1. "Ignore the tweets," smart people tell us. "Ignore the bluster & the insults. Pay attention to policy, not words." They're wrong. Policy is important but words also matter.
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4. Consider the impact these purely symbolic events had: Woodrow Wilson showing Birth of Nation in White House, Franklin & Elinor Roosevelt inviting Marian Anderson to White House after she suffered racist snub from DAR.
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5.
@jtlevy's piece on why presidential words matter (arguing with writers like@DouthatNYT &@CoreyRobin) is compelling: https://niskanencenter.org/blog/the-weight-of-the-words/ …Show this thread -
6. One crucial point
@jtlevy makes is that Trump's words, more than policy, is remaking GOP. Consider GOP voters attitudes to Russia, free trade & FBI.Show this thread -
7. Going further, I'd say that in type of society America is (settler society with long history of both free & forced migration) issues of national identity particularly important & president plays big role in defining those.
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8. Further thoughts on the power of presidential words here: https://newrepublic.com/article/147033/trumps-words-will-leave-lasting-mark …
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End of conversation
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A bully pulpit occupied by a man who's nothing but a bully.
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If we've learned nothing else from the last nine years, we should understand now that this really isn't true. Obama and Trump have both been exceptionally strong drivers of resistance to their take on what America is.
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