BrianGarst.com

A lot of conservatives seem to think President Obama spends too much time vacationing.  That is the thrust of this illuminating graphical time-line from Grand Rants:

I can certainly understand why conservatives find this argument attractive.  The President has demonstrated through his policies and speeches that he is out of touch with Americans.  Pointing out his frequent vacations certainly enforces that narrative.  But I think it also encourages an unhealthy attitude toward the presidency.

The idea that we expect a president to be on top of everything that happens across the entire country is something which one would expect to hear from the statist left, but not self-described individualists.  I want a president less involved in the day-to-day affairs of most Americans.  For the last century, our Presidents have gotten into the habit of responding to every little development, regardless of whether or not they have any legal or even moral authority on the matter.  Even conservatives have become used to this state of affairs, and are now quick to denounce the White House for failing to quickly react to this or that matter that probably shouldn’t be the concern of a president in the first place.

The purpose of the executive branch is to enforce laws and command the armed forces.  The President is Chief Executive and Commander-in-Chief; he is not Nurturer-in-Chief, Therapist-in-Chief, Father-in-Chief or even Emergency Responder-in-Chief.  If conservatives want to make progress in convincing the electorate that a massive welfare state is bad because it promotes an unhealthy dependency on government, we should start by showing how little we care whether or not President Obama is around to tell us how to react to every little social or economic problem that comes our way.

Barack Obama dependence