The presentation of the President as "The Commander-in-Chief" (or "Our Commander-in-Chief") has become more and more overpowering recently, especially during the presidency of George W. Bush. The open-ended use of the phrase evokes a frame that presents the President as the Boss of America and all Americans, and legitimizes the view of a dictatorial President with appropriately limitless powers.

The Constitution names the President as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States". The phrase "military commander-in-chief" is therefore the only one that is accurate. It also happens to evoke a progressive frame: one in which an elected official's limited powers include responsibility for a dangerous and old-fashioned but necessary branch of government.

Hopefully, this phrase will soon sound archaic and incomplete without the word "military" attached to it. When this happens, conservatives will no longer be able to use this half-truth to sell their adoration of a Strong-Man-in-Charge view of leadership.