Give Me a Free Essay

When composing the Constitution in 1789, the Founding Fathers were anxious to stress that the executive branch of the new republic was to be subordinate to the peoples’ representation, the Congress. They achieved this through the Separation of Powers, a theory of government thought up by the French philosopher Montesquieu to prevent over-mighty or tyrannical government. The elaborate system of ‘checks and balances’ introduced greatly reduced the traditional authority of the executive, leaving some to argue that U.S. presidents have been left with very little power, if only the power of persuasion. However to what extent is this true? Theodore Roosevelt famously stated that he was both “king and prime minister”, even though other presidents, such as Johnson and Truman have stressed the weakness of the presidency.
The argument that presidents have only the power to persuade can be seen in many of the formal powers of the president laid out in Article II of the Constitution. This can perhaps best be seen in his powers of nomination, both for federal judges and executive branch officials. The president has only the power to suggest appointments to these positions; the final confirmation of the president’s choice lies with Congress. This will sometimes mean lengthy negotiations between the branches of government, with the president using his ‘pork barrel’ in an attempt to win over Senators. In 1987, Reagan’s nomination of Robert Bork was rejected by a Senate vote of 42 to 58, resulting in embarrassment for both the president and his nominee. Reagan was unable to do anything about this, other than to suggest a new nominee in the hope that they would be accepted instead.
The president’s power of persuasion is also illustrated by his role as chief diplomat for the United States. In this position, he negotiates major treaties with foreign countries, such Carter’s Panama Canal Treaty or Bush Snr.’s Chemical Weapons Ban. Even so, it is the job of the Congress to ratify the