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Readers respond to our May 2018 cover story and more.

The Hardest Job in the World

In May, John Dickerson laid out the challenges inherent to the presidency—and proposed a series of solutions, from presidential onboarding to vacation time.


I thoroughly enjoyed John Dickerson’s disquisition on the mismatch between the Office of the President and the president himself. He is certainly correct in arguing that the professional demands far outstrip the capabilities of any human being. Could I suggest an idea? I would like to reduce the number of political appointees in favor of professional career positions. For example, we could make all sub-Cabinet positions part of the civil service. This would mean the president would appoint only the Cabinet secretaries.

The president would be relieved of much responsibility; policies would not be subject to so much partisan whim; and

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