ETHICS/JOHN MCCAIN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “What’s lost when the president of the United States can’t — or won’t — show up? As the remembrances for the late Sen. John McCain shift from Arizona to Washington the rest of this week, President Donald Trump will be glaringly missing. The McCain family asked him to stay away from the four-day tribute to the storied Republican lawmaker. And even if they hadn’t, it’s unlikely Trump would have been eager to eulogize one of his fiercest critics. But Trump’s absence is about more than just a personal feud between two dramatically different politicians. His inability to seize the ceremonial, symbolic power of the presidency, both in times of sorrow and joy, threatens to change an important aspect of the office itself and remake Americans’ expectations of their commander in chief…The American presidency has always been tangled in partisan divisions. Most recent presidents have been elected by narrow margins after campaigns focused on party loyalists. Like Trump, his predecessors have frequently stuck to friendly environs, preferring the adulation of supporters to the criticism of detractors. But most modern presidents also have recognized that the office comes with certain ceremonial expectations. Americans not only look to the president to run the government, but also to lead in times of tragedy or cheer in moments of national pride.”
–The Associated Press, “Trump Seen as Neglecting Symbolic Power of Office,” The New York Times online, August 31, 2018