Ours is an era in which elected officials, like public figures more generally, have by and large abdicated their responsibility to model good behavior. Once, politicians felt compelled by the sweeping visibility of their office to demonstrate an outward sense of virtue, decorum, and etiquette. It would have been inconceivable for President John F. Kennedy to have cursed in public — it was even shocking to hear the comparatively salty and sweaty Richard Nixon do so in private on those notorious audiotapes. George H.W. Bush dressed the part of a president, and Bill Clinton tried to. Presidents not only sought to project confidence in times of crisis, as they still strive to do, but also to communicate dignity and propriety every time their likeness might be captured by a camera.