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On Monday, the nation's bureaucracy, mailmen, and bank tellers will revel in the full splendor that is the Federal holiday known as Presidents' Day.

Unfortunately, the second to last word is not a typo as the apostrophe proceeding "Presidents" is properly located signifying the holiday's transition from one that was originally created to commemorate the original George W. to that of a theoretical lovefest of all 43 elected presidents.

The move to defrock President Washington of his day began innocuously in 1968 when the Democratic administration signed into law a measure that would move several Federal holidays to Mondays regardless of the actual date of the event being celebrated.

So Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Veterans Day, and Memorial Day received the same treatment kids get when it comes to their birthday parties, in which the cake, ice cream, and presents are served on the weekend closest to their birthday even if little Bobby's 11th falls on a Tuesday this year, all done so the government-finance proletariat could better milk their vacation time.

But things got even worse only a few years later for George Washington, whose birthday went from being observed on the wrong day out of convenience to losing its standing altogether.

In a public pronouncement that in silliness rivals "I am not a crook" and any praise offered on behalf of Supreme Court nominee Harry Blackmun, Richard M. Nixon arbitrarily decided in 1971 that the new February-Monday holiday would henceforth be known as Presidents' Day, thus heralding all commanders-in-chief, regardless of the quality of their service.

Perhaps the hard-to-love Nixon figured this would be the only way he would be assured of appreciation, even if in a mostly legal sense.

And so the only American to have his own holiday had this courtesy stolen from him by Nixon. Today, only one American has his own holiday, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, while the hero of Trenton and Yorktown is compelled to share the limelight with that of James Earl Carter. How sad.

My personal outrage over this "cropping" of Washington's significance is that it shows America's lack of knowledge about this remarkable figure and our national history overall.

George Washington was the closest thing to a superman that the United States will ever know. Though he was not on the same level as Napoleon in strategic genius, Washington was a fine soldier and most importantly, a great military leader.

It was Washington's ability and magnetism that helped keep the Revolutionary flame going during the grueling days of Valley Forge and after a string of defeats and "strategic withdrawals". I do not believe I would be in error to state that the Revolution would not have been won without the presence of the Virginian surveyor.

After the cessation of hostilities, the viability of the young nation was very much in doubt. Sectional loyalties and self-interest were as potent forces as unity and patriotism.

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