US Presidents - Buffoons or Leaders of the Free World, You Choose

Is it really okay to make a mockery out of the United States presidency?

I don’t care for George Bush and will happily wave goodbye to him at the end of next year but I wonder if we, as citizens of this country, have completely lost respect for the office and not just the man. We have become so accustomed to Bush’s blunders and watching “news” outlets/shows dedicated to showing us what a fool he can be, that I wonder if when it’s over we will be able to recover some modicum of reverence for the highest office in our land.

I feel bad for the candidate who wins in 2008. Will the media set the newly elected president up for a big fall? Will they search through hours of tape to find those unfortunate moments when our new president stumbles over a thought during a speech or eats a bad bowl of soup and throws up? I hope not. I’d rather hear how he or she is cleaning up the messes made by the previous administration and restoring our reputation around the world.

For me, the important thing to remember while the media dumps my president (and the 2008 candidates) into the same paparazzi category as Brittney and Paris, is that we are all human. We all say stupid things. We ALL look clumsy at times and that’s just how it is. No one can be a media robot and would we really want that anyway?

To point this out, Reader’s Digest complied a list of head-scratching gaffes made by the men who’ve run our country. They are nothing, if not, humanizing. I can live with the knowledge that my president is a real person, making mistakes and plodding through every day just like me.

But I hope we move beyond the dehumanizing attacks and back to a healthy sense of humor coupled with respect for the president who occasionally trips on the podium in the rose garden.

Try to read this list of lighthearted ramblings from famous presidents without saying, Huh?

“People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” Abraham Lincoln

“There is a mandate to impose a voluntary return to traditional values.” Ronald Reagan

“This is still the greatest country in the world if we just will steel our wills and lose our minds.” Bill Clinton

“If Lincoln were alive today, he’s roll over in his grave.” Gerald Ford

“When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment results.” Calvin Coolidge

And my personal favorite HUH statement – “Solutions are not the answer.” Richard Nixon

As we wade our way through this last year of the Bush administration, I will do my best to remember that respect for a person in higher office does not equal blind support. I don't have to like them to respect the enormously difficult job they must do. I don't have to agree to respect the weight they carry on their shoulders every day while in office.