The powers of the White House are limited, not just by Constitutional restraints, but by the external restraints which prevent the President from fulfilling all his desires. “The White House staff consists of the key aids the president sees daily (page 404)”. Even within his own Executive Office, the President is dominated by the institution around him. But his biggest challenge is the Senate. Faced with all this various obstacles, there’s no way the President will ever become too powerful and thus pose a threat to democracy.
The failure of foreign policy in the years 1514-1525 can be attributed to many things. The combination of Henry's isolation from European affairs and the fact that his attempts to raise tax were ultimately unpopular failures, meant that he had no way to impose himself upon Europe. Even when he did manage to scrape together the finances needed for a strong foreign policy his reliance on his allies led to disaster. As soon as Henry took the throne in 1509, it was obvious that he was a king that wanted to fight a war. However, wars generally led to very expensive costs to the country.
For President George W. Bush, the Middle East has become as political an issue as personal. With the quagmire in Iraq and a complicated situation with Iran, a working peace agreement between Israel and Palestine is the last chance for Bush to keep his crumbling legacy in one piece. But by refusing to deal with Hamas, a terrorist organization but also the only real political power in Palestine, the president and his neo-conservative clique effectively minimize hopes for, if not peace, than at least a
It seems as if the president gets more and more powerful as the years go by and if unchecked the president could maybe become so powerful that he would be more of a tyrant then a democratic figure for the people. America would definitely crumble if this were to happen as histories have proven with let’s say someone like Hitler. Also with the president being the Commander and Chief of the United States Military being a positive aspect, it can as well be a negative. The president could use the military to take extraordinary actions on American soil that violate civil liberties of Americans. For example, when President Bush, detained American citizens that he considered enemy combatants and authorized domestic eavesdropping on American citizens in the name of national security to find terrorists.
Indecisive people can pass on their responsibilities and “pass the buck,” and advisory people can propose their concepts and lobby for acceptance, but the President can ultimately turn to nobody else. Presidents must make the hard decisions. It is a heavy mantle to bear on those presidential shoulders. It is lonely at the top. President Johnson’s “wise men” possessed depth in their areas of expertise beyond that of the President, who was a master mover of legislation to accomplish domestic social programs but very much out of his league in military matters and international relations.
The Watergate Scandal In the Federalist Papers #51, President James Madison argues that separations of power are necessary because “men are not angels”. This separation between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches ensures that no one branch becomes too powerful, but with this separation ultimately problems are bound to occur. Over the history of the United States, many conflicts have arisen between the various branches over conflicting interests, with a notable conflict between the legislative and executive branches being the Watergate Scandal. This conflict, which took place during the Richard Nixon administration, resulted in the first resignation of a United States president in history. The Watergate was an American political scandal which occurred when Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, was running for reelection against his democratic rival, George Stanley McGovern.
For Obama to be a Machiavellian prince he does not only need power, but it depends on how it’s used through military matters. It is considerable to consider Obama a prince because he focuses on cutting government spending on the military. Also, he deals with being blamed on how a prince should keep his word. – This last sentence does not blend with the paragraph- The opposition claims that he won the presidency not by good fortune and not through his own truthful words. They say he turned the key to “weak masters” and begged to foreign directors.
Conflict Theory and the Government Shutdown Eugene Peter Lewis, Jr. SOCI 200- D01 LUO Mrs. Susan Deneen November 24, 2013 One of the biggest news stories of 2013 as we near its close is the shutdown of the United States government. The legislative branch of the government has a task enumerated by the Constitution- agree on spending so that the government may be funded. When this does not happen, most of the rudimentary processes of the government fail to function. The Republican members of the House of Representatives desired to fund the government with the obvious exemption of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. The Democrats in the United States Senate insisted on funding the entire federal government, including
The time period of his presidency was subject to very different morals and viewpoints than we have today. However his ability to refute some of the positions of the time, (mostly referring to the “Jacksonian” viewpoint of politics and diplomacy) have made him an influential and important figure today. Woodrow Wilson was a very controversial man at the time. A man that had very different views when it came to capitalism and democracy. A man that set the groundwork for global cooperation never before seen in world history.
However, I feel both went into submission with the political world and how politicians are making it hard for the rest of the 99% of the American population. Once an issue reaches the political soup of this country it never reaches an end, just continuous excuses on how not to make it equal for everyone or if any attempts are made to make it a bit easier, it conflicts with personal interest. Forgive me for being quite blunt but it is a bunch of excuses or invalid reasons provided by our own government to not succeed. Over the recent years I had come to realize we as a society are getting more and more babied by our laws to “protect” each individual equally. Soon we will have charges pressed against us just for breathing each other’s air.