A President, Not a Savior

Hard as it may be to imagine in the midst of a modern campaign season, the Framers wholly rejected the notion of the "bully pulpit."

Presidents were to be seen more than heard, which is why our first seven presidents averaged a little over three public speeches a year. Nor did early presidents follow the modern practice of referring to themselves as the "commander in chief," as if all America was a vast army directed by a supreme military leader. When George Washington referred to the office he held, most often it was with the humble term "chief magistrate."

Alas, humility is hard to discern on the modern campaign trail.

Times have certainly changed since the Founders' days. The power vested in the Presidency now is not what they envisioned when they set set up the checks and balances of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.