Fifteen years after George W. Bush promised ”to restore honor and dignity” to the White House, Donald Trump is sounding a similar theme. As Alex Pappas notes, in his new book, “Crippled America,” Trump writes: “Making America Great Again begins at home.”
“It means restoring a sense of dignity to the White House, and to our country in general.”
Sound familiar?
Bush’s promise was always a subtle reference to the Monica Lewinsky scandal that preceded him, a way to tie Al Gore to Bill Clinton without actually saying it. But 43 seemed to mean it. He made it a point to always be punctual, and to always wear a jacket in the Oval Office.
Interestingly, when it comes to dressing for success, The Donald is channeling Dubya in this regard, too: “[E]veryone working in the administration should look and act professionally at all times — especially the president,” Trump writes. “The way you dress and the way you act is an important way of showing respect for the people you are representing and the people you are dealing with. Impressions matter.”
Trump also says he wants to bring back some “pomp and circumstance,” and while it’s easy to imagine this getting out of hand (we have presidents, not kings!), one suspects a little pomp and circumstance might be appreciated.
After four years of Jimmy Carter rejecting the “imperial presidency,” eschewing limousines and opting instead to walk during his Inauguration, and then sporting cardigans, the country was hungry for someone to restore a bit of prestige and glamor in 1980. They elected a glamorous movie star. One senses a similar mood today.
There’s something else I like about what Trump is saying here. I’m all for introspection, but America (and I think we can blame the media for this) spends more time engaging in self-flagellation than celebrating. We’re more likely to hear about what’s wrong with America than what’s right with it. As a businessman, Trump seems to embody the kind of swagger that a nation still suffering from a modern “Vietnam syndrome” desperately craves.
Here’s something I read a while back from a book called Management Wisdom From the New York Yankees: “The Yankee organization has gone to great lengths to promote their history and tradition of excellence. The Yankees tell their stories, publicly celebrate past heroes and legends, and use their past successes to persuade current and prospective players to believe that they are destined to win.” Any great organization should do this, but somewhere along the line, America stopped being chesty.
In any event, as a critic of Donald Trump, I think it’s worth noting that he’s right about this point — even if it is ironic that his rhetoric is essentially lifted from Jeb Bush’s brother. The fact that Trump is bashing the George W. Bush legacy and simultaneously borrowing the line that essentially served as the rationale for his 2000 campaign, tells you a lot about Trump’s flexibility. It also helps explain why Jeb’s losing to him.