Party On, Mr. Pres
Honestly, I don't get it. Yes, he's our President. Yes, he has a big job to do. Yes, he has inherited some vast international and domestic messes to mop up. Yes, these are incredibly tough times. Yes.
But he is also a human being. With a beautiful and intelligent wife and two darling girls. He is a husband. A father. A good husband. A good father. (And, yes, I know it annoys some of you that is so good at everything, but get over it.)
So, if this man wants to take his wife on a date, let him. Let them go to the theater and eat a four-star dinner. If she wants to wear a fancy dress and show off those enviable arms, good for her. And if she wants to wear $500 sneakers with said fancy dress, rock on. Life and laughter should not cease just because this man has taken that somber oath of office.
It seems as if there is at least one other American who agrees with me. Or, I agree with her. Point is that we are on that same proverbial page. In her compelling NYT Op-Ed piece, Maureen Dowd asks Can The One Have Fun? and her answer is a big fat YES. Dowd laments the fact that the "fun police are patrolling Pennsylvania Avenue" and makes a good point: "Mixing play with intense work is not only a good mental health strategy; its a good way to show the world that American confidence and cool and Cary Grant romantic flair still thrive."
My take? Our President is not perfect. He is not a robot. Like the rest of us, he will be better at his job if he takes time to breathe. He will be a better leader of this nation if he presses pause on business as usual from time to time to court his bride and play with his kids. Let him get his Cary Grant groove on. Let him play a round of golf. I do not want a miserable, joyless, high-strung captain at the helm of this ship. No, I think the Leader of the Free World should be a free man. Free to smile and sip the odd (and much-deserved) cocktail with his wife. Free to frolic with his young daughters. Free to pursue the same happiness we all covet and crave in our own decidedly less presidential lives.