Books. Bikes. Boomsticks.
“I only regret that I have but one face to palm for my country.”
Friday, May 09, 2008
More on Priest-Kings.
Lawdog has more on folks misunderstanding the concept of just what we're supposed to be hiring someone to do this November. (HINT: "Fixing the Economy" and "Affordable Health Care" are nowhere mentioned in Article II of the Constitution.)
I think my perfect candidate would run on the platform of "I plan on staying the hell out of your life and fishing...a lot. Oh, and spending lots of money on the military and not much else."
The District of Columbia is a reclaimed swamp. It should be converted back to wetlands. Ducks and geese are people, too. Protecting our environment is certainly one important way the President "services" us under a "living Constitution."
This topic is of immense interest to me, and it's one that has been largely overlooked by libertarians: the American public's growing, tacit belief that our presidents are supposed to be "leaders," that we are "electing a temporary king," as Ross Douthat recently wrote (without irony).
Gene Healy just cracked the wall with his new book, "The Cult of the Presidency." It's also Reason's cover story this month, though I don't think they've yet posted it online.
It's one of the most dismaying aspects of all this campaign brouhaha (and of Obamania in particular). So much intense public interest, so much energy, so much hype and noise. All stems from this implicit view of the presidency as So Very Important.
We shouldn't care this much who's elected president, because the president isn't supposed to matter this much in the first place.
The whole exercise serves only to further empower the presidential role, creating an ever bigger threat to freedom. Alas, I'm not sure there's any way out. People seem to genuinely crave the theater of it all, the notion of one human personality being vested with such power. It's like a real-life soap opera, and it's apparently too alluring for people to willingly turn off.
I think my perfect candidate would run on the platform of "I plan on staying the hell out of your life and fishing...a lot. Oh, and spending lots of money on the military and not much else."
ReplyDeleteThe District of Columbia is a reclaimed swamp. It should be converted back to wetlands. Ducks and geese are people, too. Protecting our environment is certainly one important way the President "services" us under a "living Constitution."
ReplyDelete"The District of Columbia is a reclaimed swamp. It should be converted back to wetlands."
ReplyDeleteMight as well, it's full of bottom-feeders already.
This topic is of immense interest to me, and it's one that has been largely overlooked by libertarians: the American public's growing, tacit belief that our presidents are supposed to be "leaders," that we are "electing a temporary king," as Ross Douthat recently wrote (without irony).
ReplyDeleteGene Healy just cracked the wall with his new book, "The Cult of the Presidency." It's also Reason's cover story this month, though I don't think they've yet posted it online.
It's one of the most dismaying aspects of all this campaign brouhaha (and of Obamania in particular). So much intense public interest, so much energy, so much hype and noise. All stems from this implicit view of the presidency as So Very Important.
We shouldn't care this much who's elected president, because the president isn't supposed to matter this much in the first place.
The whole exercise serves only to further empower the presidential role, creating an ever bigger threat to freedom. Alas, I'm not sure there's any way out. People seem to genuinely crave the theater of it all, the notion of one human personality being vested with such power. It's like a real-life soap opera, and it's apparently too alluring for people to willingly turn off.