The President of the United States of America deserves respect.
This was a conclusion I reached in second grade when my class voted in the 1992 presidential election, although our carbon copy ballots were not recognized by the national government.
In second grade I learned the rough outline of the president's job - the role as commander in chief, the privilege of the veto, the ability to make treaties, the authority to appoint people to serve in various federal positions, etc.
Later I discovered that the president's position as commander in chief places him or her in charge of roughly one million active duty personnel.
I was staggered by that number, but I was even more awed when I also eventually figured out that aside from the official duties enumerated in Article Two of the Constitution, the president acts as the face of some 300 million Americans.
I have the utmost respect for the office of the president, and that respect extends to the men who have inhabited it, regardless of my feelings for the way they have fulfilled their role.
I may criticize the actions of President George W. Bush, I may poke fun at him when he mispronounces "nuclear" and I may even question his morality, but I retain a sense of awe for the position of the presidency in and of itself.
This is why I continue to regard the State of the Union address with such love, and if ever there arose an opportunity for me to see President Bush speak in person, I would brave rain, sleet, snow and a variety of other impediments to witness the man, knowing full-well that I may be enraged by his words.
This is why I nearly peed my pants in glee as former President William Jefferson Clinton spoke on Hayden Lawn this past fall, and this is why I stood in line Wednesday to buy tickets for former Vice President and one-time presidential candidate Al Gore's appearance at Gammage in April.
I was perusing Facebook.com, as I am wont to do, and discovered that a number of ASU students had spent hours in line for tickets to see Gore.
This makes sense to me, because even though the man never inhabited the Oval Office, he did work next door for eight years.
He stood in the awkward position of next-in-line for almost a decade, and then half the country invited him to take that great leap of ultimate responsibility.
Given that only 42 men have held the office of the president and that only four remain living today, I find the opportunity to hear a former vice president speak to be one of the rarest and closest instances I may ever have to knowing that office of highest honor.
What I didn't understand as I was reading the wall for "Al Gore LIVE! @ Gammage" were comments like, "Yeah right, like I wanna see this guy" and "WTF I'm a REPUBLICAN!!!"
Regardless of Gore's political affiliation, the man was the president's right hand for 2,921 days, any one of which is enough reason for me to treat him with respect.
There's an episode of "The West Wing" where the fictional President Jed Bartlett has chosen a new secretary, only to find out that she had penned an angry missive in response to his laissez-faire attitude with regard to the World Bank enforcing levels of arsenic in drinking water.
Her letter said, "Let's stick some arsenic in President Bartlett's drinking water and see if he delegates responsibility to the World Bank then."
The President's response was, "President Bartlett. You referred to me and to the office with respect. You're a class act."
I know it's imaginary and it's corny, but that moment makes me cry every time I see it on television.
The President of the United States does deserve our respect, and I will be honored to give mine to someone who came so close to that position come April 2.
Reach the reporter at: hanna.ricketson@asu.edu.
