Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, he describes the characteristics a Prince should have.   One of the characteristics a prince should live by is keeping his word, Machiavelli says “[h]ow praiseworthy it is for a prince to keep his word and live by honesty…”(C, 237).    Machiavelli acknowledges that a prince who honors his word is generally praised by others. A prince should present the appearance of being a compassionate, trustworthy, kind, honest, and moral ruler.  Prince gains esteem and glory through his courage. He must undertake great enterprises that allow him to display his abilities. The prince must have the wisdom to choose the least risky venture and act on it courageously.  New York Times article “Obama Defends Tax Deal, but His Party Stays Hostile,” Obama defending his tax cut deal with the Republican to his own party.  Obama made this decision because “it was ’a good deal for the American people’” (Herszenhorn).  Many Democrats in the Senate and House are outraged by the idea of continuing former president George W. Bush’s tax policies for two more years.  President Obama made a decision to keep his word from keeping the American people from out of harm.  Even though many Democrats are opposing this idea, like Machiavelli says “it is not necessary, the, for a prince to have all of the qualities mentioned above, but certainly necessary that he appear to have them”(C, 237).    President Obama made a statement about not hurting the American people and he has to uphold this if he wants to be respected. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/us/politics/08cong.html?ref=todayspaper