Editing President of the United States (section)

=== Head of state ===
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As [[head of state]], the president represents the United States government to its own people and represents the nation to the rest of the world. For example, during a state visit by a foreign head of state, the president typically hosts a [[State visits to the United States|State Arrival Ceremony]] held on the [[South Lawn (White House)|South Lawn]], a custom begun by [[John F. Kennedy]] in 1961.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Abbott |first1=James A. |url=https://archive.org/details/designingcamelot0000abbo |title=Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration |last2=Rice |first2=Elaine M. |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-442-02532-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/designingcamelot0000abbo/page/9 9]–10 |url-access=registration}}</ref> This is followed by a [[state dinner]] given by the president which is held in the [[State Dining Room of the White House|State Dining Room]] later in the evening.<ref name="The White House State Dinner">{{Cite web |url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-white-house-state-dinner |title=The White House State Dinner |website=The White House Historical Association |access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Wilson opening day 1916.jpg|thumb|President [[Woodrow Wilson]] throws out the ceremonial first ball on [[Opening Day]] in 1916]]
[[File:President Bill Clinton at Buckingham Palace.jpg|thumb|President [[Bill Clinton]] reviews honor guards at [[Buckingham Palace]] during a 1995 state visit to the UK]]
As a national leader, the president also fulfills many less formal ceremonial duties. For example, [[William Howard Taft]] started the tradition of throwing out the [[ceremonial first pitch]] in 1910 at [[Griffith Stadium]], Washington, D.C., on the [[Minnesota Twins#Washington Nationals/Senators: 1901–1960|Washington Senators's]] [[Opening Day]]. Every president since Taft, except for [[Jimmy Carter]], threw out at least one ceremonial first ball or pitch for Opening Day, the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]], or the [[World Series]], usually with much fanfare.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Duggan |first=Paul |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/01/AR2007040101262.html |title=Balking at the First Pitch |date=April 2, 2007 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=A01}}</ref> Every president since [[Theodore Roosevelt]] has served as honorary president of the [[Boy Scouts of America]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/210-531_WB.pdf |title=History of the BSA Fact Sheet |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629031545/http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/210-531_WB.pdf |archive-date=June 29, 2014 |access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref>

Other presidential traditions are associated with American holidays. [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] began in 1878 the first White House [[egg rolling]] for local children.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grier |first=Peter |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2011/0425/The-not-so-secret-history-of-the-White-House-Easter-Egg-Roll |title=The (not so) secret history of the White House Easter Egg Roll |date=April 25, 2011 |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |access-date=July 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730230856/http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2011/0425/The-not-so-secret-history-of-the-White-House-Easter-Egg-Roll |archive-date=July 30, 2012}}</ref> Beginning in 1947, during the [[Harry S. Truman]] administration, every [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] the president is presented with a live domestic turkey during the annual [[National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation]] held at the White House. Since 1989, when the custom of "pardoning" the turkey was formalized by [[George H. W. Bush]], the turkey has been taken to a farm where it will live out the rest of its natural life.<ref name="Hesse">{{Cite news |last=Hesse |first=Monica |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/20/AR2007112002331_4.html |title=Turkey Pardons, The Stuffing of Historic Legend |date=November 21, 2007 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 14, 2011}}</ref>

Presidential traditions also involve the president's role as head of government. Many outgoing presidents since [[James Buchanan]] traditionally give advice to their successor during the [[United States presidential transition|presidential transition]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gibbs |first=Nancy |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1858896,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121194256/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1858896,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 21, 2008 |title=How Presidents Pass The Torch |date=November 13, 2008 |work=[[Time magazine|Time]] |access-date=May 6, 2011 }}</ref> [[Ronald Reagan]] and his successors have also left a private message on the desk of the Oval Office on [[United States presidential inauguration|Inauguration Day]] for the incoming president.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dorning |first=Mike |url=http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1232616798110550.xml&coll=2 |title=A note from Bush starts morning in the Oval Office |date=January 22, 2009 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=May 6, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228085232/http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews%2F1232616798110550.xml&coll=2 |archive-date=December 28, 2011 }}</ref>

