First Things:
Sacral Presidency by Peter J. Leithart
A semi-imperial presidency seems inevitable, though not because of
gaps in the Constitution or the vulgar tastes of American voters.
Benjamin Franklin may have been closer to the mark when he observed
there’s a “natural inclination in mankind toward Kingly Government.”
Whether they are monarchs or not, and whatever the constitutional limits
placed on them, powerful leaders take on royalish trappings because
politics is ineradicably sacral. Since the president is the “one,” he ought to transcend the sturm und drang of swamp politics, standing above sectional interests and faction as one president for one people.
A solitary executive may lurch in an autocratic direction; l’etat, c’est moi.
But in Christian and even post-Christian Europe, monarchs are sacred
because they represent a divine authority to which they themselves are
accountable. Presidents have served as the unordained priests of
American religion. They take their oath of office on the Bible, often
with the addition of “so help me God,” and end speeches with “God bless
the United States of America.” President George H. W. Bush’s first act
as president was to offer prayer. By comparison with the pageantry of
Christendom, the sacral aura is dim—no anointing, no crown or cross. But
it’s there. And properly so, since, as the solitary symbol of one
nation, the president signifies the nation’s under-Godness.
Is fallen man inclined to making an idol out of political authority, especially since the mistake or distortion is made so easily, attributing to the man who rules god-like status? The farther one is from his fellows in status and power and most importantly, accountability (and mutual respect), the more likely the exaggeration?
One could argue that the authority of the husband over the wife and of the parents over their children is sacred as well, being derived ultimately from God. But we don't think about that much, and with that authority comes duty and accountability to God, as well as the responsibility to make sure one has the appropriate virtues to use that authority properly.
