Presidents and the Cult of Personality.

[Rooney]

Every elected president has had, in some way, a cult of personality surrounding them. How in the world does one become president if they do not have a very loyal band of supporters who agree with everything they say?

The president who did the most of cultivate his own cult of personality is, oddly enough, Calvin Coolidge. New York adman Bruce Barton (later a member of the trio "Martin, Barton and Fish"), public relations guru Edward Bernays and his wealthy Northampton supporters went out of their way to craft the image of "Silent Cal." Coolidge loved this image and cultivated it in any way he could. Many of the classic "Silent Cal" and "Pennypincher Cal" stories that are passed around were intentionally made to add to the image of the stoic, sober New England  executive. Their plan worked.  Coolidge is really only known for one thing today: he never spoke. This is not true, but it fits the narrative of his cult of personality.