Another Look at President’s Day

President’s Day is a good time to think about the power of the executive branch to shape our nation's future. Right now we're in the midst of a campaign season in which "hope" seems to be the key word. To appreciate just how much power a presidential candidate has to rally the American people, visit the video blog Big Think. There, modern political philosopher Michael Sandel of Harvard discusses how, as a young man, he was inspired by Robert Kennedy and the promise he offered this country:

As The Nation points out, a major lobbying campaign by retailers in the late 1980s aimed to redefine President's Day as one of the country's most active shopping days of the year. Why Tuesday's Jacob Soboroff asks why the United States doesn't take its elections just as seriously:

One more thing to check out... this weekend's episode of the public radio show Studio 360 looked at the cultural significance of the Lincoln Memorial and its connection in the 1960s to the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. It's one of the best examples out there of great radio storytelling.