Part of this job is also the theater of it. It's not something that always comes naturally to me. But it matters.Unlike most parliamentary governments which have a ceremonial president or royal, in the U.S. the president is responsible for both the theater and the actual running of things. He pardons the Thanksgiving turkey and signs legislation, he places wreaths at Arlington and he advocates policies, he lights the national Christmas tree and he orders troops into battle.
It is okay for a president to be more interesting in the policy and administration side of the job. But he mustn't slight the ceremonial side, or forget to worry about "how things look" to the public, what we've come to call "the optics."
