...Is the power of persuasion the only real power a President possesses? What are the powers available to the President? It can be argued that the power of persuasion is the only truly effective way of reaching decisions within Congress that favour the president, whilst avoiding the gridlock that the separation of powers can cause. Despite the president have a set of constitutional derived powers which he cause use to come to decisions, it can be said that this is no longer enough in the modern day and that the president’s ability to negotiate is now a indispensible skill. Along with the growth of the federal bureaucracy and the Executive Office of the President, the power of persuasion has come more into play. The president can now utilise his staff to negotiate and come to decisions which favour the president and his respective party without having to use any of his definite powers himself. The president now exploits his vice-president to a greater extent. After the passing of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and the Eisenhower presidency in 1953, when his vice-president Nixon was given more high profile tasks, the vice-president became a significant presidential adviser. Also, for example, President Bush’s vice president, Dick Cheney, with his experience brought connections with Congress which proved important in advancing the Bush legislative agenda. However, despite this bringing the ability to pass the presidents legislation more easily, it does not take...
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...“The Vice-President of the US has no real importance, only potential importance as the next president.” How far do you agree with the view? The executive is the core of the government, where policy is formed and executed. In the USA there is a presidential executive, providing the political leadership of the country. The role of the president is outlined in Article 2. All executive power is vested in one president, elected separately from Congress with his own mandate. It is a single-person executive and president’s cabinet has no constitutionally derived power or electoral mandate, and the president may or may not seek their advice when making decisions (unlike the “cabinet government” in the UK, which is a plural executive drawn from Parliament). Although the president does have enumerated powers, more media attention than the Vice President and more overall power in the executive, the Vice President has more importance than just potentially becoming the next president. The president has formal enumerated powers, which makes him more important than the vice president who is elected under him. The president is chief executive and executive power is only given to the president, rather than shared between the president and the vice president. The executive branch is under presidential control and he is responsible for the federal budget, setting out and implementing the policy agenda for the USA. The executive powers also include the power of patronage and pardon. For example...
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...Many would argue that the President of the US is the most powerful man in the world, given that he heads the world’s foremost superpower. As world statesman and commander-in-chief there have been instances, particularly in the foreign affairs arena, where the president has been able to wield enormous power. However, if we look closely, this claim is too simplistic given that the checks and balances principle inherent in the Constitution. This means that on a domestic level the President remains heavily constrained with the separation of powers ensuring that there exist many opportunities for the legislature to control the work of the President. This has led people to claim that he ‘only has the power to persuade’ since without Congress’ support, he has relatively little power. This essay will examine the claim by investigating how powerful the American President really is. As head of state, it is the President who represents his country on the international scene where traditionally in times of international relations, Congress shows the President huge amounts of deference. Indeed, this has been the area where at times the President has been able to wield enormous power with tactical decisions on the deployment of troops, the general running of a war, and international relations rested firmly in his hands. For example, Obama’s decision to deploy troops to Libya, without congressional consent. This suggests that the President is indeed powerful and appears to undermine...
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...going to write about if the president have too much or too little power? In my opinion I personally believe that that in some ways the President has too much power today and the amount of power given to any one individual should carefully be monitored, some people might think that he has too much and others think not enough, I think it must be in moderation, becasue too much power could lead to corruption. I also feel that the power the president has should be limited. People says that the president has taken so much power from the other branches of government that this threatens our democratic system, the U.S. Constitution is supposed to prevent the president from using power in the wrong way. Article II states all the things that a president may do and some of the things that he or she may not do. People expect the president to deal with a huge number of problems. If there is economic trouble, they expect the president to cure it. Modern presidents don't just try to administer the laws passed by Congress. Nor do they merely recommend measures to Congress as required by the Constitution, through staff members, they often bring pressure on Congress to pass favored bills, including some actually written in the Executive Department. In Washington's day, many people thought the president's powers were only those directly mentioned in Article II of the Constitution. The first believed that the powers of the president were few and limited. Presidents of this type thought they could...
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...The President Only Has the Power to Persuade. Discuss The president only has the power to persuade. Discuss (30 marks) Although the president of the United Sates may been seen globally as one of the most powerful men in the world, it is argued that this is only a perception and in fact his power is restricted to persuasion of others who call the final shots. Due to the separation of powers in America the legislature, executive and judiciary are all completely separate which means to get items pasts of decisions made, people from each of these 3 main sections needs to do work. As the president is only head of the executive, he must rely on the support of other people to get hi desired bills and legislation passed. From this comes the argument that his only real main power is to persuade, as it is the 3 departments combined which actually do the work and all he has done is persuade people in these departments to side with him. The president actually has many specific powers he has responsibility for, ranging from the proposition of legislations, submitting the annual bill and veto of legislation, to acting as chief executive, negotiating treaties and acting as the overall commander-in-chief. These powers burden the president with great responsibility; he is looked to for advice and guidance from all areas of government. The president is the chief executive of the United States, putting him at the head of the executive branch of the government, whose responsibility is to “take...
