Presidential power in our democracy

By Mark Hopkins

Every four years, time seems to stop while we sift through a legion of candidates who might fit our vision for what a president of the United States of America should be. Considering the expectations we have for the holder of the highest office in the land, it would be well if he/she could walk on water and leap tall buildings with a single bound.

We have to remember that a U.S. president is not a king or a dictator. He/she may favor restricting certain religions from entering the country, repealing the Affordable Care Act or even giving free tuition to college students. What a presidential candidate says he/she will do when elected will have little meaning unless Congress can be persuaded to support that new policy. Presidents simply don't have the power to do whatever they want.

In the U.S. Constitution, the powers of the government are centered in Congress and the presidency was created primarily as an administrative post to carry out the will of Congress. The duties of the president are presented in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. They follow:

The president shall/may:

1. Serve as commander in chief of all U.S. armed forces.

2. Grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States.

3. Make treaties, with advice and consent of the Senate.

4. Appoint ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls, and judges of the Supreme Court, with advice and consent of the Senate.

5. Fill vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, to be approved when the Senate is back in session.

6. Convene special sessions of Congress.

7. Take care that federal laws passed by Congress are faithfully executed.

8. Approve or veto legislation. (Vetoes may be overturned by a two-thirds vote of Congress.)

Because we have a weak presidency, control of the House and Senate by a political party is all important in setting national policy. The Republicans currently have majorities in both houses of Congress. But, a swing of just four votes would give control of the Senate to the Democrats.

Many say this presidential election is about jobs and the economy. Sorry, but nowhere in the list of presidential duties is there anything that gives the president control of the nation's economy. The president can't force business and industry to build more products or hire more of the unemployed.

Why are our expectations so high for a president? It is because above all else we desire leadership. The president is our face to the world. He is Ronald Reagan's folksy humor, Franklin Roosevelt's rousing speeches and John Kennedy's commitment to something bigger than ourselves. Alas, our president may not be able to walk on water or leap tall buildings with a single bound, but our expectations, unrealistic as they are, seem to say that is what we expect of him/her.