Is the President the Most Powerful Man In the World?

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Is the President the Most Powerful Man In the World?

Many people dubbed the President of the United States as the world’s most powerful man. This essay attempts to assess this statement and conclude whether or not it is true.

In a sense, one can perceive the President as very powerful with a limited range of checks on their power. For example, as President Truman stated, ‘I make American Policy’. As a commander in Chief, the president can impose US authority on weaker nations by deploying armed forces to countries (e.g such as Kuwait and Afghanistan).  In addition, the President can drop nuclear weapons on enemies using his power in foreign policy, such as Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb in Japan after World War II.

However, one could say the powers of the president are often limited due to the role played by Congress. The constitution insists that some presdential acts requires the approval of Congress. Up until the 1970’s congress rarely used these ‘reserve’ powers unless a President was becoming to doctorial. However in recent times, these consent powers are used more often. For example, the Senate refused to ratify SALT 2.

For one, although he is the leader of the armed Forces, it is up to Congress to declare war.  In addition, the War Powers Resolution 1973 constrained the presidents powers and states that the president can only send the US armed forces into action if Congress authorizes it or the US is under severe attack. If there is no authorization of the war, then military force can only be used for 60 days.

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Although a president can negotiate treaties with other nations, treaties require the support of 2/3 of the senate. Hence forth, a number of treaties have failed to get the 2/3 support that is needed such as the Kyoto Treaty. Nevertheless, the President can get around this, Presidents may sometimes enter executive agreements, where the President enters an agreement with a leader of a foreign country. This agreement has the same status in international law as a treaty, and in his 7 year presidency, Bill Clinton made 209 treaties but over 2000 executive agreements.

In addition, while the President has ...

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