The Thomas Jefferson Standard for Judging Leaders

Thomas Jefferson is famous, among so many things, for what he had inscribed on his gravestone.  Mr. Jefferson had been Governor of Virginia during the Revolutionary War, Secretary of State, Vice President, and of course President from 1801 to 1809.  Any of these alone would be career achievements for other people.  And yet, Thomas Jefferson did not put any of them on his tombstone.  Rather, he directed that his gravestone read as follows:

“Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
Of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom
And Father of the University of Virginia”

This is remarkable not only in what Mr. Jefferson accomplished, but also in how he saw his legacy.  He wanted to be remembered not for the jobs he held, but what he did.  Which is the proper perspective, and one we should focus on when looking at people who have held, or now hold, public office.

While in Thomas Jefferson’s case, he did not do any the things he listed on his tombstone while he held the positions I mentioned above, not everybody can be a Thomas Jefferson.  For many people in public office, the question is what they accomplished while in office and whether they are to be most remembered for holding office or one or more things they did while in office.

For example, is Richard Nixon to be known for being President or for his opening to China?  Is Harry Truman to be known for being President or for the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, and defending South Korea?

Many political campaigns get to the nub of the issue (probably without realizing it) by asking, usually in an attack ad, whether you are better off today than you were “x” number of years ago.¹  

Few politicians can be Thomas Jefferson, to be remembered, perhaps, more for what they did when they were not in office than for what they did while in office.²  For most, the question is merely this: Is their legacy the job(s) they held or what they did while they were in them?  In other words, what will be on their gravestone?
----------
¹ In the right situation, this can also be the positive point of an ad for a candidate seeking reelection.
² One wonders if perhaps Herbert Hoover and Ulysses S. Grant might be ones who are to be remembered more for they did other than while they were president.