The Reflecting Pool opened on the National Mall in 1922, linking the monuments that honor Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. The president has “botched” a vast range of policies, from rising prices to raging war. In a recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll, 66% of Americans describe the cost of groceries as “unaffordable,” a sharp increase from 45% earlier in the year. For over 100 years, the Reflecting Pool has illuminated the character of American presidents: Washington’s strength. (Steven Roberts teaches politics and journalism at George Washington University.