San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-30
THE HIGHEST OFFICE"

All Americans believe that the presi-
dency of the United States is the highest
political office among men. Aspirants
to It almost invariably voice that ap-
pralsement of it. The more aggressive
a candidate, the more vociferouslv he
processes respect for "the highest posi-
ton within the gift of the people"
What the candidates say about it does
not affect the peoples esteem of the
presidency one way or the other. But
sometimes there appears an incongruity
between candidate himself and his
descriptive definition of the office. He
cannot go about proclaiming the presi-
dency as the greatest office among men
without inferentially touting himself as
the greatest man of his time-or at least
the greatest available for the position.
Therefore, when he resorts to vituper-
alive words in his criticism of other can
didates. wantonly Singing mud" upon
those who have the effrontery to seek
the same position to which he aspires.
isn't he really creating in the peoples
NAds contrast between himself and
the highest office" of which he pirates?
Every presidential year predecessor,
rather, discloses-a crop of men who
put the superlative appraisement upon
the presidency and then proceed to prove,
by denouncing every other candidate,
that they themselves are corresonding-
ly unfit to discharge the duties of the
highest office among men. They seem
to be devoid of any sense of the eternal
fitness of things. Or perhaps they as
sumo that the public is lacking in such
sense. Surely they are minus the facul-
ty which enables the average normal
man to know what sort of impression he
is creating upon others.
IT appraising the presidency as the
highest political office in the world-or
just the highest political office, as it is
to be hoped that politics is confined to
this earth-the American people do not
''kid' themselves into believing it pos
sible to find a perfect man for this Job.
But they hold ever before their eyes
an ideal. Even though they realize
that sit3is unattainabley they do net cast
| it aside; to do that would be to resign
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despair.
Within the last few presidential years.
particularly, the nominations have been
given to comparatively inconspicuous can
didates. The race has been won by
clark horses" on both the Democratic
and the Republican side Why? In
any general explanation that might be
given, the psychological effect of what
the various candidates had to say about
themselves and their rivals must be
given sope consideration. The Hot
spurs, the ones who recommended" them
selves most highly at the expense of
other candidates, and whose activities
had been such as to make homogeneous
the associating of them with the great
ideal of faultless public service which
the American people subconsciously at
tribute to the presidency, were the first
to be dropped from the running.
1t would not be at all surprising il
political history should repeat itself in
this respect when the Democrats hold
their next national convention. And il
the delegates should by any rule of per
verseness nominate a candidate who .had
been doing violence to the popular con-
ception of presidential fitness, the Ameri-
can people would doubtless reaffirm
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