Let’s talk about something that used to matter in this country… class. Not the kind you slept through in high school, I’m talking about the invisible currency of leadership. The thing you can’t fake for long, no matter how polished the teleprompter or how expensive the suit.

We just saw a moment that reminded people what that looks like. A sitting president hosting royalty, King Charles and Queen Camilla, and for a brief flicker in time, Washington didn’t feel like a group chat gone wrong. It felt… intentional. Structured. Like somebody remembered the White House isn’t just a building, it’s a symbol.

And that got me thinking, because not too long ago, we were told, with great conviction and even greater media repetition, that Barack Obama brought “class” to the White House.

Michael Eric Dyson called it, “sexy brilliance”. Is that what they call style over substance these days?

Now, let’s examine that word, because “class” has been stretched like cheap taffy in modern politics. Historically, class in leadership meant restraint, dignity, continuity with tradition. Think about presidents who understood ceremony not as vanity, but as a signal. Even critics of Ronald Reagan admitted the man knew how to be president in a room. Same with John F. Kennedy. Optics mattered because they reflected discipline.

So when people said Obama brought class, it was the political version of a perfectly filtered Instagram photo… looks great, but doesn’t tell you what the house smells like.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.