The United States' President seems to be the focal point of the federal government, but how important is the Executive Branch? It seems to me that Congress and the Supreme Court, as well as the DoD, and various other government agencies have more to do with running the country than the President. I think the President is more of a figure-head than an actual important person.
ur crazy! WHAT????????? You do realise that if the president dislikes a law he can veto it. The congress only presents laws to the president for approval. He devises the budget, energy plan, tax code, etc. the congress debates it. Sure, congress and the other branches do teh work in getting things done, but if there were no president, there would be no way to either start or end the process.
Just in case ... Either of you, piffi and thecurly1, haven't read it before, here's the URL for the Constitution of the United States of America. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html Cornell University presents it interestingly.
I'm sorry, thecurly1 ... I didn't realized you just wanted opinions. I mistakenly thought you wanted to know the actual powers and responsibilities of the President of the United States. How foolish of me. So I'll give you my opinion: Yeah, sure ... Something like that.
I must go on record as being a supporter of the executive branch of government in the USA. I frankly have so many reasons for this that I am simply left thinking of a quote: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And there are so many reasons why. In the most general sense, the office of the president is a semi-final check from one man, who is placed into a position <b>by the consensus of all the people</b>, of all of the participating self governing states within the union. This is the intentional design of Jefferson. Things have changed tremendously since (not necessarily for the better). The president is a singular voice, and most often a dissenting and deciding vote, from a larger perspective and viewpoint. (S)he is a last ditch measure to speak out against unpopular or unfair legislation which "might" make it's way through a legislative system to threaten the human rights of all people. To take away this voice (vote), would unbalance the design. <b>Congress is the heart of the union. The Supreme Court is the morals. But the executive is the soul.</b><i>"Lost publications of Thomas Jefferson."
I am not sure that it isn't already broke to some degree. Look at lame duck presidents and congress sessions. When things should be getting done and the view points are at a clash politically, everything stops in the guidance of the country. It is held hostage to cooperation. Budgets are not completed, those that are are not enacted. Instead of what is good for the country it is used as a weapon for for what is good for the polictal parties involved. The good of the country is staved off in this idealogy battle. Much the same happened to Rome in its declining years.
Is the Executive branch important? Yes I agree that much of what you have stated is. But the question by the thread starter is whether or not the executive branch has any importance. A President may state to his constituents "No new taxes." But what he is truly saying to the people that voted him into office is that he will not suggest to Congress (House of representatives & US Senate), a tax increase, nor will he sign such a tax increase into law. Obvious it should be to anyone (or should have been), that no President can single handedly force legislation into law. Rather that the president either signs the Congressional legislation into law or vetoes it! Since I am obviously referring to GHWB I, I shall further state that during the time period, the Democrat controlled Congress (House & Senate) would not allow any budget legislation through Congress unless it contained a tax increase! REMEMBER THE DAYS OF GRIDLOCK? Every evening, one could listen to the media anchors lamenting the government gridlock. They always seem to manage mentioning Democrat criticisms of the gridlock and the reasons why (according to the Democrats), while any Republican response to these criticisms was called "Republican Political Attacks"! As a matter of record, GHWB I <u>never </u> suggested raising taxes to the Congressional legislative body of the time. Only when it became apparent to GHWB I, that the US government would have NO BUDGET, that he finally relented and signed the DEMOCRAT TAX INCREASE! But you never heard the news anchors say that the Democrats had anything to do with it. Perhaps the DEMOCRATS, who controlled both the House Of Representatives, as well as the US Senate, were innocent by-standers, who had no control over the campaign promises made by the President of the time? <i>Perhaps the scavenging hyena has no control over the fact that a Gazelle has fallen. That the hyenas chased the Gazelle to it's death is incidental. </i> Truly what people should be afraid of is this political group which has a huge level of control, by their media friends, and continues to literally get away with murder. <b>Of course the Executive branch has importance! How else is Richard Gephart ((DEM) Missouri) going to blame George Bush for the disappearance of Chandra Levy? ! ! !</b>
taxes yeah... with Bush Jr., his tax plan included no tax rebate; it was just an across the board tax reduction, of which the poor recieved the highest percentage decrease. the rebate was part of a democratic compromise and Bush realised he had no way of stopping it. So he signed it into law. While he originally proposed the tax bill, it was mutilated in Congress.
Professor I have a feeling that you don't like democrats much. How important the president is, is still open to debate. Then again he did make a pretty large policy issue last night with stem cell research.
