To hear various commentators speak about politicians today, the overwhelming impression one gets is that politicians fall into one of two camps—ideologues or modern day Machiavellians. Either they are hidebound in what they believe and, hence, unwilling to take seriously the other side (or even reality itself), or they are so willing to compromise for short-term gain that they neglect the common good. Of course, these are caricatures, but repeated often enough, they do stamp how the general public has come to think about its elected officials.

Although Americans have a long history of seeing politicians as “those rascals in Washington,” it was once the case that they also took note of, and celebrated, the lives of those exceptional political role models, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  But this coming Monday, we will celebrate Presidents’ Day, largely ignoring which president it is that we’re celebrating as we run around hoping to beat the crowds buying, say, a new mattress or car.