Presidential
This election is a referendum on the meaning of the word
Presidential. adj. suitable for a president or as is expected of a president.
Presidential. Suitable for a president. As is expected of a president.
For a long time, we have been told presidential ought to signify the best of us. Dignified. Deserving of respect. Calm. Trustworthy. Someone presidential ought to be worthy of our deepest admiration. Someone our children could look up to. Someone “worthy of the office.”
Donald Trump is proposing another definition. Presidential, in his world, is not about signifying the best of us. It’s about representing the worst of us. We know this implicitly, evidenced through our comparisons. He’s been compared to a bully. A petulant child throwing a temper tantrum. A narcissist. A cheater. A liar.
What are these characteristics other than what we see in ourselves and all around us? We all suffer from being overly self-centered. Lying when we’re in trouble. Avoiding taking responsibility for our mistakes. Blaming others instead of looking inward.
Trump has made a caricature of these characteristics, exaggerating them to the point of absurdity. But make no mistake – he is still a representation of us.
Forget the policies. The taxes. The economy. The pandemic. For a second, just think - what do we want our President to represent? What do we want to model for our children?
Words and eggs should be handled with care because words once spoken, and eggs once broken, are the hardest to repair. In this case, it’s not the word being spoken, but the word having meaning. We’ve already elected Trump once and the damage to the office of the Presidency has been deep. We’ve suffered damage to the word presidential in the eyes of the world. It may even be irreparable. I don’t know if Biden has the answers. In fact, I can’t say I’m optimistic he does. But I do know that if we, as a country, allow presidential to lose its meaning, to represent the worst of us and not the best, we can forget about America’s greatness. We will instead be forced to reckon with America’s survival.