Powerdox
July 3rd, 2007at 11:40am Posted by Eli
The position of President is the most powerful it’s ever been since the FDR/Truman/WWII era, yet at the same time, the Presidency is the weakest it’s ever been politically since the Nixon/Watergate era.
This really should be impossible, but the combination of 9/11, a supine Congress, complicit media, and feckless opposition gave BushCo. a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to trash the Constitution, which they were only too eager to seize.
In theory, the Democratic Congressional majority and Dubya’s staggering unpopularity should make his powers very easy to roll back, but so far Republican opposition and lack of Democratic resolve have prevented any movement back towards democracy. We may have to wait until next November, when (hopefully) the thought of a Democratic President will do wonders to remind the Republicans of just how important checks and balances are. And as much as I dislike the thought of Hillary Clinton as President, she would fit the role of Constitutional boogeyperson better than any other Democrat except maybe Crazyalgore. (Please run, Crazyalgore, I’m begging you!)
(h/t Caro Kay at MakeThemAccountable.com for the presidential power study)
Entry Filed under: Bush,Constitution,Politics,Polls
