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The Executive Branch Power: Enough or Not Enough?

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It is obvious the president was not given enough power under the Constitution. This is in part because Article II of the Constitution was written in a short period of time with little thought. Many presidents have had to make unclear decisions with little information about the circumstance in the Constitution and the president is beginning to take over the government due to increasing implied powers. However the president’s power has recently proven that it has outgrown the constitution and is swiftly evolving. The Constitution gave the president broad but vague powers, including the authorization to appoint judges and other officials with the Senate’s consent, veto bills, lead the military as commander and chief and make sure “that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Many of these powers however are shared with the Legislative Branch, and cause conflict within the government. The Executive Branch was supposed to be much less significant than the Legislative Branch. In fact, James Madison wrote, “Rarely if ever happen that the executive constituted as ours is proposed to be would have firmness enough to resist the legislature,” in his notes during the Constitutional Convention. Partially due this and not wanting to offend George Washington, whom was expected by the founders to be the first president, the founders focused very little on Article II of the Constitution. The largest role the president is supposed to play in the government is making sure that laws are followed. However, the Constitution does not explain how the president is supposed to do this. As a result, future presidents have had to interpret the Constitution and assume implied powers that were not directly stated in the Constitution. Barak Obama was never supposed ... ... middle of paper ... ...t is too late. Works Cited Annenberg. "Topic Overview Unit 7." Annenberg Learner. Annenberg, 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Jrank. "The Executive Branch And The Constitution." Executive Branch. Jrank, 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Krieger, David. "The War on Iraq as Illegal and Illegitimate by David Krieger." The War on Iraq as Illegal and Illegitimate by David Krieger. Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Linder, Doug. "Presidential Powers: An Introduction." Exploring Constitutional Law. Exploring Constitutional Law, 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. McMahon, Robert. "Balance of War Powers: The U.S. President and Congress." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 1 Sept. 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. United States Senate. "Official Declarations of War by Congress." United States Senate. United States Senate, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
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