In case you haven't heard, there was a presidential election.
Now when I make that statement, obviously I do so with a fair deal of implied sarcasm -- considering the news coverage and public domain chatter that revolved around the battle between the Democratic incumbent and Republican challenger, obviously you must have not only heard about it, but be able to list some key divisive issues. The real tragedy is that this next statement isn't sarcastic:
In case you haven't heard, Massachusetts and Colorado became the first states to legalize recreational use of marijuana, gay marriage became legal by a popular vote for the first time -- previously it has failed popular votes, and Puerto Rico will soon become the 51st state. New flag time! These issues all deserve their own thought and consideration, which unfortunately it would seem the majority of Americans were not giving them until they were voted on. (Not throwing stones here, I didn't know either.)
Possibly of greater importance even than these major movements is how things went with your local representatives. Being significantly less bound by party politics than the President, having a vague idea of where the party platforms draw the line will not necessarily help you know which Senator or Congressman will support your views, unless you did specific research on those individuals. These representatives often march to the beat of a much less national drum, which is why republican senators can be elected in inarguably blue states. But we didn't hear much about them.
Why?
It must be because the President of the United States (POTUS) has such exceptionally great power that his alignment will be the single determining factor in the resolution of issues that really matter. Right? It seems that that would be the only logical reason for the extreme focus placed on one person come election time. Let's see what the President can do about those issues:
Economy: Possibly the most heatedly debated topic, and ironically the least well understood. An economy as large as ours is as complex as a living organism, and is dependent on billions of them. What power does the President have over the economy? Very little. Unless there's a magic economy wand hidden somewhere I don't know of, he can mainly do one thing: Inspire confidence in buyers, encouraging people to invest. Other than that, everything must be passed through the senate and/or congress, including stimulus packages etc. Any actual decisions he makes are way too complicated for even a very intelligent man like Mitt Romney or Barack Obama to understand, so they are usually just doing what the most intelligent financial minds of our times suggest they do.
Healthcare: One of the most shocking moments of the campaign for me was when I heard Senator Romney declare that he would get rid of 'Obamacare.' I turned to Krista, who spent more formative years in the US than I did. 'He can't do that, right?' I said. No, he can't. POTUS has less power over healthcare than he does over the economy. Really, pretty much no power.
Education: Nope. The funniest is listening to candidates talking about what department's they'll cut. Two that Republican candidates like to consider putting on the chopping block are the department of education and the environmental protection agency. Well, guess who has no power to just throw out departments? POTUS, that's who.
Abortion: Nope.
Gay Marriage: Nope.
Medicare: Nope.
Gun Control: Nope.
Environment: Nope. (See Education)
Government Size: Nope.
Terrorism: Getting closer.
War: Yes and no. The President may send in troops with essentially a free hand, but he cannot declare war against any other country. Congress must do this.
In fact, the vast majority of POTUS' actual power is summarized nicely in the constitution. Now, there are some other 'powers' that he has, which may be why we believe he has any power over the above mentioned items. They are:
1. Influencing public opinion. When the President says something, typically people listen. We did pick him after all, so he should represent us. But considering that most elections are not landslide, we should remember that we still only kind of liked him more than the other guy, both of whom a ton of people thought would do a good job.
2. Presenting legislature. The President has an entourage, his cabinet, which writes legislature that could be loosely shaped by his suggestion, or simply receive his stamp of approval after being written. This legislature is typically more powerful because some senators/congressmen feel a need to show loyalty to the party by supporting the president, but this is a double-edged sword, as representatives on the other side of the aisle may vote against it for those same reasons. It can also be more powerful because more of the public will know about it, since it usually gets more media attention. But still, he can't make it law.
3. Veto. This is probably what most people would mention when they think of the power that the president has over making laws. As a refresher if it's been a while since social studies: A law must pass through congress and the senate with a majority. It then goes to the desk of the president, where he must sign it. He may choose to veto instead, in which case the law is sent back to congress and senate. At this point it is voted on again, and if it passes with 2/3 majority, then it is made law regardless of POTUS. That is a good deal of power, but how often are laws vetoed? Well, here is the complete list, and some presidents have used it liberally, but generally the more vetoes that are used, the more get overridden. President Obama has only vetoed twice while in office, which is less than anyone since James Garfield.
4. Choose new supreme court justices. This is obviously an important power, but it's generally dispersed over time, as judges serve for life, while presidents are elected every four years. And still, the judges can only stop congress from passing laws that are unconstitutional, they cannot make new laws. Also, justices certainly don't mind defying expectations, and on the whole are trying to listen to the constitution.
What am I trying to say here?
The founding fathers did indeed make a government of diffused power, where one person becoming a tyrant was logically impossible. We do indeed live in that country and support that government. The problem is that we are living in a grand republic, but we are treating it like a monarchy. And from this comes corruption.
By focusing on the President, we centralize our focus, and give him power over public opinion. This is dangerous, but I don't think it's dangerous for the reason so many claim. I am much less concerned at the amount of attention we are giving the President. Generally, I feel like our candidates are good people trying to do good things by their conscience. What I am concerned about, is that with all our attention on the President, we are not paying attention to our congressmen and senators.
I don't think the President is involved in major conspiracies or fraud and deceit, because he is too closely watched and criticized by the nation.
I think that many local representatives are, because they are not closely watched or criticized by the nation.
I don't want to demonize, I don't think that most politicians are as bad as people suggest, but I think they can get away with a lot of broken promises and irresponsible politics because we do not learn about, remember, and respond to their words and actions.
And that's the concerning thing. I fear we are not worthy of our Republic. I don't worry the system is broken, but that the system is too beautiful for us to work with. We were given a President so we wouldn't have a King, but we react to him as if he were a King, and so in our minds give him the powers of a King, which are completely fictional.
I hope you're not upset if your preferred presidential candidate didn't win. He is not a King. He will not dictate the laws, or your life. I hope the identity of the President does not color your opinion of this country. He will not change the economy, education, environment, or any other social issue. He cannot do the things we believe he can. Our ancestors made it that way.
But I hope we're happy with our congressmen and senators. I hope we know their names. I hope we know their policies. I hope that it is them, and not the president, who must listen to our united voice and serve us as we support them. I hope we pray for them. I hope we remember them. I hope we hail the honorable ones, and expose those who would profit from our ignorance. Because they are the ones writing and voting on the laws in this country, and they are getting far too little of our attention.
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