"Upon recieving a Doctorate of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, from his alma mater Georgetown University in February 2006, Ambassador David Abshire spoke on the crises of character in American leadership - a topic of crucial importance today. In view of Dr. Abshire's astounding career as an institution builder, a public servant, and a mentor to young people, few American leaders are better suited to reflect upon this topic."

David M. Abshire begins his reflection on George C. Marshall with an interesting question: Why would FDR and Churchill, arguably two of the greatest men of the twentieth century, select Marshall as the greatest man they ever knew? The answer lies in his commitment to service, duty and honor in leadership. The lessons from the life of George Marshall reinforce the importance of character-based leadership in America today.

On September 11, 2001, we were a people united by our common beliefs. It is a tragedy that those few months of national, moral, and spiritual unity were too soon lost. Still, we remain bound, whether we show it or not, by certain principles that are elusive but powerful. In the great historical accomplishments of America, these apparent opposites of commitment and tolerance are bridged by civility. In its deepest sense, civility means respect, listening, and dialogue. Yet, in the American experience, civility has not always prevailed, and its role in our political culture cannot be taken for granted.

In a speech at Loyola University Chicago in 2002, Dr. David Abshire looked at character in action during periods of crisis. Through a series of case studies of political, business and academic crises, he examines the importance of academic, government and business leadership, in the context of flawed leaders who failed to acknowledge their mistakes.

"The current Presidential crisis has presented our country with an opportunity. A debate about the nature of leadership - usually the purview of think tanks like the one that gathers us here tonight - is taking place on a national level. Abstract questions are rarely considered so publicly as has been the well-trod debate over private versus public character, and the relative importance of each. All of America, from corridors of power to main street cafes, has, during the last eleven months, been considering the issue of the President as moral leader: the importance of what he is versus what he does; the degree to which a leader's personal standards of morality and its closely related (but somewhat different) cousin - character - make a difference. The kindling of this debate may be a lasting legacy of this Presidency."