On the Right

New York, Aug. 27—If you are in the mood to be gloomy about America, dwell for a moment on an apparently diminishing expertise in the selling of American Presidents. Observing Mr. Carter during recent weeks, one has the impression that at least one of the Camp David meetings was devoted to a legendary think! session at which the only rule is that there shall be no rules; that participants are required, on their honor, to blurt out anything, however wild, that comes to mind. Perhaps at such a session a bright young Georgian suggested that Mr. Carter travel to Selma, Alabama to lead the protest movement against the Klansmen protesting the civil rights movement. Or—flash! —he might have himself launched on an Apollo rocket to the moon, whence to look down on the earth and recapture his perspective. Instead, it was decided he would take a steamboat tour down the Mississippi River. The idea is to reacquaint himself with the people.

Now the cliches with which that proposition is congested—that you get to know the people, if you are the President, by mingling with them—are so thick it is unlikely that light will ever shine through. The fact of it is that the President doesn’t get to know the people of the United States by mingling with them. He gets to know about them much more authentically by reading books, newspapers, letters-to-the-editor, and through radio and television. People don’t act naturally when they are in the presence of the President of the United States, and it is not natural that they should.

About the Author

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr. founded National Review magazine in 1955.

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New York, Aug. 27—If you are in the mood to be gloomy about America, dwell for a moment on an apparently diminishing expertise in the selling of American Presidents. Observing Mr. Carter during recent weeks, one has the impression that at least one of the Camp David meetings was devoted to a legendary think! session at which the only rule is that there shall be no rules; that participants are required, on their honor, to blurt out anything, however wild, that comes to mind. Perhaps at such a session a bright young Georgian suggested that Mr. Carter travel to Selma, Alabama to lead the protest movement against the Klansmen protesting the civil rights movement. Or—flash! —he might have himself launched on an Apollo rocket to the moon, whence to look down on the earth and recapture his perspective. Instead, it was decided he would take a steamboat tour down the Mississippi River. The idea is to reacquaint himself with the people.

Now the cliches with which that proposition is congested—that you get to know the people, if you are the President, by mingling with them—are so thick it is unlikely that light will ever shine through. The fact of it is that the President doesn’t get to know the people of the United States by mingling with them. He gets to know about them much more authentically by reading books, newspapers, letters-to-the-editor, and through radio and television. People don’t act naturally when they are in the presence of the President of the United States, and it is not natural that they should.