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The Election, the Presidency and Foreign Policy
The
American presidency is designed to disappoint. Each candidate must
promise things that are beyond his power to deliver. No candidate could
expect to be elected by emphasizing how little power the office actually
has and how voters should therefore expect little from him. So
candidates promise great, transformative programs. What the winner
actually can deliver depends upon what other institutions, nations and
reality will allow him. Though the gap between promises and realities
destroys immodest candidates, from the founding fathers' point of view,
it protects the republic. They distrusted government in general and the
office of the president in particular.
Congress, the Supreme Court and the Federal Reserve Board all circumscribe the president's power over domestic life. This and the authority of the states greatly limit the president's power, just as the country's founders intended. To achieve anything substantial, the president must create a coalition of political interests to shape decision-making in other branches of the government. Yet at the same time -- and this is the main paradox of American political culture -- the presidency is seen as a decisive institution and the person holding that office is seen as being of overriding importance. Read More »
Congress, the Supreme Court and the Federal Reserve Board all circumscribe the president's power over domestic life. This and the authority of the states greatly limit the president's power, just as the country's founders intended. To achieve anything substantial, the president must create a coalition of political interests to shape decision-making in other branches of the government. Yet at the same time -- and this is the main paradox of American political culture -- the presidency is seen as a decisive institution and the person holding that office is seen as being of overriding importance. Read More »
