How does one celebrate President’s Day?
Feb 19, 2013, 6:46 PM | Updated: 6:47 pm
Did you have a nice President’s Day?
I’ve always been curious about what exactly is the appropriate way to celebrate the holiday. Should we spend the day looking stern and lying to everyone we meet as a tribute to Richard Nixon? We could have a fireside chat with someone like Roosevelt did or we could “hit on” every woman we meet like, well, a lot of them.
As for me, I celebrated President’s Day by going to the Oscar-nominated film “Lincoln” and it was the perfect way to honor the chief executive, at least that one.
The movie focuses on Lincoln’s singular efforts to get the anti-slavery 13th amendment to the Constitution passed. It’s a remarkable piece of history and anyone who sees this film will come away with the distinct feeling that Congress today is far more respectful and far less partisan than the elected officials of Lincoln’s era. Behavior on the floor of the House of Representatives often looked more like a bar crowd in a bad saloon, referring to the president as a dictator, an ape and worse.
Even if it doesn’t win the Academy Award, you may wind up with more positive thoughts about Washington 2013.
I’m Pat McMahon.