Gene Healy of the Cato Institute doesn't like the exercise of presidential power. Nor do I. He itemizes the dangers of president-as-messiah here. I think he's largely correct.

Still, those with wonkish proclivities might want to view politics as a purely intellectual exercise. Here in the Healy Construct, logic and reason are the only legitimate arrows in the quiver of those who share political values. Squishy, subjective considerations such as appeals to emotion and political theater are verboten.

Good luck with that approach, sez me.

Charisma, style, and being telegenic seem to me to be requirements for how this game is played. Deal with it. Being a strong, silent type in the mold of Coolidge strikes me as a matter of style. A= A robots need not apply.

With any luck, excellent politician/actors will step forward in coming decades who understand that the state can and should be rolled back, but who can also inspire and motivate the nation toward a more peaceful configuration.

Think of a smaller-government Obama.

-RC