The Reign of Bush-Obama and their Power Essay

The executive branch is the strongest, most capable, and most important branch of government. The president, as commander in chief, can regulate an entire country’s military and have full oversight of the most deadly weapons available. They have the power to veto bills passed by Congress. They can also establish executive orders without the consent of Congress. Last of all, they have the power to appoint their own cabinet, justices to the Supreme Court, and ambassadors to other countries. Not only can these powers help the president get important actions done, but it also gives them a lot of capacity on what they can work with. Because of these powers and how highly regarded and important to society they are, the executive branch currently

The Constitution is supposed to divide war powers between the president and Congress, but in today’s society that has not always been the case. We live in a country with competing views, but our Constitution was created through disagreement. While the Constitution is a source of cherished and unifying political ideas, it can provoke some of the most intense quarrels because of its principles and protections. It is also debated and applied to present circumstances daily. To get back to the presidential power argument, President Barack Obama sent United States military into combat without the consent from Congress. “As a presidential candidate in 2007, Senator Obama stated, “The President does not have power under the constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation” (Yoo). President Barack Obama announced four years later, that he was acting on his constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations as the commander in chief/chief executive by the intervention with Libya. Throughout our history, neither presidents nor Congress have carried out the beliefs that the constitution requires a declaration of war before the U.S can allow for the military to act. “We have forced abroad more than 100 times but declared war in only five cases: The War of 1812, the

The President may not declare war, but he may deploy soldiers. He may require in writing the opinions of any of the heads of state departments as it relates to their respective offices. The President also has the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the U.S., except in cases of impeachment. The President also has the power to make treaties with foreign powers provided the Senate has consented by a two-thirds majority. He may also appoint ambassadors, ministers, consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and other officers with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President also has the power to fill vacancies in the Senate temporarily. On extraordinary occasions, the President may convene or temporarily adjourn either or both legislative houses in the interest of resolving disputes. The President is also charged with meeting with ambassadors and other public representatives. The President can also be impeached for treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors. With the presidential powers now outlined, let us explore the opposing opinions of each presidential power(Colonies of Nations, 549-553).

However, some ways the president’s power gets limited includes needing the approval of the Senate for treaties and appointing government officials, not being able to officially declare war, and not being able to make any laws as their own opinion unless they make an executive order. The Constitution gave these powers to the president so the executive branch limits what the Congress can do. For example, if the president does not gain the veto law power, the Congress would force the president to sign all laws passed by the Congress. As a result, the Congress would be similar to the British monarch when they tightened control over the 13 colonies, making laws that only benefits themselves. Article 2 section 2 lists the powers of the president, and how the president gets limited on

Since the creation of the United States of America, the power of the President has increased dramatically. Specifically, regarding foreign affairs, the power of the President has greatly increased. According to foreign policy specialist Michael Cairo, the Constitution originally gave Congress the majority of war powers. While the formal powers of Congress include the power to declare war, raise and support an army, and regulate commerce, the President was only meant to mainly be Commander in Chief and negotiate treaties in regard to foreign affairs. The President’s role of leading the armed forces may seem like it would give him the authority on all issues regarding foreign affairs, but this power was granted to the President so that he could react quickly if a national emergency occurs. Although Congress was originally given the majority of war powers, Presidents have begun to utilize unilateral authority in the realm of foreign policy. In the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President deployed troops without a declaration of war from Congress.

The Constitutional framers would never have believed how much power the President of the United States has obtained to this present day. Based off their work, it seems as if the framers expected Congress to have the vast majority of power. It is true that Congress still has maintained some of their power; yet, as a collective society we tend to place our sole interest on the president and magnify on all his accomplishments and especially on all his losses (sometimes even blaming him for events that are out of his jurisdiction). Nonetheless, the president has gained quite a remarkable amount of power over the years and it is highly noticeable when analyzing differences in the institutions, the policies, and culturally.

