Title: The powers of the American President - History Learning Site
Headings: The powers of the American President
The powers of the American President
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Content: “A president cannot lead unless he appreciates the perspectives of other elected politicians and accepts their legitimacy.” ( Bowles)
In Britain, the prime minister appoints his cabinet who are party members and who are there to support him and his party in power. In America, the cabinet of the president might have no other party colleague in his cabinet except the vice-president. In this sense, outsiders are brought in. However, they are picked because it is felt by the president that they can do the task and work with him and support his policies. The federal system of government in America and the three distinct forms of government institutions in Washington limit presidential power. Bowles claims that presidents have to “bargain” with other politicians and that at times, presidential power is “illusory”. The other politicians who work out of the Capitol building, are not controlled by the president – his only chance might be to influence them but the recent out spoken Democrat members who wanted Clinton to resign rather than drag down the name of the Democrat Party (over the release of the Starr report and the video tape recordings etc.) are indicative of how little influence the president has over his own party members in a time of crisis. However, the president does have two great advantages :