According to Machiavelli, if a prince wishes to continue ruling his state, he must not be exclusively concerned about being praised. In the 7th paragraph Machiavelli noted that "a man who wishes to make a vocation of being good at all times will come to ruin among so many who are not good" (Machiavelli 40). A successful prince has praiseworthy traits and despicable traits, but the despicable traits must not cause him to be hated. The prince must present himself as a descent, honest man, while also using his vices. A good example of a modern day Machiavellian prince is President George W. Bush. He has quite a few of the characteristics this "prince" requires, such as being deceitful, adamant, and religious.
             In order to remain in power, a leader should be deceitful but considered to be trustworthy. According to CNN News, after the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attack on the U.S., President Bush insisted on invading Iraq because Saddam Hussein was possibly linked to the attack and dangerous because of his alleged weapons of mass destruction (CNN.com). President Bush and his administration had always wanted to invade Iraq and cause the downfall of Hussein's government. In order to invade Iraq and not be hated, President Bush knew he must deceive the population to support the invasion because. Therefore, Bush deceived Americans into supporting his actions by claiming that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat to U.S. safety. However, the greatest threat to America's security was Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, the terrorist group responsible for the September 11th attack. Americans and the majority of Congress believed the claims were correct because they trusted the respected officials that were giving this false information.
             Machiavelli suggests that appearing to be religious is important in remaining a ruler, but it is also important to know how to counteract against religious teachings. I...