Plato Political Science: American Executive Research Proposal

Presidential power is thus a matter of persuasion of the public and the other branches and actors within the government. Today in particular, because of the ability of the President to invoke the information of the intelligence agencies, information which the President has special authority over, he can persuade members Congress that if they do not do his bidding, they are jeopardizing America. When the presidential office was first created, the federal army and navy were far smaller than today -- and only Congress has the power to declare war. Yet many undeclared wars have been waged subsequently, and Congress has ceded some of its powers of controlling these institutions, from the Gulf of Tonkin resolution during Vietnam, to being persuaded by faulty intelligence it is assured it is true, as in Iraq. Presidents like Gerald Ford have limited the prosecutorial abilities of the nation by bestowing pardons, even changed the nature of American civil liberties through appointing justices to the Supreme Court.But to ensure reelection, to ensure continued support for wars and other ventures, to even ensure that appointees are approved by Congress, the President must have some persuasive capital, with the public, the congress, his own administration, or ideally all three. "Sustaining loyalty" amongst such actors is more important than expanding his defined powers (Neustadt 203). A President that is able to do so, however, can move mountains far in excess of his (or someday her) Constitutionally-defined powers.

Works Cited

Neustadt, Richard E. Presidential Power and the Modern President.….....