When Presidents Drink Their Own Kool-Aid

Trump made insane claims for the power of the executive in his speech tonight. So did Obama.

JIM LO SCALZO/UPI/Newscom

For years, Barack Obama has been (rightly) mocked for these grandiose promises shortly after he secured the Democratic nomination in 2008:

I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment—this was the time—when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

But here's Donald Trump in his address to the joint session of Congress today:

Then, in 2016, the earth shifted beneath our feet. The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds—families who just wanted a fair shot for their children, and a fair hearing for their concerns. But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus—as thousands of citizens now spoke out together, from cities small and large, all across our country. Finally, the chorus became an earthquake—and the people turned out by the tens of millions, and they were all united by one very simple but crucial demand, that America must put its own citizens first. Because only then can we truly make America great again.

Dying industries will come roaring back to life. Heroic veterans will get the care they so desperately need. Our military will be given the resources its brave warriors so richly deserve. Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways gleaming across our very, very beautiful land. Our terrible drug epidemic will slow down and ultimately stop. And our neglected inner cities will see a rebirth of hope, safety and opportunity.

This weirdly grandiose rhetoric is a reflection of a weirdly grandiose bipartisan conception of the powers of the president.

So here's your handy reminder: Presidents do not make the earth move. They do not turn back tides. They do not heal the sick, or eliminate vice, or remake the nation. They are humans with human failings, and one of those failings is the inability to resist taking a big slup of their own Kool-Aid in moments of triumph.

Comments

[Don't look at me.]

All of them are drunk on power.

[Chip Your Pets]

I disagree. The president does have enormous power to heal our nation, our economy, and our society.

All it would take would be to get the hell out of the way and let us run our own lives.

[some guy]

But then his supporters would have to do all that healing work themselves, rather than waiting for him to force other people to do it for them. Clearly unacceptable!

[Sevo]

"...So here's your handy reminder: Presidents do not make the earth move. They do not turn back tides. They do not heal the sick, or eliminate vice, or remake the nation. They are humans with human failings, and one of those failings is the inability to resist taking a big slup of their own Kool-Aid in moments of triumph."

Pretty much a given, but there is a difference here: Not Trump, but those who voted him into office *have* made the earth move.
My local paper is now a "All Anti-Trump, all the time!" rag; going off on such important matters as ketchup on steak! And you, Ms. Mangu-Ward, have pretty much turned Reason into the same thing, albeit with the requisite qualifiers.
I have a suggestion: Why not treat the blow-hard with the attention he deserves; ignore him until he actually does something.
Who knows? You might just set Reason as an alternative to the "All Anti-Trump, all the time!" press.

[wareagle]

just today, Kellyanne Conway on a couch in the Oval Office with her feet tucked beneath her became a fucking story. Think about that for a second. The irony is that was the only way the MSM would touch the story of Trump and all the HBCU people.

[some guy]

The irony is that was the only way the MSM would touch the story of Trump and all the HBCU people.

Four-dimensional hyper-chess?

[wareagle]

spin it however you want, but when a guy basically overcomes the establishment of his party, the establishment of the other party, the entrenched media that couldn't get enough of him before he ran for office and, on numerous occasions, his own worst impulses, that's a shift.

[SIV]

KM-W shows how it's done, put her in charge of the blog

[Not a True MJG]

After she forgot to put up the Live Tweet thread? No way!

[Waldland]

Time will test whether Trump's speech reflected only the same personal fascination with the grandiose as did Obama's. Similarities in phraseology do not determine results.

[NebulousFocus]

Meh. They're both narcissists, hence the similarity in fluffing themselves.

[some guy]

You'd have to be a narcissist to be President. Otherwise the hassle wouldn't be worth it.

[zopet]

??????O I saw the receipt that said $6460 , I did not believe ...that...my mother in law woz like they say actualy earning money in their spare time from their computer. . there aunt started doing this for under thirteen months and recently cleard the depts on there mini mansion and bourt a great Aston Martin DB5 . go to this website.... ?.....??????? ?????____BIG.....EARN....MONEY..___???????-

[aajax]

I think we have to take these speeches as something the president was pushed into by others for the most part. Generally, the presidents don't write this stuff. Some over-amped supporter(s) writes it. The president reviews it and realizes what many people hope and expect from him. Now he's trapped. What's he going to do, say "Oh, no, I am not aiming to do any of that, nor am I capable of it"? The obvious reaction would be, "Then what the hell did you run for president for?". So, they give the speech, and then maybe try to live up to it.