Thoughts on the Meaning of President's Day

I wrote this last year, but it's obviously still relevant...

Today's Washington Post editorializes on the meaning of President’s Day, arguing that the real importance of the holiday rests with the observation of the birthdays of George Washington (Feb 22) and Abraham Lincoln (Feb 12). I'm not one to quibble with recognition of the brilliance of these two great men. And I agree with some of the editorials other points, namely, the economic impetus of the "President's Day" tag. But I think it takes a rather narrow view of what we should be taking away from President's Day – the celebration of the office of the President, the celebration of our country and its history. I think there is real importance is celebrating all of our country's presidents, "good" or "bad." As the most visible and recognizable representation of the freedom, justice, liberty, and hope that the United States embodies in the minds of its citizens, the office of the President of the United States of America is a powerful symbol of our country and is in and of itself worthy or our respect with a holiday dedicated to it.

On a separate, but related topic, last Friday the New York Times editorialized on the new presidential coinage, and managed to politicize even that, complete with the obligatory liberal stab at President Bush:

But there is real educational value in including every president. At a time when the current occupant of the White House thinks presidential powers should be expanded to new extremes, the series will be a four-times-a-year reminder that not everyone who makes it to the White House belongs on Mount Rushmore.

But what the NY Times fails to understand is that, like President’s Day, the presidential coinage is an appropriate celebration of the office of the President of the United States of America. The paper itself implies this when it says "The decision to make a line of presidential coins was a natural one, and once made, it would be hard to pick and choose." I don't think that anyone would say the tenures of Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, or James Buchanan should be individually acclaimed the same way those of Washington, Lincoln, and Jackson are. But the totality of the new coinage represents not individual achievements, but the achievements of the office in sum.

***

It's interesting to note that whereas the NY Times editorial goes out of its way to criticize President Bush as one who thinks presidential powers should be expanded to new extremes (in a time of existential threat to the U.S., mind you), the Post editorial cites Lincoln's expansion of presidential powers in the time of the greatest existential threat to the U.S., as a large part of his greatness.

***

What's your opinion? Let me know who your top five presidents are. Mine are—and I oscillate on this; the current list is: 1) Lincoln; 2) Washington; 3) T. Roosevelt; 4) Reagan; 5) FDR.

UPDATE: The American Thinker discusses the three worst presidents.

Technorati Tags: President's Day, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, Ronald Reagan, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President Bush