A Presidential Redux

WARNING: This post is extremely biased. If you can't take the heat... um... don't go near hot places or things.

The world is very different now. It's flatter and closer than ever. The extreme nationalism of the Twentieth Century faded with the end of the Cold War. Anyone can connect to anyone else whenever they want. I can trade stocks on exchanges in Europe and Asia for almost nothing. As a result of this diffusion of borders, world leaders have had to evolve. They must be worldly in a way that was not always the case.

In the United States, the role of the President has also changed.

Once the President was a statesman only. Their portraits reflect this intensely. They stand or sit in ornate rooms full of incredible images of strength and power. They are stoic, sturdy, the pillar of the Nation. Washington even considered his role in government to be undemocratic. It was the Congress, he thought, that was the voice of the President. The people elect him because of his proven character and abilities in working with diplomats and other statesmen, not with garnering public support for bills or kissing babies. That was uncivilized. Presidents often didn't even campaign.

That's Andrew Jackson on the stagecoach.

It wasn't until Andrew Jackson ran for President that support for anything resembling the grassroots campaigns and public appearance that we see today began to grow. The President was, in a way, secluded from common people. He represented his country to the other heads of state, not their citizens.

But now, the President represents this country to the world. What he does reflects entirely upon the view of America in the rest of the world. Holding this position of incredible influence comes also with an incredible responsibility. He is a more public figure now than ever before. Every moment of his life is poked and prodded. We must be sure his character and personality is acceptable to be placed as the essence of what an American is.

When George W. Bush was President (legally elected only once, I might add), we were cowboys.

We shot first and asked questions later. We tortured. We were stupid. We couldn't even speak our perverted "american" english correctly. We lost the world's respect.

But then Hope happened. Barack Obama won the Presidency and suddenly there was a near religious fervor. People danced in the streets. It was time for change, for progress to finally take the reigns after eight years of BS. He was featured on the covers of some of the most prestigious magazines in the world. He was interviewed on the news, on talk shows, on the street. Story upon story upon story poured out of the media about him. His face is recognizable all over the world. He only gave his first national speech in 2004. He only became a national senator in 2004 and didn't even have time to finish a full term. Yet we know his face, his eyes, his smile, his laugh and every tone his voice can make. He is a father, a husband, a statesman, a scholar, an intellectual, a reader, a writer, a speaker, a preacher, a lover, a fighter, a friend, an idea. He became a star to rival Kennedy.