President Obama has decided to follow the lead of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Good for both of them.

The president announced this week he will surrender 5 percent of his $400,000 annual salary in response to the budget cuts and the furloughs being required of federal government employees. Hagel made the same declaration just before the White House confirmed Obama’s decision to give some of his money back to the Treasury.

I know what the critics are saying about this. He should give it all back. One friend of mine said the president simply should park Air Force One in the hangar and quit flying around the country at taxpayers’ considerable expense; that would save a lot more money than Obama’s measly gesture.

Actually, my dear wife has provided the best explanation to date for the president’s 5-percent gesture.

He’s trying to set an example for other senior government officials to follow, she said. Giving back 5 percent is something most senior government officials could do, even if they don’t enjoy the personal wealth that the first family enjoys. Returning all of it, my much better half noted, wouldn’t play well in some officials’ households if they don’t have the financial resources available to the president and first lady.

She’s right. Most presidents – or presidential candidates – don’t seek the job because they need the money. The individuals who’ve run for the office by and have acquired substantial nest eggs.

However, I like the gesture that Barack Obama has made to cope with the mandatory federal budget cuts. Will it make a dent in the enormous debt the government is carrying? Of course not.

Leadership involves more than just barking out orders and bossing other people around. It involves some measure of sacrifice. The Obamas or the Hagels won’t go hungry. But their intent is to set a positive example for others to follow.

There is nothing at all wrong with that.