In campaigns, we reward candidates for behavior antithetical to the qualities, behaviors, and habits needed to perform well as a president. We encourage impulsive, winner-take-all displays of momentary flash to win a job that requires restraint, deliberation, and cooperation. After competing in an arduous multiyear struggle for their own cause, candidates are expected to switch immediately to an office in which to be successful (and consistent with the founders’ intention) they must sublimate their self-interest and ambition for the good of the country.