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...The president only has the power to persuade. Discuss (30 marks) Although the president of the United Sates may been seen globally as one of the most powerful men in the world, it is argued that this is only a perception and in fact his power is restricted to persuasion of others who call the final shots. Due to the separation of powers in America the legislature, executive and judiciary are all completely separate which means to get items pasts of decisions made, people from each of these 3 main sections needs to do work. As the president is only head of the executive, he must rely on the support of other people to get hi desired bills and legislation passed. From this comes the argument that his only real main power is to persuade, as it is the 3 departments combined which actually do the work and all he has done is persuade people in these departments to side with him. The president actually has many specific powers he has responsibility for, ranging from the proposition of legislations, submitting the annual bill and veto of legislation, to acting as chief executive, negotiating treaties and acting as the overall commander-in-chief. These powers burden the president with great responsibility; he is looked to for advice and guidance from all areas of government. The president is the chief executive of the United States, putting him at the head of the executive branch of the government, whose responsibility is to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” To carry...
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...Research Paper The use of executive orders gives the president too much power. There are few ways around the executive order and presidents can use this to their advantage. An example of this would be the president not giving his/her okay on a bill which makes executive order harder to fund. This can be an issue because the president can bypass congress and continue on with their plan. There are a few advantages for the president when using executive orders. The constitution gives executive orders to the president which makes him/her the commander and chief. This allows for the president to pull the strings and make the shots. This can be good and bad depending on the situation. I feel that this gives the president too much power. A president can choose to make changes and treaties with other countries without being questioned. Although some people may feel that the choice the president is making isn’t a good one, there is nothing that they can do to change the way the president does their job. Executive orders can be stopped by judicial review. The judges have the power to rule against the government and suspend the executive order, but it can only be suspended temporarily....
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...be argued that the US President is becoming increasingly weaker rather than stronger, despite the writings of Arthur Schlesinger in his book ‘The Imperial Presidency. Gerald Ford remarked that the “Presidency was in peril” showing the fall of power for the US President. There are many limits on the powers of the President, however many could argue that these are not enough in preventing the president from being imperial from the other branches of government. One argument that the Presidency is imperilled is that no President has been able to exert the same amount of power that Franklin D Roosevelt did during the 1930s and 40s. Roosevelt remains the President to have increased the role of the executive branch of government with his New Deal policies which created organisations such as EXOP. He also broke the convention that a President only stood for two terms, becoming the only President to be elected for four terms. However, once his presidency was over, the powers of the President were soon limited to prevent the President from becoming too powerful. The 23rd amendment ensured that a President would serve no more than two terms. Thus all the Presidents following FDR have been unable to demonstrate as much power as he did. Even his successor, President Truman, could not do as much in office as FDR, despite having to deal with the fallout from the end of World War Two. In contrast however, some Presidents have been able to show a large amount of power overseas, rather than...
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...There are no effective checks on Presidential power. Discuss There are a number of ways the President has got a number of powers that make the executive more powerful than Congress and the Judiciary. Through the President’s power to announce legislation, appoint federal jobs, be Commander in Chief, negotiate treaties and veto legislation; hold the Executive as a more powerful body than the other two. However, there are a number of checks and balances that the Legislature and the Judiciary hold over the Executive that limit the President’s power. The extent of the limitations on the President’s power will be examined in this essay. The President’s ability to announce legislation during his annual State of Union address gives the President an opportunity to highlight the legislative agenda that he wants to get passed in the forthcoming year. This is an important power to the President because if Congress adjourns without acting on his proposals, the President has the power to call Congress into a unique session at his discretion. Also, the President can force adjournment in Congress if both houses cannot agree on a piece of legislation, therefore the president has a deciding vote in theory over some legislation. The President, as he is a powerful influence on public opinion he is a powerful influence over Congress. However, the President does not sit within the Legislature and therefore does not have the power to propose direct legislation. Congress can also adjourn his ‘emergency...
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...legislative and judiciary. The President is head of the Executive government, whereas the Congress heads the legislative and judiciary government i.e. Supreme Court. The Constitution of the United States of America went into effect in 1789 and is in effect since. The powers of the President are as mentioned by Article II of the constitution. Even though the constitution itself has not changed and the powers of the President remain the same as vested by the constitution, there has been a great difference between the powers exercised by the first President; George Washington and the current President; Barack Obama. First, the powers of the President bestowed by the Constitution will be reviewed. Then a comparison of the powers exercised by George Washington and Barack Obama will be discussed. Presidential Powers according to the Constitution American politics is now dominated by the President. But the president does not govern the country. The government of America is composed of coordination of executive, legislative and judiciary bodies. The President should accept and recognize the legitimate powers of the senators and representatives for the usual day to day works. The following powers are given to the President by the Constitution: * The power to appoint members of Cabinet, ambassadors, Judges of Federal Courts and Justices of Supreme Courts (after consulting the Senate). * Power to veto bills formulated by the Congress. * Power to make treaties with other nations...
