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I believe that a presidential candidate's character is one of the most important qualities voters should consider before they cast their ballots. A person's character is shown in their moral and ethical qualities, or more broadly as the overall personality traits they portray. The months long campaign trail tests a candidate's character as they deal with negative ads, mud slinging, and media coverage. A candidate puts their character on display in every interview and debate, press conference and rally.

Many people think that the issues of the day should be more important then digging into the character of a candidate, but I disagree. The office of the President of the United States is the most important government post we have. Whoever is elected to this office should not only be knowledgeable about our country's issues, but they should also have the strength of character to deal with these issues justly, fairly and wisely.

Over the last eight years, we have seen what kind of damage a president of weak character can do to our country. Our international relationships have deteriorated and our reputation damaged. Confidence in America's strength and leadership has been repeatedly questioned. Our economy has crashed, setting off a global recession. Oil prices have soared and unemployment has risen. Even though the President is just one person, they have the power to direct the course the United States takes through all of this. The President is not only the voice of the nation, but to the nation. If confidence in their office fails, confidence in the country fails.

A President of strong character will work across party lines, listen to their staff and advisers, judge information and intelligence and then come to their own decisions. They will not be hasty to use our military might, nor will they fail to immediately come to the nation's aid should disaster strike. A President of character is well spoken, pragmatic and is able to understand and work with a global community. Most importantly, they are not puppets of a larger political, industrial or military machine.

This "perfect" candidate will probably never exist, but this is the bar with which I judge my politicians. The closer they come to these standards, the more I am convinced to cast my vote for them. I do not just vote with my party, the issues or the campaign slogan. Nor do I vote solely based on how I feel emotionally. I take all of the aspects of a candidate and their campaign into consideration before I decide who I want for President. However, a candidate's strength of character most definitely goes a long way into swaying my vote.

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