We ask about the latest in garbled history, bombastic Tweets, and the many tales of grifting. The entertainment never stops, but we know this makes it too easy to lose our hold on the fundamentals of limited government.
For July, we’re going to focus on a different question. One we borrowed from Corey Brettschneider’s book The Oath and the Office:
All presidents, from George Washington to Donald Trump, began their terms with dreams of accomplishing great things. But whether your presidency is monumental or disastrous will hinge largely on a simple thing: that you, a future president, understand how the responsibilities of the Constitution apply to your job.
What do you need to know to be president? Most of all, you need to know the U.S. Constitution.
There’s a question that deserves our attention. As the 2020 presidential election has already started to demand our attention, Politicolor wants to make it a little easier to spend time with good questions.
We’ve now finished this book and will announce our next #CitizensRead title soon. Be sure to get the latest news by signing up for our Questions of Civic Proportions email.
More details about our QCP emails and past issues available here.
Reading with Our #CitizensRead Book Club
How-to be President Offers a Constitutional Walk Through that Starts with Article II
This series will provide two paths to recovering the original ideas of the Office of the President. This month, we have options for participating. You can either read The Oath and the Office by Corey Brettschneider or listen to four episodes of the Whistlestop podcast by John Dickerson. Either way, you will have spent enough time with the questions of exeutive power that you might want to moderate the next presidential debate yourself!
Participate by: listening to one 30-minute podcast OR reading 40-60 pages each week.
Politicolor’s #CitizensRead Book Club will provide:
- A welcome email with a reading plan that will help you finish the book in 4 to 6 weeks
- A “status check” with questions about what you have read so far; an invite to share your responses in our online learning studio
- A final email with three key takeaways from the book and a short summary of Learning Studio conversations
- An invitation to our online webinar discussing the text
Don’t forget to add your name to the sign-up list above. The presidency has always been a tricky proposition. This is an important time to understand all those tricks.