Two presidents better than one?

Tevi Troy doesn’t think so, as he explains in a Weekly Standard review of a new book on the topic from Indiana University professor David Orentlicher. The professor, a former Democratic state representative, believes the country ought to have a bipartisan dual presidency, with each co-president endorsing all actions.

Underlying Orentlicher’s concept is the myth of the perfect moderate: If only Sam Nunn and Susan Collins could make our decisions, then we would have common-sense solutions. The problem is that things don’t always work that way. Sometimes bold solutions are required. If Ronald Reagan had needed to convince a co-president about the need to stand up against the Soviet Union, or to cut taxes, or to fire the air traffic controllers, he might not have taken any of those steps. To be fair, Orentlicher anticipates this argument and avers that “arguments about visionary leadership often are misguided.” Perhaps so. But there are other times when gridlock is not such a bad thing, especially if the alternatives are costly expansions of government power and spending.

Academic analysis, interesting though it may be, can only go so far. The reality of work and life in the White House is the biggest real obstacle to creating two presidents. Having worked in the White House, I know just how hard it is to get anything—and I mean anything—done, and that is with only one president. You would be surprised at how much time very senior people spend reading and commenting on staffing documents, which are memos or statements distributed by the staff secretary to every White House office for comment and approval. The problems would compound immeasurably with two presidents running the show.

Two presidents would be especially problematic if one of the co-presidents were a micromanager, as Jimmy Carter was. Would both presidents have to agree on who gets the use of the White House tennis court? Furthermore, the backbiting that takes place in many a unipartisan White House would be far worse in a White House divided between the parties.