We have it in our heads that the president of the United States is like the CEO of our country, when in reality his job is more akin to head janitor.

[W]e need to get out of the president’s head the silly notion that he’s our leader. If America wanted a leader, we would have a special set of feats a person would have to accomplish in order to become that leader, like create a business, win a nacho-eating contest, and punch out a grizzly bear — things that display Americanness. What we would not do is elect a leader through our usual democratic system, which does nothing but produce mediocre bureaucrats. Really, why would anyone think we should be inspired by those people? That’s like being motivated by a slime mold.

But America doesn’t need a leader, because we’re a bunch of free people in charge of our own lives who can handle our own problems, as long as we have a president who knows enough to keep the government out of our way. We can create our own businesses and make our own jobs. We can drill for oil and lower gas prices. We can head to the Walgreens at any major intersection and buy our own birth control.

The Crazy Idea that the President Is ‘Leader’ of the Country