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Every Knee Shall Bow, Every Tongue Confess that the President “Is All That”
...In the 20th century, presidents — as well as candidates for that office from both parties — morphed into beings with a glory in their bosoms that transfigures you, me and the nation, or are at least have to affect being that to get votes. Such is the thesis of Gene Healy’s superb recent book, The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power. Therein Healy documents how George W. Bush’s presidency may have taken the Executive-cum-monarch-cum-Christ phenomenon to its (for now) apogee, but there is plenty of blame to go around; excessive expectations and veneration leading to Executive power-mongering goes back at least to Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and the Progressive Era....

...“Progressives” need to examine their own forebears’ contributions to this evil. TR was a war-mongering member of their sect, declaring in 1897, as Healy notes: “In strict confidence, I should welcome almost any war, for this country needs one,” whereupon Teddy pushed for same and went off to lead the Rough Riders in the famous charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War....