In an era of rabid partisanship such as ours, such posturing is decreasingly effective, while the hunger for someone who can represent America as a whole only grows. That hunger was a crucial part of Barack Obama’s appeal in both his primary campaign and in his first general election contest; he triumphed in part by creating a brand and a personal infrastructure that was independent of the Democratic Party, and appealing to independents rather than partisans. It was also, in a very different way, part of Donald Trump’s appeal — after all, he ran (though he has not governed) as a populist, a tribune of the American people against the infrastructures of both parties and America’s ruling class more generally. If both presidents’ appeals wound up being far more divisive than unifying, it’s in part because their respective visions of a more united America called for coming together in terms that read to the opposing side as surrender.

Figures like Dwayne Johnson and Oprah Winfrey are appealing precisely because they transcend those tribal divides. They are celebrities with fans in both “red” and “blue” America — unlike Clint Eastwood or Sean Penn (or former actor Ronald Reagan), they are not identified with a particular political disposition. Their inexperience — which goes far beyond merely being “outsiders” to Washington — is also essential to their appeal, because experience would necessarily mean taking sides in controversies that send our increasingly tribal parties to their respective tents.

Americans want a head of state who can bring the country together even as ordinary politics pushes us further and further apart. We want a rock to keep us stable, so that we all know who we are, and what we share together. And that’s a reasonable thing to want. The problem is that we also need a head of government: Someone to steer the ship and manage the crew.