PoliticalChic
Diamond Member
1. Many leading academics find that the greatest modern Presidents are those that have made government bigger and more powerful, and have expanded the reach of the presidency, i.e., Woodrow Wilson and FDR. By the same token, those Presidents with a limited-government POV, such as Harding, Coolidge and Reagan, are treated dismissively by journalists and historians.
2. Prior to the 20th century, Congress was considered the apex of the American political system, but today many believe the President to be more akin to the king or religious leader described by Frazer in The Golden Bough. He must be the great father, the miracle worker, and the fulfiller of all wants. Liberals swoon at the charisma of an Obama or a John F. Kennedy.
a. Obama supporter Peggy Joseph: I never thought this day would ever happen. I wont have to worry about putting gas in my car. I wont have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know, if I help him, hes gonna help me.
b. Obama: "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow, and our planet began to heal."
3. The expectation of a godlike President who can or should solve all of our problems reinforces the central impulse of Liberalism, which is to politicize more and more of private life, always expanding the power of government.
4. Leftist governments infantilize their populace. When political operatives advocate doing something for the children one can see the tendency to make children out of the citizenry.
a. Vice President Al Gore said the government should act like grandparents in the sense that grandparents perform a nurturing role. Cult of the Presidency
b. Denton Walthall, who asked a question in the second presidential debate in 1992. Referring to voters as "symbolically the children of the future president," he asked how voters could expect the candidates "to meet our needs, the needs in housing and in crime and you name it, as opposed to the wants of your political spin doctors and your political parties. How town-hall debates can go very wrong for a candidate. - Slate Magazine
5. Citizens have accepted this, as shown by what they tell pollsters they expect: experience, or that he shares my values, or cares about people like me or understands the needs of the country. It is unlimited. What, then, is the correct yardstick by which to measure a President? Does the President take seriously his oath of office:
a. Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight
Covered more fully in "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents," by Steven Hayward
2. Prior to the 20th century, Congress was considered the apex of the American political system, but today many believe the President to be more akin to the king or religious leader described by Frazer in The Golden Bough. He must be the great father, the miracle worker, and the fulfiller of all wants. Liberals swoon at the charisma of an Obama or a John F. Kennedy.
a. Obama supporter Peggy Joseph: I never thought this day would ever happen. I wont have to worry about putting gas in my car. I wont have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know, if I help him, hes gonna help me.
b. Obama: "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow, and our planet began to heal."
3. The expectation of a godlike President who can or should solve all of our problems reinforces the central impulse of Liberalism, which is to politicize more and more of private life, always expanding the power of government.
4. Leftist governments infantilize their populace. When political operatives advocate doing something for the children one can see the tendency to make children out of the citizenry.
a. Vice President Al Gore said the government should act like grandparents in the sense that grandparents perform a nurturing role. Cult of the Presidency
b. Denton Walthall, who asked a question in the second presidential debate in 1992. Referring to voters as "symbolically the children of the future president," he asked how voters could expect the candidates "to meet our needs, the needs in housing and in crime and you name it, as opposed to the wants of your political spin doctors and your political parties. How town-hall debates can go very wrong for a candidate. - Slate Magazine
5. Citizens have accepted this, as shown by what they tell pollsters they expect: experience, or that he shares my values, or cares about people like me or understands the needs of the country. It is unlimited. What, then, is the correct yardstick by which to measure a President? Does the President take seriously his oath of office:
a. Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Article Two, Section One, Clause Eight
Covered more fully in "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents," by Steven Hayward