What Makes an Effective President An effective president is one who must have certain traits in order to lead the country in the best way. Such things would include being the best in: Economic, Foreign and Domestic Affairs, Party Leader, Chief Executive, and Commander in Chief. I believe this because some of our presidents in the past in some form have demonstrated these things. An effective president is one who gets the jobs done under all types of measures. In order to take care of the United States I believe a person has to be a little conniving as well. George Washington was the best Chief Executive that understood that his every action would set a precedent for future administrations and that his mistakes could hurt the young United States. Washington succeeded in setting a dignified yet unpretentious tone for the presidency. Washington saw the need to establish the primacy of the federal government over the states. He established the rule that presidents seek the advice and consent of the Senate not before or during negotiations, but only after a treaty had made. Thomas Jefferson was the most effective in the Economic issues. The most dramatic action was the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which added more than 2,100,000 sq km of land to the United States. Jefferson had no constitutional authority to buy the territory from France, but he saw landholding and farming as essential to the country's future. Jefferson called the purchase “an act beyond the Constitution,” but Congress eventually appropriated funds and approved the land deal. Jefferson's vision of a larger, more prosperous country, joined with his political pragmatism to produce an act of exceptional presidential leadership. The bold decision to push forward with the Louisiana Purchase demonstrated that presidential power went beyond the narrowly worded passages in the Constitution, and that the authority of the office depends in part on the person ...