Question from Class

Topic: In the light of the nation's experience over recent decades, has the presidency grown too powerful or too weak?

I believe that the presidency has grown too powerful. It is dangerous for an entire nation to be subject to the whims of one man and his personal agenda or ambitions. The country should be controlled by the opinion of the public, not the opinion of one man. Health care is an example of how a more powerful president would not be good for the nation. President Obama wanted to pass this bill because he had promised to do so while campaigning, and the Democratic party supported him to save his image. Obama and the Democrats wanted to pass health care for their own reasons when the majority of the country, as polls show, doesn't want it passed. It is a bad sign when a bill passes with barely a majority of the Congress and when the general public is against it. The struggle with this bill could have been even worse if the president was more powerful, so to protect against people who would abuse that position and not obey the needs of the nation, the president should not be allowed to become any more powerful. Although great presidents in the past have done great things for the country using a lot of power, it would be wise to risk the government being slower to respond to the needs of the country than to risk giving an ill-meaning president too much power.