This important little detail which the Framers put into the Constitution was to keep the President from becoming as powerful as the then-current monarch in England. One of the main explicit power given to Congress, granted by the Constitution is the Senate has the ability to advise and consent to the ratification of a treaty with a foreign country. This particular explicit power is important for it means the president cannot just, when discussing a treaty with a foreign nation, make a treaty and have it go into effect. This explicit power was given to the Senate to ensure that one, the treaty is aligned with the Constitution, and two, the United States makes treaties with the right countries or in essence, the United States would benefit in some sort of way through the treaty. To further this power, there is the inherent power of being able to give or even refuse diplomatic recognition to other countries, that goes along with it. Combining the explicit and inherent powers, it can make the Congress a force to be reckoned with. However, being able to ratify treaties is not the most important explicit power given to Congress, for the Framers also bestowed the “Necessary and Proper Clause” to Congress. This clause has developed over time to where, when in a time of crisis, the powers of the national government are greatly expanded and all to just ensure that the government will continue on. Very similar to Congress, the Framers also, in fact, gave explicit powers to the president, although, they are far and few

Especially with a divided government, and even without, the president is challenged to gain the support of Congress (Heffernan, 2005:59). While the President is responsible for carrying out the law and can even issue executive orders ultimately Congress hold the purse strings. Without the budgetary support of Congress the President’s agenda will not be fulfilled. Treaties and all appointments from cabinet officials to Supreme Court justices have to be approved by Congress, specifically the Senate. “As a result, the White House is engaged in a constant process of persuasion” (Heffernan,

In the admittedly short life time of the Presidential branch its occupants have taken massive strides in empowering and strengthening their office. At times a case could be made that the executive has aspired to too much; threating essential American political values, such is the case of President Franklin Roosevelt who secured a third term of office ignoring precedent and tradition. However, evidence would suggest that for any significant step a president takes towards increasing their power; often results in an equal and opposite reaction. That is not to say that our presidents are weak, in actuality we see that our presidents have significantly increased their power to wage war

Presidents of the United States of America have been around since the country became it’s own. Each president is given certain responsibilities and rights. Presidential power is listed in the Constitution but since then, there’s been room for more responsibilities to come into play. The powers exercised in the modern world surpass those included in the Constitution. Today, the president has a number of offices and departments serving under him. These institutions help keep the government together and everything running smoothly. The presidents rely on a number of other things. Some include elections, political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion. There are different kinds of powers granted to the president. While some

Presidential power has increased immensely over recent years and little is being done in an attempt to restore the original intent of the Constitution. There are multiple factors that affect this, including the executive orders of presidents, the Constitution giving an unequal distribution of power between the executive and legislative branch, the failure to use checks and balances, and the ineffectiveness of Congress. With the lack of congressional involvement in legislative decisions, the president has the ability to take matters in their own hands.

Presidential power can be viewed in terms of Domestic and Foreign affairs. This chapter discusses how the presiden’ts normal problem with domestic policy is to get congressional support for the programs he prefers, while in foreign affairs he can almost always get support for policies that he believes will protect the nation. The president soon discovers that he has more policy preference in domestic matters than in foreign policy.

The key point is that every form of government should have some kind of system to make certain that no member in the government has so much power that they can act above the law. That system is the Constitution.

As the commander in chief, the president plays a significant role in shaping foreign policy. The president possesses the power to appoint senior cabinet members, commit troops and conduct high level talks with foreign governments. Congress, on the other hand, has the power to ratify treaties, confirm the president’s appointees and approve budgetary measures. And while the president has the ability to commit troops, only Congress has the authority to declare war. Despite criticisms of the American policy making process describing it as inefficient and slow moving, the main purpose and thus benefit of the constitutional separation of power is the framework of checks and balances that safeguard against monopolization of foreign policy decision making.

“This presidential power is controversial because it is nowhere mentioned in the U.S. Constitution”(Rozell). The President, since the beginning, has gained powers not specifically enumerated, increasing the power of the executive branch. Over the course of history the President has assumed many powers unlisted in the Constitution including the line item veto, executive privilege, and executive order which have all impacted the President’s relationship with Congress.