Monday, February 16, 2015

The Annual Aargh


I've written before about the travesty of having a Presidents Day and lumping Buchanan and Carter in with Washington and Lincoln. If we're going to have a "Day" then it should mean something other than a long weekend and mattress sales.

The ideal is to go back to celebrating the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln and then call it a Day. [I couldn't resist.] We've had other great presidents but no one else is in the same league as those two. 

Alas, to quote from one of my favorite film characters, there are two ways that'll happen: no way and no how.

So here's an alternative: Each year prior to Presidents Day, there will be a random selection to determine which two presidents will be honored. The sitting president will always be excluded from consideration to exclude excessive politicization. Once a president is honored, then the person is out of contention for certain time period. 

With only two names on the table, that will turn even the ill-conceived Presidents Day into something to talk about; indeed, something to debate.

And think of a cynic's joy if the first two were Nixon and Clinton.

2 comments:

Wally Bock said...

What a great idea! I wonder if Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce will ever get the honor.

Michael Wade said...

Wally,

I'm glad you like it. At the least, it would give attention to some of the lesser known presidents.

Michael