Staff Reports
The U.S. is in a pickle, folks! Just picture two pieces of paper with your favorite things scribbled on them. On one, you’ve got foreign policy realism, administrative-state rollbacks, and hopeful thoughts of Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas not retiring and passing the baton to the radical Left. On the other, you’ve got union giveaways, 12-figure spending blowouts, endless military misadventures, and other people’s abortions billed to you. Yikes! Which sheet would you hire to run the show? The conservative lifeblood of America (Sheet 1) or the liberal hodgepodge of chaos (Sheet 2)? The choice is about as clear as mud.
We can all agree that the United States is suffering from a leadership crisis. Ever since Ronald Reagan, the Oval Office hasn’t seen a leader who’s both got their act together and can whip up some popular policies. Heck, folks from both sides of the political fence have been doing some major backflips. Trump’s shenanigans made some Right-wingers forgive Bill Clinton, of all people. Meanwhile, the Left is doing some major flip-flopping, with states like Alabama now demanding good conduct – something unheard of back in the day. What’s the world coming to?
The crux of the matter is, average Joes and Janes like us are plum confused about the presidency. Is the prez a political puppet, doing the bidding of money-grabbing gangs and siding with ideas we might not get behind? Or is the person in the Oval Office supposed to be the shining symbol of our nation, the mirror of all that’s great about our land? Honestly, it’s a puzzle, wrapped in a riddle, sprinkled with some head-scratching uncertainty.
According to the good ol’ constitution, the prez is a bit of both. And that’s where the rub lies, folks! By packing both executive authority and state leadership into one person, the founding fathers set the stage for an eternal tug-of-war. As a result, we’re floundering, like a seal on a rock, not really sure what we’re voting for. Are we casting our ballot for the person who makes us proud, or the one who promises to make our lives a tad better?
Now, don’t get your knickers in a twist – it’s not this writer’s place to say the founding fathers goofed up. But we sure have turned their nifty idea into a real mess. We’ve tagged the prez with all kinds of nonsensical worship. Fact is, in this modern America, we don’t really need a mascot. The whole concept of a symbolic head of state is about as out-of-fashion as bell-bottoms in a high-tech world like ours, but here we are, dreaming of a unifying figure to rally behind. This person ought to be super wise and super good, almost like a reflection of our perfect selves – someone we’re proud to call our leader.
This craving isn’t exactly new, you know. Take a gander at the Israelites, who asked Samuel for a king in the Old Testament. They weren’t after the whole shebang of royal rights and perks, just the look of a king without the red tape. It’s like we’re asking for divine authority without all the political hassle. And when it’s pretty much impossible to get, we start showing our teeth – and not at the prez, but at each other.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane and recall Barack Obama’s stint at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Sure, some folks were happy about a small tax hike for the millionaires, but let’s be real – most of the crowd saw him as the second coming. When the other side didn’t sip the Kool-Aid, the Left got salty and started a whole decade (and counting) of woke attitudes. They thought they’d found a patriot to rival Washington and Lincoln, but what they got was a know-it-all who made a bunch of domestic and foreign messes. It’s like buying a fancy car that ends up being a real lemon.
But wait, the conservatives are guilty too! Despite Trump being a real tough cookie to worship, he’s birthed his own devout following, complete with surreal paintings and all. These pieces of art are funny in a cheesy kind of way, but taken seriously? Not on your life! This is probably why Trump’s comment about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue makes a smidgen of sense. You see, as a quasi-deity, the former prez works in mysterious ways. Giving up on him because he’s acting crazy would just be political hogwash and downright shady.
Maybe it wouldn’t be half bad to have a presidential setup like the way things are done across the pond. Give us a Trump-like bulldog as prime minister, and we can let Obama and his kin be figurehead monarchs forever. Let them look regal, make the occasional TV show, and keep hush otherwise. I’d take a wild and crafty operator in the Oval Office any day. Talk about a smashing deal!
But if we keep going down this track, we’re in for a world of more confusion. We’re feeling lost and are looking to Washington for a savior. We’re hanging onto the edge and dying for a superhero to yank us back. But the real punch in the gut is finding out that our champion is as good as a wet noodle. That’s why we’ve got all these flashy traditions. It’s like what playwright and troublemaker David Mamet said – we’re surrounding the prez with bodyguards just so we can pretend there’s someone there besides us.
So, what’s the fix here? Maybe we just need to wise up and smell the roses. With social media and 24-hour news whirling in a frenzy, we’ll never see a leader who can rise above the mess and unite the country. Just look at Biden’s empty promises – it’s all baloney! For a prez to rule, they’ve gotta make some tough calls, which are bound to tick some folks off. In the olden days, maybe a president’s image could be separate from their policies. But in today’s world, we’re too divided for that. We’ve got the power of disdain right at our fingertips.
And here’s a thought to chew on – what if American presidents start dialing back on all the fluff that comes with the job? Let’s give the pomp and fanfare the old heave-ho. We don’t need an entourage that swells when the commander-in-chief hops across the street. And those royal-like gestures? Time to toss ’em out too! The honorifics, the prime-time rallies, the endless clapping – it’s all gotta go. Even the State of the Union speech is turning into a conservative gripe. Cheering for a politico whose ideas make your skin crawl is about as un-American as it gets. Clap for good plans, sure. But let’s keep the ovation just a tad in check. It’s not just good for him, it’s good for all of us.
So here we are, back to those two pieces of paper. America isn’t about blood ties, it’s about ideas. And it’s those ideas that should steer our ship of state, not the person who looks pretty while doing it. In plain speak, this writer’s caring more about what the prez does and less about how they strut their stuff. Some might argue that it’s just settling for a bad apple once again. But my reply? I’ve wisened up, my friend.
A while back, when this writer was just a naive college kid, they waffled about how nice it was to have George W. Bush, the consummate gentleman, as the prez. The prof shot that down quick – “You really care about that?” It stuck, and now, many moons later, this writer’s grown up.
Graham Hillard, the person scribbling away here, keeps the editing torch burning bright at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. And let’s not forget the contributions as a contributing writer over at the Washington Examiner magazine.
There, we’ve got a rewrite that’s as fiery as a jalapeno and as American as a hot dog on the Fourth of July!
