George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy secured the top three spots for the most "outstanding" ratings among presidents in a recent survey of U.S. adults.

What do the presidencies of the Virginia planter, prairie rail-splitter and Boston war hero have in common? All three laid out a dream for the future that broke with the past. They looked forward, not backward.

Washington succeeded King George III as the head of the government of what had been the 13 British colonies. He was awarded that position based on accomplishment rather than heredity, by votes rather than tradition. Washington rejected the old policies of taxation without representation, lifelong tenure in office, and Christianity as the national religion. He believed the United States faced the unprecedented challenge to prove that a free people could govern themselves.

Lincoln rejected the policies of his predecessors that equivocated on slavery and undermined national unity. He led the country in war to ensure "that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom." He laid the groundwork, too, for American economic leadership with the Pacific Railway Act that helped fund a coast-to-coast railroad, the Homestead Act that offered land to small farmers and the Morrill Act that fostered higher education through land-grant colleges.

Kennedy stood for a new dream. The first president born in the 20th century declared in his inaugural address, "Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans." He accepted the challenge of American leadership in "defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger." He rejected negotiating out of fear but also fearing to negotiate. He could stand up to the Soviets in Cuba one year and sign a nuclear test ban treaty with them the next. He supported freedom at home as well as abroad, telling the country in a nationally televised address, "It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color."

The current occupant of the White House is motivated not by future challenges but by an imaginary past when America was "great." He steers the ship of state while looking firmly astern, toward an era when white men held exclusive command. Black and female generals and admirals are dismissed, Pentagon leadership sponsors Christian nationalist rallies on the National Mall and a triumphal arch is advocated. It's no surprise his political identity was forged in strident opposition to President Barack Obama, the very epitome of what he disdained: a man who is Ivy League-educated, Black, inclusive and hopeful. Trump promises to return to a mythical time of glory before foreigners, the disabled, college graduates, people of color, women and non-Christians were granted so much of what white men considered theirs. His core followers are those who resent what modernity, let alone the future, stands for.

As any racetrack gambler knows, the best predictor of future performance is past performance. A candidate in 2028 who aspires to stand at the top of the pantheon of presidents should definitively break with the current occupant of the White House. They should look to a future of what Washington called "the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty," what Lincoln called "a government of the people, by the people, for the people" and what Kennedy called a "struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free."

That means equal opportunity for all, standing with others who defend democracy, top-notch education for every child, care for the poor and disabled, laws justly applied and an economic program that harnesses the inherent genius of American workers. It's a policy of embracing the future and the days to come, not one of retreating to the past and the days of yore.

Will the American voters cast their ballots for a candidate who can lead America by inspiration, not resentment? Will a worthy successor to Washington, Lincoln and Kennedy emerge who breaks with the past, nurtures the energy and goodness of the American people and sells a renewed American dream?

I hope and pray one will.

A renaissance man, Keith Raffel has served as the senior counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, started a successful internet software company, and had six books published including five novels and a collection of his columns. He currently spends the academic year as a resident scholar at Harvard. You can learn more about him at keithraffel.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at creators.com.

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