I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot.

Hart’s line elevates civic virtue above formal political rank. By calling “patriot” a “higher office” than the presidency, he suggests that devotion to the public good, constitutional principles, and the nation’s long-term welfare should outrank ambition for elected power. The remark also implies a moral standard by which leaders—and citizens—ought to judge themselves: the legitimacy of authority depends less on title than on service, sacrifice, and fidelity to democratic ideals. In this framing, patriotism is not mere sentiment or symbolism but an active responsibility that can obligate dissent, restraint, or personal cost when the country’s interests demand it.