About five years ago, I wrote a little bit about how refreshing it would be to deflate the excessive celebrity of the office of President of the United States.
Too much of an understatement to say things are not going as I had hoped?
I think we’ve been sliding steadily down this hill since the end of George H.W. Bush’s presidency in early 1993 (which happens to mesh pretty nicely with the rise of the web). Bill Clinton did talk shows (entertainment programming, not news). George W. Bush didn’t necessarily bask in the spotlight, but neither did he shun it. Barack Obama normalized the notion of a sitting president using social media daily.
From that perspective, that so many millions of us apparently have no issue with how Donald Trump conducts himself day to day is not terribly surprising. This table was set for him.
I don’t much care for the notion of the president having time and inclination to tweet at all. I mean, really—I often consider Twitter a questionable use of my own time, and as impressive and influential as BoWilliams.com is, I have far fewer responsibilities than the President of the United States.
However, if he’s going to do it—and clearly he is—it’s a real shame that more of his supporters don’t have any issue with the level of his discourse. There is plenty that comes from his keyboard that we’d all agree was unbefitting for a civic or church leader, or even a line manager. But Trump? Just part of his genius. Grow a pair. Get on board or get run over.
Consider for a moment how low the bar is for any 2020 challenger to appear exceptionally civilized and well-mannered. I think such a potentially low threshold of credibility is much more likely to be a bad thing than a good one.
You might also like:
- When I’m president
I’ve occasionally joked about being president before. We’ll play “God of Thunder” by Kiss, not “Hail… - Donald Trump will win the presidency
Donald Trump is a boorish, vulgar, narcissistic self-parody, for whom simple civilized and polite di… - You can like Trump and still wish he wasn’t such a jackass. I promise.
The great Jay Nordlinger once told of accompanying President George W. Bush on a meander through a c… - 46. Joe Biden, 2021-
Today Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. I don’t align with very man… - “The American people will come first once again.” – Donald Trump
I didn’t watch a single minute of the Republican convention, which means I didn’t see or hear any of…