Adly Templeton
The president of the United States is widely considered the most powerful person on the planet. Even so, a simple reading of the constitution does not give the president any extraordinary formal powers: Alexander Hamilton remarked that the constitution made it" difficult to determine whether [the president possesses] more or less power than the Governor of New York." While Congress derives the majority of its authority from the power of the purse, and the Supreme Court exercises power through Judicial review, there is no comparable overarching power awarded to the president. Though the president is empowered to act as commander in chief, nominate judges, and veto legislation, among many other abilities, none of these formal powers …show more content…
Working from Skowronek 's definition of power, we will define 'resources ' as various basic elements, tangible or intangible, which a president can use to accomplish an agenda. A few types of resources are readily apparent: in particular, approval ratings, money, and influence over congress. But we can also consider other resources. For instance, approval ratings are often broken down into subcategories such as 'trustworthiness ', 'shares our values ' or 'strong leader '. Each of these subcategories is affected independently by various actions, and are therefore separate resources. We will also consider other elements of the modern political process to be resources, such as voter databases, political offices on the ground in key areas, skilled staff members, or Obama 's "closely guarded … list of 10 million names [of] door-knockers, phone-bankers, letter-writers or small donors" (Bai). Broadly speaking, larger factors such a president 's political brand or seats in the House or Senate are also resources, as they are used by the president to further an agenda. Examining these resources give us a lens through which to consider the practice of presidential power: "Presidents exercise power by husbanding these resources and deploying them strategically to effect change" …show more content…
Entering office, Obama was in the position to enact massive change, so moderate change is not particularly impressive. His success can most meaningfully be evaluated relative to other presidents: what could another president do with the opportunity Obama had in 2008? Entering office, Obama 's situation bears a remarkable resemblance to that of FDR. Both presidents entered office after a landslide victory during an economic crisis, possessing a Democratic majority and a discredited Republican party. Held to this standard, Obama 's achievements, though impressive from an absolute standpoint, fall somewhat
The president of the United States is widely considered the most powerful person on the planet. Even so, a simple reading of the constitution does not give the president any extraordinary formal powers: Alexander Hamilton remarked that the constitution made it" difficult to determine whether [the president possesses] more or less power than the Governor of New York." While Congress derives the majority of its authority from the power of the purse, and the Supreme Court exercises power through Judicial review, there is no comparable overarching power awarded to the president. Though the president is empowered to act as commander in chief, nominate judges, and veto legislation, among many other abilities, none of these formal powers …show more content…
Working from Skowronek 's definition of power, we will define 'resources ' as various basic elements, tangible or intangible, which a president can use to accomplish an agenda. A few types of resources are readily apparent: in particular, approval ratings, money, and influence over congress. But we can also consider other resources. For instance, approval ratings are often broken down into subcategories such as 'trustworthiness ', 'shares our values ' or 'strong leader '. Each of these subcategories is affected independently by various actions, and are therefore separate resources. We will also consider other elements of the modern political process to be resources, such as voter databases, political offices on the ground in key areas, skilled staff members, or Obama 's "closely guarded … list of 10 million names [of] door-knockers, phone-bankers, letter-writers or small donors" (Bai). Broadly speaking, larger factors such a president 's political brand or seats in the House or Senate are also resources, as they are used by the president to further an agenda. Examining these resources give us a lens through which to consider the practice of presidential power: "Presidents exercise power by husbanding these resources and deploying them strategically to effect change" …show more content…
Entering office, Obama was in the position to enact massive change, so moderate change is not particularly impressive. His success can most meaningfully be evaluated relative to other presidents: what could another president do with the opportunity Obama had in 2008? Entering office, Obama 's situation bears a remarkable resemblance to that of FDR. Both presidents entered office after a landslide victory during an economic crisis, possessing a Democratic majority and a discredited Republican party. Held to this standard, Obama 's achievements, though impressive from an absolute standpoint, fall somewhat