The New Nationalist

The New Nationalist

Presidents' Day Doesn't Cut It.

Washington and Lincoln Merit More Than Cameos in Weekend Sales Events.

James Strock's avatar
James Strock
Feb 16, 2026
∙ Paid

Presidents’ Day doesn’t cut it.

It’s the ultimate participation trophy. Are we really supposed to celebrate all of our commanders-in-chief as one?

If you placed our presidents in a lineup, you’d notice that two stand apart from the others.

As the late historian David McCullough reminded us, most presidents are, by definition, middling, unexceptional in t…

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