Last night, I got into a discussion regarding the President-Elect Obama with my father-in-law. He mentioned that some elementary-school children in his home town made local news by chanting “Assassinate Obama” on the bus. I wanted to read more about the history of assassination in the USA, and it turns out there’s a lengthy page on Wikipedia detailing all the known assassination attempts on US Presidents. I can’t help but wonder: why does killing the President have such a long and varied tradition in the United States? Or is this normal everywhere else, too?
Why do we want to kill our Presidents?
Last night, I got into a discussion regarding the President-Elect Obama with my father-in-law. He mentioned that some elementary-school children in his home town made local news by chanting “Assassinate Obama” on the bus.
Assassins
Stephen Sondheim wrote a very interesting and probing musical called “Assassins” that explores this theme. It’s a sort of musical montage of every successful or would-be presidential assassin in our nation’s history.
It’s not performed that often, but the soundtrack is readily available.
Its climax involves a scene in the Texas Book Depository where the ghost of John Wilkes Booth appears to Lee Harvey Oswald and convinces him to shoot the president.
You Beat Me To It
Rowan, I was about to write the very same response. You beat me to it.