Randomiser wrote:saber964 wrote:Try this little tidbit about the US Constitution. When it was first ratified in 1789. there were in power IIRC an:
Emperor of China and Japan
Tsar of Russia
Holy Roman Emperor
Kings of Spain France and England
and a President of the USA
now who is left with real political power
None of the above - given the present attitude of Congress
Strictly speaking, the President was not intended to have that much power. Instead, Congress was to create and set policy, control the budget, assent to treaties, and make war. The President was simply in charge of the executive branch - essentially, like a city manager under a city council - to ensure that Congress's will was carried out. While the President had the ability to override legislation via veto, that could easily be overturned by Congress should it desire. The real check on Congress was the courts, although it took a few years before the Supreme Court took on the roll.
Instead, over the years, Congress gradually abdicated its role as a policy and legislative source, instead giving that to the Presidency, and now essentially approves the budget, policies, treaties, and war declarations of the President (or not). Anybody here recall the jokes about the "Imperial Presidency" while Nixon was President? Nixon was continuing and expanding on Johnson's legacy, which Reagan and the most recent Bush expanded yet again. (These examples from the last 50 years, there are others from even earlier.)