The document discusses how presidents have increasingly become pop culture icons and celebrities due to proliferation of media and a lowering of journalistic standards. This has blurred the lines between their political and entertainment roles. While the public is interested in presidents' personal lives and masculinity, they also want to maintain the founders' purity and reverence. The sexual politics and relationships of past presidents, like Jefferson and his slave, are acknowledged but not widely accepted to discuss. Academics note public and student interest in how presidents' private lives may have influenced their politics and actions in office.