The first Segway and the lazy people who used them

J-Pod who worked his way up to the editorship of Commentary by being the byproduct of the fastest swimming sperm in the Midge Decter Canal (after which he apparently swore off exercise entirely) explains that when he wrote for Ronald Reagan during the "I don't recall" years, Reagan wasn't one of those "I'm the boss of you" kinda guys:

I wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan in the last year of his presidency, and what I discovered, reading through the archives of his addresses, was that he was never hortatory. He never told his audience what they “must” do; he did not even say what “we must do.” It was not his place to do so; he worked for the American people, he was not their boss. He did talk about what politicians must do or should do to fulfill their compact with the people who elected them, but he did not place himself in a position superior to his employers. It was his view, rhetorically, that the American people were the repository of wisdom and he was just trying to discern what they believed and act according to it.

Because the last thing people want in a leader is someone who, you know, is all "do this" and "do that" like this guy:

We had a bad banking situation. Some of our bankers had shown themselves either incompetent or dishonest in their handling of the people's funds. They had used the money entrusted to them in speculations and unwise loans. This was of course not true in the vast majority of our banks but it was true in enough of them to shock the people for a time into a sense of insecurity and to put them into a frame of mind where they did not differentiate, but seemed to assume that the acts of a comparative few had tainted them all. It was the Government's job to straighten out this situation and do it as quickly as possible -- and the job is being performed.

I do not promise you that every bank will be reopened or that individual losses will not be suffered, but there will be no losses that possibly could be avoided; and there would have been more and greater losses had we continued to drift. I can even promise you salvation for some at least of the sorely pressed banks. We shall be engaged not merely in reopening sound banks but in the creation of sound banks through reorganization. It has been wonderful to me to catch the note of confidence from all over the country. I can never be sufficiently grateful to the people for the loyal support they have given me in their acceptance of the judgment that has dictated our course, even though all of our processes may not have seemed clear to them.

After all there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work.

It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail.

Mr. Big Shot. Always sitting down on the job and letting others do the hard work.