There is a chapter in James Bryces’s The American Commonwealth titled, “Why Great Men Are Not Chosen Presidents”. The basic observation is that after the founding generation died out (Washington, Adams, Jefferson), presidents have been ordinary people. They would have been completely forgotten if not for becoming president. And some—here’s looking at you, Van Buren—have still been consigned to the dust bin of history, despite their brief stint in the Oval Office.
Martin Van Buren - President from 1831 to 1841
If not elected president, Abraham Lincoln would have been just another lawyer decent at speech making. Teddy Roosevelt would have been one more Vice President remembered solely by unread textbooks. And Woodrow Wilson would have been some elitist Princeton professor who managed to become governor of a state no one really cares about. Only after ascending to the presidency did any of these men become truly memorable. Only after taking the oath of office did they carve their name into the bathroom stall of history.
So why is it that great people never ascend to the Presidency? Bryce offers three reasons. For starters, politics just isn’t that attractive in the states. If you are someone with vision, someone with an idea that will revolutionize the world, would you really seek to implement that idea through Paul Ryan or Nancy Pelosi? I doubt it. Most likely you’d set off on your own path, create your own company where you alone dictate the rules.
The second is that people who are already successful have too much baggage. Making enemies is a natural byproduct of achieving tremendous success. To make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs, as the saying goes. But those high-profile enemies are a problem when you enter the political arena. Traditionally, one misstep can be the end of a politician. Having a wealth of wealthy enemies to attack you is a bad recipe for political success.
The final reason Bryce suggests is that politics doesn’t offer much in the way of personal distinction. It’s hard to make a name for yourself as a politician. This point I think is especially debatable, but it's true the vast majority of Americans probably can’t name more than 10 Senators or Congressman.
Whatever the reasons may be, the end result is a political system lacking in extraordinary people. And the people we are left with tend to be Wonky Politicos or Average Joes.
Especially at the federal level, politicians are all cut from the same cloth. They’re a Truman Scholar, or a Fulbright Scholar, or some kind of scholar. They probably attended an elite law school like Harvard or Colombia. They spent years working on The Hill as a staffer of some kind, slowly working their way up. They are some of the most experienced, most educated, most networked politicians in existence.
How is that working for us?
To be clear, I don’t mean to disparage any of those things. It is important to know the laws if you are also going to be writing them. It’s important to be educated generally if you’re going to be a “leader”. But if everyone is following the same cookie-cutter curriculum, who is left to think outside the box? Who is left to question the status quo? Who is left to push us forward out of the doldrums of gridlock and bureaucracy?
Enter Donald Trump.
Even if Donald Trump never became president, hell, even if he never ran, history still would have remembered Donald Trump. The man with his name stamped in giant neon lights on buildings across the globe. The man who, after years working in real-estate, started an immensely popular reality show. The man who was a tabloid fixture for decades as a result of his many marriages and brash wit. Sure, he would not have the same remembrance if not for becoming our 45th president, but by any account he is a far more significant figure than those who’ve preceded him.
There’s no denying that Trump systematically dismantled every preconceived notion about politics. Gaffes that would have annihilated any other campaign only seemed to embolden him. An off-the-cuff style of speaking previously forbidden in politics fed him billions in free media. And his layman's use of social media not only was unheard of in years past, it was impossible. He shattered the traditional molds and then pawed at the pieces like a lion bemused by his pray.
There is no going back.
Whatever policies Trump enacts as president, whatever Twitter spats he gets into with foreign leaders, whatever countries he accidentally nukes (kidding)—none of that compares to how he’s ripped the political fabric we once wrapped ourselves in. No matter your opinion of Trump, he proved that the unthinkable can be done. And now, the gates are open.
The era of career politicians is over.
Already we see celebrities dipping their feet into the waters. Oprah Winfrey, Mark Cuban, Mark Zuckerberg--all people who would have traditionally abstained from politics now seem to be gearing up for a 2020 run. I kid you not, as I write this post there are two politicos sitting next to me seriously discussing the campaign of Kevin Hart. Bizarre.
46th President?
Only time will tell if this new era of politicians, propelled not by vast networks or fancy degrees, but by immense fame and wealth will be for the best. But there is one thing we can know for sure: It is going to be a hell of a lot more entertaining.
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Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! (Or on Twitter...)
Cheers,
Gray
60 Days of Steemit: Day 17 of 60