He didn\u2019t boast about his amorous adventures.
(Wikimedia CC, public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the distinctives of the constitutional government of the United States is that the functions of head of state and head of government are combined in the American presidency. \u00a0The president of the United States is, in a sense, the equivalent of both the United Kingdom\u2019s monarch and the United Kingdom\u2019s prime minister, or of the president and prime minister of France or Germany or Israel. \u00a0That is, he is both the ceremonial personal symbol of the United States (the placer of wreaths, the leader of national mourning, etc.) and the operational CEO of the federal executive branch, the \u201cchief magistrate\u201d (as he was once commonly called).<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thus, it\u2019s generally been thought that the president should possess a certain gravitas or personal dignity.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a recent television interview, Donald Trump was asked to identify one or two of his favorite verses from the Bible. \u00a0I\u2019m guessing that it likely surprised very few that he didn\u2019t do so. \u00a0Probably because he was unable<\/em> to do so. \u00a0(At least he didn\u2019t cite \u201cA stitch in time saves nine,\u201d or \u201cThis above all else, to thine own self be true.\u201d \u00a0We can be thankful for small mercies.)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
His failure to answer the question is no big deal, really \u2014 I\u2019m not particularly interested in a religious litmus test for the presidency \u2014 though it\u2019s probably a bit revealing of the inner Trump.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the way in which he tried to dodge the question is interesting: \u00a0\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to get into it,\u201d he answered. \u00a0\u201cBecause to me, that\u2019s very personal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Compare this passage, from his book Think Big<\/em>:<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOftentimes when I was sleeping with one of the top women in the world I would say to myself, thinking about me as a boy from Queens, \u2018Can you believe what I am getting?'\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
That kind of thing apparently isn\u2019t<\/em> too personal.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, of course, we\u2019ve had adulterers and fornicators in the White House before. \u00a0John F. Kennedy, for instance, was so busy cheating on his wife that it\u2019s astonishing to think\u00a0that he had any time or energy left over for his duties as president.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But we\u2019ll never, if Mr. Trump moves into the White House, have had a president before who was as openly and unashamedly promiscuous as he<\/em> apparently has been.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something to reflect upon, perhaps, when he\u2019s bidding to represent the people, traditions, and values of our Republic as our head of state.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 One of the distinctives of the constitutional government of the United States is that the functions of head of state and head of government are combined in the American presidency. \u00a0The president of the United States is, in a sense, the equivalent of both the United Kingdom\u2019s monarch and the United Kingdom\u2019s prime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>