My favorite Whitman poem, of all the ones I have read thus far, is probably To A President. After searching through poem after poem, I stumbled upon this one and was kind of drawn in. It addresses the President, none specifically, so it is easier to relate to not only presidents back in Whitman's time, but also today. Basically, Whitman goes ham on the president and tells him is fraud. He promises "danged mirages", and fails to give the American public any hope for the future (Whitman). I think it is interesting to hear Whitman's side of view on politics in this poem because Whitman addresses Nature in the poem. He says that the president needs to learn of the politics of nature before he goes tangling himself in political nature. This statement can be taken in a lot of ways in my opinion. Understanding the politics of nature is not specifically limited to mother nature but also of human nature and self. A President, if allowed the opportunity to run a country of people, needs to understand the nature of humans, how humans tend to act in certain situations, what their likes and dislikes are, and so on. I think that is very important to think about when it comes to politics. If a man in Congress tries to act like he knows what is best for the public, but fails to even know the nature of the public, all of his efforts are in vain. Whitman explains that "the great amplitude" of nature is important in grasping for the president, but unfortunately we as a society are quick to judge political figures and see them as being big-headed and arrogant.
Overall I liked the poem. It was different from all the other poems of his I read. I think he focused a lot of love and all of that cheesy stuff. It was nice to see a poets view of politics because not often do we see a mixture of politics and literature.
Whitman, Walt. "The Walt Whitman Archive." TO A PRESIDENT. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892]) -. Ed Folsman. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
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