Jeff nails it. It’s the “bully pulpit“:
Of all the powers of the executive branch, it’s this implicit one that I envy. It’s not the power to persuade I seek; in this age of début de siècle cynicism, persuasion is basically impossible anyway. What I long for is the ability to stand up in front of a podium for five minutes and dictate the subject of the national debate for the next 24 hours. “Subterranean agriculture isn’t getting enough attention,” the President can say, and the people take it from there. That’s what I envy.
Of course, I could never get elected, because I’d never learn when to shut up.
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