I reject the concept that the President’s duties include making everybody happy. Whatever happened to “I am not Santa Claus?” I don’t want my President to give one rat’s patootie about making me happy. We were guaranteed the right to pursue happiness, not an entitlement to happiness itself.
I want my President to do what is right, as best they possibly can, for the country. That might or might not include making me happy. In fact, a lot of the things that would make me happy would not be right for the country. I would like the right to paint ball every moron that insists on driving in the left lane next to, and never passing or falling behind, the car in the right lane. I would like the right to 24 hour Chinese takeout. I would like the right to lingering foot rubs from Jennifer Aniston. I’m not going to get any of these things, why should the rest of you be happy?
Part of what I think the President should be doing is making his job as unimportant as possible by making government as local as possible and only interfering with the private sector when absolutely necessary. But this “gimme” attitude, now adopted by both parties (O stingy Republicans, where art thou now?) is bankrupting us. Marcus Aurelius recognized that once the masses figured out they could use their voting power to elect representatives that pandered to the desires of the masses and not the needs of the society, the government was doomed, as politicians would provide bread and circuses to keep the public happy and keep their jobs. It worked then, its working now, but sooner or later the Goths, or Mongols, or Chinese, or somebody willing to work leaner comes in and pushes you off your fat behinds (and mine).