On Presidents and Manners

Why does the President routinely demonstrate such unpresidential, catty behavior? Considering the lofty status of the office and the venerable traditions that go along with it, it is a remarkable thing that the man seems incapable of breaking free from the vulgar community organizing and campaigning days of yore. From his relentless and gratuitous digs at President Bush, to his unprecedented assault on the Supreme Court during his State of the Union address last night (in the presence of the justices), to his mocking, condescending tone directed at Republicans, Obama is truly unmatched in executive level churlishness and immaturity. It's somewhat embarrassing to watch but indicative of where we have arrived as a nation. The bottom-line is that Obama can't help himself. This is who he is.

When all is said and done, it comes down to a question of education and culture. There's a handy Italian word that is used to refer to someone who is unrefined and displays vulgarian strains in the mold of Obama: maleducato. Obama is an educated man in the academic sense of the word and he is articulate, but book smarts alone do not the gentleman make. The requisite habits and traits of a gentleman must be instilled at an early age and continually polished and refined over the course of a lifetime.

A brief aperçu on this point: Shortly after Obama's inauguration, President Bush was prodded by his interlocutor to ever so lightly criticize the newly minted president, who had spent months on the campaign trial lambasting Bush in the harshest of terms. "He deserves my silence." was Bush's only response. Much to the frustration of conservatives, and the astonishment of liberals, Bush is ever vigilant not to return insult for insult, refusing to lower himself and denigrate the office he once held or the man presently occupying it. This requires an impressive level of self-discipline, humility and it evinces a lot of class on his part, in great contrast to the bombastic Obama.

A liberal education (in the classical sense) seeks to produce such men as the former president, but President Obama demonstrates time and again that such a goal is quickly becoming a thing of the past.