There is, for many Americans, nowhere to turn to find a sense of common meaning

America needs a king

by Michael Auslin

Does America need a monarch? Ever since, according to legend, George Washington turned down the chance of becoming the new country's king, America's identity as a republican nation of citizen rulers has been rock solid. Indeed, nothing can stir patriotic anger more than the suggestion that the U.S. president is acting like unelected royalty. Yet even before independence, John Adams argued in favor of a "republican monarchy" of laws, lamenting, "We have so many Men of Wealth, of ambitious Spirits, of Intrigue ... that incessant Factions will disturb our Peace."

Looking at the United States, today, Adams was prescient, with the country almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, special interests dominant, and poisonous partisan gridlock destroying Washington, D.C. While Adams favored a republican monarch with absolute veto powers, today we need a person who can sit above politics and help strengthen our commitment to republican values. We need a king, or something like one.

As the only nationally elected official, the president has become a symbol of the country. Such symbols, whether in a democracy, monarchy, or authoritarian state, must serve a purpose above politics, both at home and abroad. Yet that is impossible for a U.S. president who is head of his own government, putative head of his political party and invariably a competitive, partisan politician. For example of just how awkward this can be, hours after a mass shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington last September, President Obama unleashed a blisteringly critical speech on the budget, accusing the Tea Party faction in Congress of promising "economic chaos" and questioning whether Republicans were "willing to hurt people just to score political points."

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