Lance Mogard is a major in the United States Army and a 2024 McCain Institute National Security & Counterterrorism Fellow. The views below are his own and do not reflect the official position of the McCain Institute, the United States Army, or the Department of Defense.
I had the distinct privilege of attending the McCain Institute’s 2024 Sedona Forum. This annual premier conference brings together senior government and private sector officials to discuss human rights, democracy, and national security in a bipartisan environment. Before the conference, I didn’t have much hope for America’s bipartisan future. How could I, with the incessant partisan attacks launched from both sides of the aisle and a Congress seemingly gridlocked on almost every issue? Lately, I’ve been thinking on repeat, “We are better than this.” At the Sedona Forum I saw first-hand that we are indeed “better than this.” The weekend encouraged me that all is not lost for re-establishing a bipartisan America. I was struck by three specific revelations as I listened to inspiring speakers and discussions.
First, the bipartisan principles of this conference, principles so dear to the late Senator McCain, are, in fact, shared by most Americans. Unfortunately, the hyper-polarity of our network news outlets has amplified fringe voices in each party. Instead of championing the fact that most Americans reside between the goalposts of the center-left and center-right, news outlets make it seem like radical perspectives are mainstream. I would implore networks to do “better than this.”
Second, we need to return to a political campaign environment reminiscent of the 2012 Obama-McCain contest. I argue it was the personal character and conviction of those two candidates that determined the election atmosphere in America. That atmosphere promoted civility among the populace and championed the idea that, win or lose, each candidate had America’s best interests at heart. In 2012, we as an electorate still clung to the last vestiges of the mantra “assume noble intent.” Nowadays, sadly, we are in an era of assuming the worst about our political opponents. We deny rational, respectful debate and we find the need to determine and label political affiliation in absolutes. It was inspiring to see the 2012 chief campaign strategists from both sides—Rick Davis (McCain) and David Axelrod (Obama)—sit next to each other and engage in extremely civil and thoughtful discussion, a discussion that shunned personal attacks or political maneuvering. Where is this type of civility now? Analyzing how America devolved into this current climate isn’t the focus of this piece, but one possible explanation brings me to my third revelation from the Sedona Forum.
I realized we as a nation are starved of character-driven leadership at all echelons. Nowhere was this more evident than during a moderated discussion on political courage during day two of the forum. During the discussion, a point was raised that personal character does not matter if one does not achieve political results. Put another way, the political ends justify the political means. Didn’t we fight a World War and Cold War to dispel these very notions? As an active-duty military officer who subscribes to a certain set of values—character, honor, and integrity among them—I immediately went on high alert when the conversation took this bleak turn. What makes our military and our nation great is the set of values we hold above all else. These values should guide our political conduct internally and our behavior in the world externally. In that moment, it was the collective pushback by those in the room that gave me hope. A chorus of spirited comments and murmurs from attendees confirmed that most of us do believe character-driven leadership is a necessary quality for our elected leaders.
While these examples are only a microcosm of what’s necessary to reestablish a bipartisan America, the Sedona Forum offered a glimmer of hope. A hope that we still believe in the spirit of bipartisanship and compromise—with character-driven, servant leadership at its core. A hope that relies on serving others and assuming noble intent instead of self-service and vitriolic attacks. And finally, a hope that we can return to the leadership exemplified by Senator McCain and former President Obama. This is what democracies need to survive and thrive. And this is a crucial reason why we all gathered in Sedona this weekend—to reestablish respectful dialogue and character-driven leadership that reaches across the aisle to do what’s best for America.