Bully Pulpit Essay

A bully pulpit, despite what it may sound like, has nothing to do with bullies; not in the modern sense of the word, anyways. It is a phrase coined by our twenty-sixth president, Theodore Roosevelt, describing not himself, but the white house as a metaphor. He was using an older meaning of the word bully, which meant excellent or superb, as an adjective to his position. A bully pulpit is, in his context of the phrase, describing the white house as a fantastic stage from which to promote an agenda. So the scenario we as a country are faced with, again and again, is this: we have multiple issues that need attention. The president, from the platform of the white house, chooses a specific issue or agenda that he feels needs the most attention, …show more content…
This, of course, is Ronald Reagan’s stance on drugs. He started the war on drugs, which is still rearing today, but more importantly, Reagan promoted a very specific phrase that everyone was told as a child: “Just say no.” He used his stage of the white house to promote a national attitude of anti-drugs. He started drug awareness and education organizations like D.A.R.E., which became a staple in most elementary schools in the country. He encouraged everyone to take a strong stance against drugs of all kinds, even having young children sign pledges to never do or try drugs, as part of these programs. The effects of his efforts are debatable, but he clearly had an agenda, and it defined a good portion of his presidency. Had he not had such a strong anti-drug stance, we might have seen other changes decades sooner. This is an inherent example of both the appeal and the potential downfall of such an effective bully …show more content…
Now, Reagan set the groundwork for what has become Obamacare. It was basically his idea. But, as he was too busy focusing on the war on drugs, it got put on the backburner, so to speak. He deemed it less important of an issue. Now, Obama has made that very same plan his agenda. He’s made some updates, of course, to modernize it. He’s even made a catchy moniker using his name, to attach himself firmly to the plan and its ideals. Healthcare is the issue that he feels is the most important, during his presidency, in this day and age. If the roles were flipped, if Reagan had implemented those healthcare changes thirty years ago, and Obama started the drug policy and education changes within the past couple years, imagine how differently the course of our history would have played out, even over such a short time frame as a few