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... EXECUTIVE POWER Scope: 1) Executive power is vested in the President of the Philippines. 2) The scope of this power is set forth in Art. VII of the Constitution. But this power is not limited to those set forth therein. The SC, in Marcos v. Manglapus, referred to the RESIDUAL powers of the President as the Chief Executive of the country, which powers include others not set forth in the Constitution. EXAMPLE: The President is immune from suit and criminal prosecution while he is in office. 3) Privilege of immunity from suit is personal to the President and may be invoked by him alone. It may also be waived by the President, as when he himself files suit. 4) BUT The President CANNOT dispose of state property unless authorized by law. Section 2. QUALIFICATIONS 1) Natural-born citizen of the Philippines 2) Registered voter; 3) Able to read and write; 4) At least 40 years old on the day of election 5) Philippine resident for at least 10 years immediately preceding such election. Note: The Vice-President has the same qualifications & term of office as the President. He is elected with & in the same manner as the President. He may be removed from office in the same manner as the President. Section 4. MANNER OF ELECTION/ TERM OF OFFICE Manner of Election 1) The President and Vice-President shall be elected by direct vote of the people. 2) Election returns for President and Vice-President...
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...Political power is the ability to influence others, bring about meaningful change, win the support of the public, and have a lasting impact on people's lives. At the beginning of the creation of the constitution, our Founding Father's objectives were to establish a federal government, and to outline an equal distribution of powers within our government. This was implemented by creating three branches of government that had to coincide with each other in order to function. Although each branch has its own powers, duties, and responsibilities that influence how the government works, the executive branch has become more and more powerful over the years. In this essay, I will discuss the framers intended relationship between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches and I will argue how the executive branch wields the most power among the three branches of government. Our system of government was set up to have three branches of government: the executive branch which executes the laws, the legislative branch which creates the laws and finally the judicial branch which interprets the laws. The constitution states their powers and their checks on one another so that no branch would have more power than the other two, because of this, the framers of the Constitution set up a system of checks and balances. Under this system, each branch has the ability to stop the other two branches from gaining too much power. For example, one way the executive branch/president is able to check...
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...How much power does the President really have? Does the President sometimes overstep his boundaries? Can the President also be put in his place by the legislative branch or the judicial branch? The answer to both of the latter questions is yes. Yes the president oversteps his boundaries, but there are also times when he has almost no power and his powers can be taken away from him. There are times when he uses his influence and power to have an affair, when he goes to war without Congress making a declaration of war; there are times when he makes executive agreement that the Senate can do nothing about. There are also times when the president is impeached, which is the greatest of punishments when concerning the president. The president has many powers, both given by the Constitution and inferred. The president has a list of his powers and what he is allowed to do while in office. The Constitution itself gives the president his rights and boundaries. For instance, the president is allowed to be elected to a term for four years according to Article II of the Constitution. “He shall hold his office during the Term of four Years, together with the Vice President…” (Lawler, pg. 411) A follow up to this would be the 22nd Amendment which states that the president cannot be elected for more than two terms. “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice…” (Lawler, pg 422) This amendment was put into place after Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for...
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...over expansion of the powers of the president. An Imperial Presidency is a presidency where the balance of power is shifted towards the Executive Branch. The Presidents have used such tools as the constitution, media and pop culture, monetary freedom, and committees and executive orders to expand the presidential powers. Presidents George W. Bush and Barrack H. Obama have utilized these tools to further their agendas over stepping their constitutional boundaries, congress and the people of the United States. There are many ramifications that come with the expansion of the presidential power. The Constitution, executive order, the media and pop culture, and monetary power are all tools utilized by the president to expand their powers. The Constitution is one of the main tools utilized by the presidents to expand power. Even though the presidential power is clearly outlined in Article II of The Constitution, its vagueness has provided enough wiggle room to stretch their power beyond its implementation. Therefore, one of the tools utilized by the President was actually the document created to prevent such activity from happening. In depth, Article II section I grants, “The Executive Power; followed by Article II section II witch gives the president to elect officials. This allows the President the power to choose personnel and enable them to help set sail towards a bureaucracy and their personal agendas. Article II section III follows giving the president the responsibility in...
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...Marian Marley Political Science 101 7-13-2012 Balance Of Power In U.S. Foreign Policy The balance of power in the U.S. foreign policy making procedure has created a lot of tensions and has shifted responsibility to many individuals since the constitution was written. This system of checks and balances was put in place to assure Americans that no section of government is tyrannical and can dominate the political process. Some believe that the balance of power has shifted since it was first established, and that has caused some tensions in U.S. foreign policy. At the foundation, the legislative branch was intended to be the most powerful branch, but today many argue that the executive branch is the more dominant branch. “One of the most widely held myths about the American constitution system is the idea that our Founding Fathers intended foreign policy to be the province of presidents, with Congress related to a decidedly secondary role” (Snow and Brown, 95). The past two centuries have not gone as the Founding Fathers had planned. The President since World War II has had more of an ability to affect foreign policy than before. “That dominance has been challenged by the most recent phase of congressional assertiveness, which began in the 1970’s “ (Snow and Brown, 96). The President is, essentially, the head of our government. He is the one everyone looks to in a time of crisis, historically, now and other war times, and to develop...
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