The federal holiday marked today observes George Washington’s birthday. I was grieved to see Jim Geraghty, of all people, abandoning this noble cause in today’s Jolt. He writes, “Today is Presidents’ Day, where we commemorate all presidents, not just Washington and Lincoln, whether we like it or not.”
Not so. The link is to a USA Today story that suggests that it is officially Presidents’ Day. Author Eric Lagatta says, for example, that LBJ signed a bill in 1968 to fix Presidents’ Day on the third Monday of February. The law LBJ signed actually refers to Washington’s birthday. Lagatta eventually mentions in passing that the federal government still calls it Washington’s birthday, but then adds, “Presidents Day has since come to represent a day to recognize and celebrate all of the United States’ commanders-in-chief, according to the U.S. Department of State.” That’s not what it says at the link. What the State Department instead says is: “Increasingly, the holiday has become an occasion to celebrate the birthdays of both President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln.” And: “the federal holiday officially remains Washington’s Birthday.”
It would be weird to have a holiday celebrating Franklin Pierce and Rutherford B. Hayes. It’s a good thing we don’t have one.