The Issues, No. 10 - The President

Up to this point, I have not discussed the President. My reason for waiting until after talking about Congress is because I believe that Congress, not the President, is the bigger problem and requires more attention. I also believe that Congress has greater power than the President over what our government does and also greater power than the President to fix government's problems including problems with the way government works. The President's term of office is four years and the President is limited to two terms.



The President is the head of the Executive Branch of the government. He is responsible for carrying out, or enforcing, the laws of the United States. Almost every government department and agency is managed by the President. Go to http://www.usa.gov/ and search for "executive branch agencies" and you will see the list of what the President is responsible for.



All of the agencies in the government were created and are modified by legislation that was passed by Congress. The President does not create and pass legislation but he does propose legislation to Congress in which he is interested and he is responsible for signing legislation, after Congress has approved it, as the final step in making it into law. The President also has the ability to veto legislation, but Congress can override the veto by two thirds majority in each house and the legislation then becomes law without the President's signature. Search the internet for "Presidential veto power".

In 1947 the Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution limited the President to two terms (search the internet for "Presidential term limits"). Even though the President is, at least, limited to two terms, the problem I have with two terms is that the President and all of his Cabinet and their politically appointed managers spend the President's first term campaigning for the second term. In other words, they do little to antagonize the voting public and averything to make sure the President is still popular when it's time for a re-election campaign. This, in my opinion, is wasting opportunity because it appears that oftentimes they don't do what is needed only because they are afraid they might lose votes in the coming election.

So, I would like to see the Constitution amended to limit the President to one term. The amendment could extend the single term from four to six years but I believe a President, as well as our Congressmen and Senators, can be most effective and do their best for the country when not worrying about the next election.