43). In America today this can be related to the death penalty, some Americans see it as cruel but in reality it is necessary to maintain a fear in those that wish to do others harm. .
Reading The Qualities of a Prince you will find that most of Machiavelli's distinct qualities that mentioned concern war. Machiavelli writes that a leader must never be idle in peaceful times, meaning the leader should make their power known to all, also stating "in peacetime he must train himself more than in time of war; this can be done in two ways; one by action, the other by the mind" (38). This quality is very unique and true, used by not only the United States but also by any structured government. American leaders show this by having a strong militia, with bases spread throughout the United States, appointing experienced commanders with the mentality and experience to lead and train new soldiers. .
Preparation for all obstacles is the center point for most of Machiavelli's qualities, he stresses intensely on the fact of keeping your peoples faith while doing so, "for a prince must have two fears: one, internal, concerning his subjects; the other external, concerning foreign powers" (48).
