No American political myth has power quite like a presidential candidate’s promise to save the economy and create jobs.
No American political myth is as absurd and cynical, either.
The executive branch, like the rest of the government, is reactionary. It doesn’t lead changes in society so much as it responds to society, then tells society it propelled the changes all along. From President Obama’s “you didn’t build that” to former President Bush’s “I kept the country safe,” politicians take credit for all the good of America and none of the bad.
For Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders supporters, they should listen to their candidate with a hefty dose of skepticism. Trump will not make American great again, and Sanders will not launch a political revolution. They will betray the great hopes of their supporters, then assign blame to the other party.
“Although the office of the presidency has become imperial when it comes to surveillance, security, and foreign affairs, it remains relatively weak when it comes to single-handedly bending the GDP curve upwards,” Derek Thompson wrote in The Atlantic.
Americans, not politicians, will make America great again. The best hope voters can have is that their candidate doesn’t handicap the country too much.
“I won’t hurt America,” though, isn’t a winning campaign slogan. Americans want a politician to tell them soothing lies, make empty promises, and assure them that the voters are wise and infallible.
Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson declared that “I did not create a single job while I was governor” when campaigning in the last election. He argued that politicians are not job creators — the American people create jobs and spur the economy forward, not their public servants. He garnered 1 percent of the vote.
“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard,” the eminent journalist H.L. Mencken wrote in 1915.
Johnson went against the grain of democratic theory. Doses of realism do not make winning campaigns. Hubris, arrogance, and charm do. Bill Clinton gave the people what they wanted. As did George Bush and Barack Obama. The president does not drive the car that is America. America is not a machine — it’s a republic.
That technocratic thinking, however, remains popular across all segments of the voting population. Americans love campaign metaphors that obscure the reality of economy and society. Republicans might want a businessman who knows how to make deals and run a company. Democrats might want someone who can unite a country and bring hope and change. Both envision the presidency as a grown-up version of Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. Believe hard enough in the ballot box, and society’s problems will be fixed.
Reality, though, is more complex. The sooner Americans become more realistic about the power of the government, the sooner economic and social problems can be dealt with — by the people.