The modern presidency holds the president as one of the nation's premier celebrities. Some argue that images of the presidency have a tendency to be manipulated by administration [[public relations]] officials as well as by presidents themselves. One critic described the presidency as "propagandized leadership" which has a "mesmerizing power surrounding the office".<ref name="tws11nov304">{{Cite news |last=Dykoski |first=Rachel |url=http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2008/10/29/book-note-presidential-idolatry-quotbad-democracyquot.html?mini=eventcalendar/2009/02/all |title=Book note: Presidential idolatry is "Bad for Democracy" |date=November 1, 2008 |work=Twin Cities Daily Planet |access-date=November 11, 2009 |quote=Dana D. Nelson's book makes the case that we've had 200+ years of propagandized leadership{{nbsp}}...}}</ref> Administration public relations managers staged carefully crafted [[Photo op|photo-ops]] of smiling presidents with smiling crowds for television cameras.<ref name="tws11novjopkl">{{Cite news |last=Neffinger |first=John |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-neffinger/democrats-vs-science-why-_b_44733.html |title=Democrats vs. ''Science'': Why We're So Damn Good at Losing Elections |date=April 2, 2007 |work=HuffPost |access-date=November 11, 2009 |quote=...{{nbsp}}back in the 1980s, Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes ran a piece skewering Reagan's policies on the elderly{{nbsp}}... But while her voiceover delivered a scathing critique, the video footage was all drawn from {{Sic |carefully |-}}staged photo-ops of Reagan smiling with seniors and addressing large crowds{{nbsp}}... Deaver thanked{{nbsp}}... Stahl{{nbsp}}... for broadcasting all those images of Reagan looking his best. }}</ref> One critic wrote the image of [[John F. Kennedy]] was described as carefully framed "in rich detail" which "drew on the power of myth" regarding the incident of [[Patrol torpedo boat PT-109|PT 109]]<ref name="tws11novfddxs">{{Cite news |last=Nelson |first=Dana D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgAWphms5oMC&q=kennedy&pg=PA57 |title=Bad for democracy: how the Presidency undermines the power of the people |access-date=November 11, 2009 |publisher=U of Minnesota Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8166-5677-6 |quote=in rich detail how Kennedy drew on the power of myth as he framed his experience during World War II, when his PT boat was sliced in half by a Japanese{{nbsp}}... |author-link=Dana D. Nelson}}</ref> and wrote that Kennedy understood how to use images to further his presidential ambitions.<ref name="tws11novfyyhhxs">{{Cite news |last=Nelson |first=Dana D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgAWphms5oMC&q=kennedy |title=Bad for democracy: how the Presidency undermines the power of the people |access-date=November 11, 2009 |publisher=U of Minnesota Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8166-5677-6 |quote=Even before Kennedy ran for Congress, he had become fascinated, through his Hollywood acquaintances and visits, with the idea of the image{{nbsp}}... (p.54)}}</ref> As a result, some political commentators have opined that American voters have unrealistic expectations of presidents: voters expect a president to "drive the economy, vanquish enemies, lead the free world, comfort tornado victims, heal the national soul and protect borrowers from hidden credit-card fees".<ref name="tws9novrfrff">{{Cite news |last=Lexington |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/lexington/2009/07/the_cult_of_the_presidency.cfm |title=The Cult of the Presidency |date=July 21, 2009 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=November 9, 2009 |quote=Gene Healy argues that because voters expect the president to do everything{{nbsp}}... When they inevitably fail to keep their promises, voters swiftly become disillusioned. Yet they never lose their romantic idea that the president should drive the economy, vanquish enemies, lead the free world, comfort tornado victims, heal the national soul and protect borrowers from hidden credit-card fees.}}</ref>