Unelected staff who elect themselves 'president'
By Douglas MacKinnon, opinion contributor — 11/06/21 12:00 PM EDT
As someone who comes down more on the conservative-libertarian side of the world from time to time, I still want President Biden to succeed, because if he succeeds in his job as president of all Americans, then our nation succeeds.
To that point, during his inaugural address, Biden said: “Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not lead to disunion. And I pledge this to you: I will be a president for all Americans. I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.”
I honestly believe the president meant what he said. The question is, do all on his staff and within his greater inner circle agree with that unifying, American sentiment? We now live in increasingly toxic political times, so it would be safe to assume that some who are closest to the president want no part of that Pollyannaish, softheartedness and would prefer to metaphorically step on the throats of those they oppose.
Since that’s a possibility, two more questions logically come to mind: How much influence do these folks have over the president? And how much autonomy do they have to enact policy?
I suspect that even most Democrats, at least in private, would admit that the Biden White House has sailed into turbulent waters lately and that the president does not always come across as captain of his own ship. If he does take his hand off the tiller from time to time, who grabs it — and does that person believe in their mind they know better than President Biden?
No doubt, since the administration of George Washington, there always have been presidential staff members who believe themselves to be more intelligent and capable than the president himself. Leaving aside that usually delusional hubris, we come to the more pertinent fact: The American people elected said egotistical staff members to absolutely nothing.
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https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/580204-unelected-staff-who-elect-themselves-president
