“We like to think, in our sophisticated democracies, that we no longer place much store in the symbolic power of our leaders”
I largely agreed with Mr. Sayers’ points here, but this is one where I (as an American) think that the U.S. is still a bit different than the UK and many other countries. Because the U.S. president is head of state as well as head of government, it’s an office that has still retained a fair measure of symbolic power (though admittedly less than it had several decades ago). That’s been one of the complaints about Trump’s “unpresidential” behavior, including from some commentators who agree with him on many policy issues.
“We like to think, in our sophisticated democracies, that we no longer place much store in the symbolic power of our leaders”
I largely agreed with Mr. Sayers’ points here, but this is one where I (as an American) think that the U.S. is still a bit different than the UK and many other countries. Because the U.S. president is head of state as well as head of government, it’s an office that has still retained a fair measure of symbolic power (though admittedly less than it had several decades ago). That’s been one of the complaints about Trump’s “unpresidential” behavior, including from some commentators who agree with him on many policy issues.