THE PRESIDENT

by William H. Benson

February 24, 2000

     George Washington’s successful revolution against King George in 1776 eradicated the British crown and the trappings of royalty from the colonies, but in their place the Founding Fathers instituted a quasi-royalty called the President.  Forty-two men have served our nation in that role, and the armchair historian can attach every descriptive adjective imaginable to at least one or more of them–stubborn, good, bad, awful, dull, slick, misguided, insincere, great, flawed, devious, inconsistent, enlightened, intelligent, statesman-like, lazy, diligent, touchy, moral, unethical, studious, and deceitful.  Still, given the choice between an inherited royal throne and an elected President, the Founding Fathers chose the better of the two.

     The best of the lot include, of course, Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Wilson, perhaps both Roosevelts, and Truman.  The worst of the lot include James Buchanan, Lincoln’s predecessor.  From the time Lincoln was elected in November of 1860 and the handover to Lincoln in March of 1861, Buchanan dawdled while the Southern nations concluded their plans to leave the United States.  It then fell to Lincoln to put back together what Buchanan had allowed to rip apart.  Then, Ulysses S. Grant in the 1870’s and Warren G. Harding in the 1920’s achieved the distinction of looking the other way while their deputies in the inner circle plundered the Treasury.  Scandals ensued.

     Andrew Jackson, the face on the Twenty Dollar bill was the general at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.  He was a heartless Indian fighter and a frontiersman who was the first to bring the Presidency down to the common folks’ level.  Not above smoking a corn cob pipe and looking unshaven and unkempt at times, Jackson could then spiff up when he wanted, brush back his white hair, and dazzle his guests.  An Enlishwoman once exclaimed, “Your republican President is the royal model of a gentleman!”

     When Vice-President Harry Truman became President, wiseacres commented that if he could become President then anybody could, even the guy next door.  That he came from common roots was true, but intelligent, well-read, and implacable (perhaps stubborn is the better word) he was.  Just a common man from Missouri he saw himself, but he understood well the dignity and power of the office he held.

     Jack Kennedy came the closest to royalty.  Richard Burton and Julie Andrews were on Broadway in the early 60’s in Camelot, and Jackie wanted to turn the White House into an updated version of King Arthur’s mythic castle.  She was allowed to do so.  But, it was Jack’s father, Joe, the immensely wealthy and powerful and corrupt Irish-American, who pushed his son, Jack, into politics and then paid for the Presidency.  Paul Johnson, the historian, wrote that it was like “handing over power to a family business, a clan, almost a milieu, with a set of attitudes about how office was to be acquired and used which at no point coincided with the American ethic.”

     At least one President was downright dull–Calvin Coolidge.  He said little, and did even less.  His best known comment was “The business of America is business.”  (Many would argue that it is actually about liberty and securing the blessings of freedom.)  Alice Longworth Roosevelt, TR’s daughter, commented about Silent Cal, “He reminds me of the little man who stands on top of the wedding cake.”

     Some Presidents, such as Jimmy Carter, worked very hard and mastered all the issues, and yet, was largely ineffective in getting the job done.  Reagan, on the other hand, conserved his energy with frequent afternoon naps, joked about it, and somehow got things done.  Bud McFarlane said, “He knows so little and accomplishes so much.”

     Clinton is now in his final and eighth year as President, and four new faces (Bradley, Gore, McCain, and George W.) are appearing in the wings driving hard to win that desk in the Oval Office in January of 2001.  Our choices include a former NBA basketball player, a Vice-President, a former POW, and the Texas Governor.  Not much shining royalty can we find among them, but then again that was the Founding Fathers’ intentions.