Home  Editorials The next president must have influence
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The next president must have influence |
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Friday, 27 June 2008 |
Arguably, the most exciting event in the US is the current presidential election campaign. Now that the candidates representing the Republican and Democratic Parties have been identified, the November 4 elections are eagerly anticipated to determine the next president. But, when the campaign hype, the perennial polls, the promises, and the fanatical crowds are taken out of the picture, and the president is elected, there is one question – now what?
During presidential election campaigns the candidates emit an air of awesome power, promising a variety of new initiatives to a nation critically in need of change. However, the trend has been that after a president is elected, people are usually disappointed because whoever is elected cannot deliver on the promises made. Usually, this is not the fault of the man who holds the presidency, it is just the fact that very few presidents have the power to actually deliver, since the system on which the American government is based do not allow presidents to wield the power to implement their promises.
When the Founding Fathers created the U.S. constitution, they took pains to ensure that the presidency would never become a despotic monarchy. Accordingly, they created several checks and balances seen in the House of Representative, the Senate and the U.S. Supreme Court to control the president and prevent him from having absolute power. Historians of the U.S. presidency have written that in some respects the presidency is “a shade off from being a ceremonial position.” Although presidents have the power to veto decisions made by the U.S. Congress it is not unusual for Congress to overturn a presidential veto or the Supreme Court overrule a presidential edict.
Very few presidents were able to impose sufficient influence over Congress to get their pet policies approved. Notably among those who succeeded were Franklyn D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Regan. Roosevelt, considered by some as the greatest American president, was able to get significant laws passed during the first 100 days after assuming the presidency in 1933, during the Great Depression – possibly the worst economic period in America. These acts, part of Roosevelt’s New Deal, strengthened the banking system, created new jobs, assisted American municipalities and gradually pulled the country out of the crippling depression. Roosevelt was able to accomplish more than any president although he had the unique distinction of being elected four times as president between 1933 and 1945. Roosevelt introduced Social Security and Unemployment benefits, created an economic boon after taking America into World War II, and passed immigration laws that opened the doors for thousands on immigrants, including those from the Caribbean.
Lyndon Johnson also introduced significant immigration reforms and, of course, was instrumental in getting significant civil rights laws passed. Regan was instrumental in getting foreign policy legislation passed that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dismantling of communism.
All three presidents made significant accomplishments with and without control of Congress, although it is a common perception that the president who controls both the U.S. House and Senate will have a better chance getting his policies approved. Bill Clinton had such a majority the first two years of his presidency but could not get one of his key objectives, health care reform, passed. Neither could he get an economic stimulus plan through Congress. George W. Bush also failed to get Social Security and immigration reform approved despite having Republican majorities in Congress. What really counts is the ability of the president to negotiate, lobby, and exert influence over house representatives and senators that enables him to get his favored bills approved.
As attractive as the presidency, pitched as “the most powerful position in the world,” is, in many cases the real power is held by House representatives and senators, mostly career politicians, who, theoretically, take the desires of the people to the respective chamber. It is the collective “yea” or “nay” vote of Congress that really yields power in the U.S. government
This is a very important fact that voters must understand. Although they want their favorite candidate to be elected president, and offer real change, little will be achieved unless this president is skilled at the art of persuasion. He must succeed in getting the supporting votes of Congress, consisting of individuals representing the district in which voters reside.
The Founding Fathers also gave power to the people, yielded through their Congressional representatives. They created a chain of influence – the people – House of Representatives-Senate-the president (and the Supreme Court as required) – that allows the people to get laws affecting their lives passed in Washington. Far too few citizens seek the assistance of their Congressional representatives in getting laws that are meaningful to them passed. It is important for voters to think very carefully of the individual to be elected to represent their residential district in Congress in the next general elections, just as much as they place emphasis on a presidential candidate. While it is extremely important to elect a president who has the ability to influence change it is also important to elect a Congressional representative who can influence his or her peers in Congress, and the president, in getting relevant laws passed.
So while we campaign aggressively for our favorite presidential candidate, let’s remember that that individual, if elected, is basically powerless without our influence on our Congressional representatives to support that president’s objective.
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