To harsh on presidents?

[stratego]

Do we expect too much from a presidents? Bush, Clinton and other presidents had receive a lot of crap about what they do. I think people are trying too hard to compare them to the legends of George Washington and James Madison who were deemed to be perfect thinkers and leaders. The saying that Washington never told a lie is most likely a lie.

PS: I saw an article about the paradoxes of the presidency, but I don't have it now. It contains paradoxes like, we expect the president to be a leader but complains when he doesn't listen to the public. We expect him to listen to the public but criticize him for being a puppet if he just do thing s to satisfy the public. etc

 

[cgannon64]

He's the President. I think its better to over-criticize than under-criticize.

 

[General Porkins]

you cant please everyone. whats popular is not always right, and whats right is not alway popular and all that. basically i think people just want to complain about things. it gives them something to do and makes them feel important. being the president is a tough job, and it just makes it harder when you have all different special interest groups picking at you and criticizing you.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

It comes with the territory. If they can't handle the stress, they shldn't go for the job; being the leader of the free world and all.

 

[Archer 007]

Sure we're harsh on them. I think we're happy when they are doing a good job (which this one isn't )

 

[Mescalhead]

We should be much more critical since there are millions of Americans more fitting for the job the Señior Boosh. If he buckles under the criticism, he is no leader.

 

[Mrogreturns]

I just thought of a phrase to sum all this up- "If you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen". Fell free to use it in future

 

[ShiplordAtvar]

Originally posted by Mrogreturns
I just thought of a phrase to sum all this up- "If you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen". Fell free to use it in future

Alternately, if you can't take the heat, get your ass off the stove.

 

[The Person]

If people like to complain, let them. If you are stupid enough to go for president, do so if you like to. You simply can't be president without getting pecked at by someone. That's the Truth about Presidentship. (Or at least I think so.)

 

[ShiplordAtvar]

Originally posted by stratego
Do we expect too much from a presidents?

I think that we do. It is my opinion that those who seek the office of POTUS do so at least in part because of an enlarged ego.

My ideal person to hold the office of POTUS would fit these criteria:

a) Meet all legal and constitutional requirements for the job
b) Have served in many walks of life, both in a management and rank-and-file capacity
c) Would rather take a red hot poker up the keister than be President

Why req. c? Well, someone who doesn't want the job seems to me to be less likely to misuse the bully pulpit, less likely to mess around, because of the likely attitude of "I want to finish this and get back to my real job of farmer/soldier/lawyer/burger flipper/etc."

The old-fashioned concept of a citizen statesman is what I think I'm trying to get at. This has been replaced by the modern concept of the career politician, which I think has done more harm than any one person (whether you think that person would be Bush or Clinton) to this country.

I view less favorably those candidates who in their adult lives have never had a job that wasn't closely related to politics, whether as an office holder, an intern, or a staff member.

 

[Enemy Ace]

Originally posted by stratego
Do we expect too much from a presidents? Bush, Clinton and other presidents had receive a lot of crap about what they do. I think people are trying too hard to compare them to the legends of George Washington and James Madison who were deemed to be perfect thinkers and leaders. The saying that Washington never told a lie is most likely a lie.

PS: I saw an article about the paradoxes of the presidency, but I don't have it now. It contains paradoxes like, we expect the president to be a leader but complains when he doesn't listen to the public. We expect him to listen to the public but criticize him for being a puppet if he just do thing s to satisfy the public. etc

Hmm, 99% of Americans blaming 1 man for everything when there are more than 500 Federally elected offices...

Yes.

As far as the paradox thing goes...Most people want the President to do whatever he will do, because he thinks it is the right thing for the country and it is the right thing morally. When he is doing something only cause he is pressured to or, because there is special interest at stake, people are pissed off. He can be a leader and/or he can listen to the people, but he has to make us believe it is, because he has the best of intentions, at heart, for our country. Today, we just don't believe it. That is why about half of all eligable Americans don't vote.

 

[Eastern Knight]

Most of those aren't crap, most of them are the truth. They should known that well-known people get lots of rumurs (spelling). So if it's too hard for them, then don't take the job!

 

[The Yankee]

My bet is a lot of Republicans would say that we are too harsh on Bush but we weren't harsh enough on Clinton. And a lot of vise versa. It really depends on who's the loudest and what they're doing. I don't think we're being too harsh on the public job the President, or any public official, does.

 

[thestonesfan]

We give them too much power, that's for sure.

 

[The Yankee]

I think we need a strong president to balance out what could be a strong Congress. It doesn't work as well when every aspect of government is controlled by a single party, like it is now.

 

[thestonesfan]

No, we need a weak executive branch to balance out a weak congress, and these can both be countered by a weak judicial branch.

 

[MrPresident]

The problem is that America has combined the role of Head of State with the role of Head of government. A Head of State represents the entire country but a head of government represents half, maybe even less than half. Also America is becoming increasingly polarised in its political landscape. You are either for or against. You either like the current President or you hate him. That sort of culture tends to lead to harsh criticisms based more on pre-decided political opinions than facts and figures. It is a sad development but one that can be reversed.

 

[The Yankee]

Originally posted by thestonesfan
No, we need a weak executive branch to balance out a weak congress, and these can both be countered by a weak judicial branch.

Sounds a lot like the government that was supposed to be under the Articles of Confederation, if I understand right?

 

[Sultan Bhargash]

I'd be in favor of dissolving the Presidency and having citizens elect the cabinet members and let a talk show host occasionally check in with them.

 

[thestonesfan]

Yeah...but who the heck are you?