Machiavelli's Weekly Address Summary

Machiavelli gives an ideal view of the of what qualities a political leader should emulate. The importance of an ideal leader is to earn the respect of its followers as well as maintaining that respect. It is, therefore, important to keep in touch with them at all cost. In light of this, President Obama and the White House have set up what is called a Weekly Address. It is fitting that the speech of November 14, 2015, dealt with “giving veterans a chance” (“Weekly Address: Giving Veterans Their Chance” n.p.). In terms of Machiavelli’s principles, the leader of the country rules the nation by employing its “old conditions, and not being unlike in customs, [people] will live quietly together” (Machiavelli 6). The United States is an example of such a place, where every new rulers have different policies, but exhaust every

President Obama, and the previous presidents have endeavored to “preserve the state in a sea of insecurity” (Jones and Smith n.pag). This is indeed, what Machiavelli’s Art of War proposes. As Commander-in-Chief, Obama implied the following in his speech that: “The virtu of the soldiers is worth more than a multitude, and the site is often of more benefit than virtu” (Evans n.pag). The commitment of the State is, therefore, to serve the men and women in uniform who have served the country by risking their lives.
Thus, the virtu of the United States of America, and its statecraft (as Jones and Martin put it) is firmly based in the principles proposed by Obama in his speech. In this discussion, only a section of his principles have been applied as it relates to the veteran’s speech. Most of the speech is based in the fact that the veteran issue needs to be address as these people are the ones who served the country in order to keep its citizens safe. They are an important part of the fabric of the nation and are at the forefront of the nation to “preserve the state in a sea of