Lately, I've been listening to some Richard Nixon clips on youtube. The man, watergate aside, was a clever and shrewd man(and I say this in good grace) and clearly he could have been one of our all-time greats if only, but alas. Anyway, in one of those interviews Nixon spoke about the perception of the "imperial Presidency" and instead directed towards the media, and other institutions. In light of present events, I have to agree. I think lawmakers are more powerful than the Presidency and this power has only increased, with what the attempt to limit sanctions control(in violation of the interstate Commerce Act.) And of recent, the attempt to restrict the executive branch from making decisions regarding alliances, which used to be solely the preview of the executive branch. Congress's power is overwhelming. How about the controversial SC decision that allows Congress to view taxpayer information, pursuant to its "interests". Now mind you, Congress can declare ANYTHING an interest, and whose to say otherwise?. And regarding the media, Nixon's historic enemy they are 20 times more powerful than they were in his time. Social media and "firsts" allows them to blast the word out without any kind of confirmation or subject-peer review by the editorial. If they actually do get something wrong, good luck on actually getting them to admit it. Half quotes, and not full quotes. Taking things out of context. So again, would you rather be an anonymous lawmaker with the power of the courts at your disposal, or the President? And how soon until foreign heads of state recognize that this is the state of the US Presidency?
Nixon is responsible for so many bad things.... the war on drugs... the SAD (Standard American Diet), the list goes on the food pyramid was a lie... "Blame Nixon for the obesity epidemic" https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-...xon-obesity-epidemic-corn-20120627-story.html "Moreover, there was something else going on. The more sugar we ate, the more we wanted, and the hungrier we became. At New York University, Professor Anthony Sclafani, a nutritionist studying appetite and weight gain, noticed something strange about his lab rats. When they ate rat food, they put on weight normally. But when they ate processed food from a supermarket, they ballooned in a matter of days. Their appetite for sugary foods was insatiable: they just carried on eating."
we see the danger of a President having too much power, 4 years of Trump was a warning to us all - and other countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia and China noticed, they are laughing at us
It’s an honor to be potus and serve our country. Every potus except trump has understood and respected that.
The founders intended the Congress to be the foremost branch of government. It is defined in Article 1, which is over half the constitution. The Executive is defined in Article 2, which is a little less than a fourth in length. While Congress may have more power, at least in setting policy over the longer run, individual Congressmen do not have much power. Each house has its own rather complicated power structure for party discipline and leadership. The Speaker of the House probably has the most power, but currently he is very vulnerable to being ousted by a handful of rebels.
Trump has to tear everything down to his level to be accepted as an option. It worked in 2016 for various foreign and domestic reasons. Honor is kryptonite to Trump.
The presidency is more figuratively a figurehead than anything else. The Trump years have illustrated why no one of rapport in today's America wants the job. Also, I do want to counter the idea that just because of the amount of words devoted to the various sectors of power meant that's how the framers wanted it. It was an attempt at creating balance between the powers, but by no means did they want the Presidency to be viewed as in lesser of status compared to his contemporaries. But that's the reality today. Congress's injection into foreign affairs undercuts the executive office and undermines it for all time to come.
How many nights a week would you wake up foaming at the mouth because you had another nightmare about Trump?
We always have a choice of the lesser of two evils because anyone with any brains at all wouldn't want the thankless job where 50% of the country will be out to get you 24/7. In order to want the job you have to be ok with wearing a "kick me" sign on your back. If you don't want that, then you shouldn't run for the office.
You are way underestimating the power of the presidency. Look at the damage Biden has done in just three years. The open borders part will hang over us for at least two generations. Nixon lost his power because of the illegal acts he committed which cost him the support of his party. It was all so stupid because he had the 1972 presidential election in the bag.
