The US President, often referred to as the ‘most powerful man in the world’ is frequently misunderstood by casual observers when the issues of his power and authority over the American country are addressed. However, his position of being the ‘most powerful man in the world’ is proved to be true when subject mater of foreign policies are dealt with rather than domestics.
In the USA, the President is the person who holds office of the head of state for the United States government. Although Article II of the American Constitution sets out the powers of the President, it is rather generalised and modest. None of the powers of the President are entirely set out in the constitution, but are bounded by checks and balances. For example, the President has the power to nominate members of the executive and candidates for the Supreme Court; on the other hand this requires the majority of support in the Senate.
Another constitutional power of the President is Commander-in-Chief. In spite of this, the Congress has been given the sole right to declare war on any other country or city that attacks the USA in any form. In theory the congress are referred to as more superior than the President, and are seen to have more power as they make the final decisions on whether or not to declare war. However in practice, this power has not been used since 1941. Congress also has the ‘power of the purse’ which can control the Presidents war makings, but again this as not always been effective.
Article II of the constitution states that, ‘The president shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures, as he shall judge necessary and expedient.’ This shows that the President can only propose legislation to the Congress, and this can be done in a number of was. Firstly, he can put forward such legislations through the annual State of the Union Address, at anytime through conferences or making announcements at public events. In George W. Bush’s first two years in office he proposed education reforms, tax cuts and anti-terrorist measures.
