Presidential Preference Question: George Washington

» Brian Tubbs - George Washington

In response to message posted by BuckyRea:

Bucky, I have to grudgingly agree with you on Washington. The Father of our Country would not, I'm sad to say, command the same love, devotion, and respect in the capital today that he did in his day. Because of this, he'd be forced to take sides, to favor one political party distinctly over the other, and play politics. That would be anathema to him, and I don't think he'd adapt well to it. He would try to stay above the fray, and yet the modern presidency is fully engaged in that fray. It can't escape it. It's part of it. Even assuming biblical life spans, Washington would literally be a fish out of water were he the President today. And that's a shame.

I would see Washington more in the role of the "elder statesman" as whoever the President is (in our exercise) would undoubtedly be photographed and filmed visiting Mount Vernon repeatedly to "confer" with the Old General. Kind of how Bill Clinton visited Reagan upon taking office or how most modern Presidents have used Billy Graham for photo-ops to bestow legitimacy on their policies. Something like that, only much more frequent and more potent.

-Brian

p.s. Let's just hope Washington wouldn't ask for a commission for Alexander Hamilton to lead the ground war. :-)

p.p.s. Sorry, Alex. I shouldn't be so hard on Hamilton. He did a lot of good things for our country.

-- posted by Brian Tubbs