Outline the principal sources of authority available to US presidents Essay

The president is naturally the focus of US politics. Media coverage will of course always focus on the President. The position is undoubtedly the most significant in world politics and the president of the United States is commonly recognised as the most powerful person in the world. In addition to this, executive organisation is organised in a pyramidal fashion towards the oval office and within the executive the President is a dominant figure. However, form this brief explanation of the Presidency the true complications that it is marked by are unclear. The president is in a position where negotiation and compromise are necessities. A president that makes government work is one that has a program and uses his resources to get it enacted. A good president is an activist: he sets the agenda, is attentive to the progress being made, and willingly accepts responsibility for what happens. However, the President must also accept that others have resources and responsibility and incorporate this into his actions and decisions. The United States has a separated, not a presidential system and no one least of all presidents can be entrusted with excessive authority. The true nature of the Presidency; and the powers endowed to the occupant of the White House; is actually a lot more complicated than it appears on the surface. It may seem that the directly elected president who holds such a strong position and image in world politics is ensured a smooth passage to achieving the policies they want to. However, whilst a lot of the resources of power expected to be possessed by someone of such a high global standing are enjoyed by the American President, there are constraints to which a successful election guarantees political dominance. Presidents learn many refrains on the job, if they don’t know already. Bill Clinton learned the difficulties of split party control by having to battle Republican majorities in congress. George W Bush had witnessed firsthand his father’s problems of governing with a Democratic congress. He also learnt about the limitations of executive power on the job as governor of Texas. There is never a guarantee that election by a wide margin ensures a powerful president throughout his term in office. Likewise, having high public approval ratings doesn’t necessarily ensure a free rein for the President. Johnson remarked how winning power doesn’t guarantee a President with executive power. He has to establish what is the ‘right to govern’ by inspiring confidence on the people and fulfilling the leadership roles expected. Every president has to develop a moral underpinning to his power and assert a style and authority on the President, or he soon discovers that he has no power at all. Obviously, public and media focus is always on the President and as a result, expectations of a President often far exceed the individual’s personal, political, institutional or constitutional capacities. Focusing too much on the Presidency can lead to a seriously distorted picture of how national government works. The resources and authority of the president, although large, are not as clear cut as it initially seems. To begin with, a President’s relationship with congress is obviously crucial to him exercising a strong level of power. However, the president’s political status and strategic positioning does not end with the state of congress. The public interpretation of strength associated with the election results, the exact number of seats possessed by the President’s party in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, midterm election results, the nature of public and media opinion and the contentiousness of the issues all affect the strategic behaviour of the President. The importance of change and the dynamic nature of American politics cannot be overlooked. Even a President who commands government on the back of a convincing election and high public ratings have been unable to protect their apparent legitimacy against changing conditions. For example, President Nixon demonstrated that even though he had been mandated, misuse of his position and resources caused his downfall. Public trust is a huge resource of presidential authority and something that cannot afford to be jeopardised. I believe the authority of the president can be broken down into two sections. He has the strategic capacity to set the nation’s political agenda, predominantly by using the powers endowed to him by the constitution. He also has the tactical capacity to negotiate and bargain with other political actors in order to win over both congress and public opinion, two crucial groups to keep satisfied in order to properly implement his policy agenda. There is then a subset of factors that influence the extent to which the president can carry out the above activities. These influences make up the president’s resources of power and how they are used will determine how powerful and dominant he can become. There is no doubt that the largest resource of authority available to the president is the constitution. It is certainly the most important area to consider when analysing the authority of the president. Article 2 of the constitution demonstrates why the position of the American president is so huge. The explicit grants and limitations of power awarded to the president in this article of the constitution are the basis on which the contemporary American president is built. Executive power of the federal government is vested in the president. He has the power to appoint ambassadors, members of the cabinet, Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges of lower federal courts, with the advice and consent of the senate. He can propose legislative measures and veto bills emerging from congress. In terms of the armed forces and foreign policy, the president in America is similar to that in France in the sense that he regards this as his reserved domain. The above clauses therefore make up the basis of the president’s power. However, it is clear from this that whilst it obviously makes the president the primary actor in the American political system, there is room for manoeuvre and this alone cannot give us all the information we need in learning about the president’s resources of authority. The fact that there is a lot of gaps to be filled in article 2 of the constitution mean that the position of power in the American political system is of a dynamic nature. A lot of the presidents other resources of power outside of the prerogative powers endowed by the constitution are circumstantial and possess the potential to change at any moment. Presidents will claim that there are some powers endowed to them that are inherent in the constitution that are not explicitly stated. These are interpreted by different presidents in different ways. This seems to be interpreted from the statutory delegation of power by congress to the presidency. The best example of this is Lincoln declaring martial law during the civil war under emergency powers. The constitution’s generality and ambiguity requires gaps to be filled so various presidents can appeal to this ambiguity in asserting that they possess unwritten constitutional provisions. However, this process of filling gaps is untidy, intellectually inconsistent and highly contentious. Not confined to the judicial branch of government, it incorporates the executive, congress, interest groups and public opinion. Therefore, presidents have to develop other resources of authority available to them in order for them to be able to abuse the apparent unwritten elements of the constitution. Whilst the principle of inherent powers of the president possessed in the constitution is now accepted by the majority, then extent to which they exist remains a matter of dispute. The media is a huge resource for the president. The media have over the course of the 20th century changed the nature of the presidency through the introduction of both radio and television. The media has been enhanced as a significant source of strategic leadership in an otherwise fragmented political system. Media attention naturally focuses on the White House and that doesn’t show any sign of changing. The Oval Office is where the prestige of American politics lies. Therefore, the president is showcased through a proportion of the media as the only significant part of the political system. This in general acts to strengthen the president’s political authority and journalists are generally treated well by the president in order to guarantee this strengthening. However, inherent in this action is an acceptance that the media always have been and are now more than ever a threat to presidents. The legitimacy received by the president through being directly elected and no one in the American system being mandated in the same way is a great resource for the president. The elected part of the executive branch of American system is singular, not collective, and the president is in consequence, a prominent national figure: his constituency is his nation and he therefore enjoys a singular electoral legitimacy. Both Congress and the Supreme Court are institutions with multiple memberships whereas the presidency is a strictly one member group. Having no rival in this sense helps the president appeal directly to the heart of the American people and makes them the foremost person in American politics. This is essentially the American president’s greatest political asset. Political skill is certainly an important factor in the success that presidents have in asserting leadership. Lyndon B Johnson was able to exert more authority than he was constitutionally defined to do so because he had particularly good persuasive skills. Additionally, Ronald Reagan possessed strong strategic skills that enabled him to manipulate his position effectively. President’s can exercise neither strategic nor persuasive leadership by relying upon their limited resources of authority; much depends upon the skill with which a president is able to bring political influence and persuasion to bear. However, the most important controlling factor of the president’s level of authority is his relationship with other key political actors. He can maintain high standing with the public if his cabinet is appointed sensibly and he has a healthy working relationship with congress. Therefore, other political actors are an important resource of the president’s authority. By making clever decisions about who to be in his cabinet, a president can accomplish a number of goals. He can reward significant supporters, as Bush did with his appointment of James Baker as secretary of state. In addition to this, he can build support amongst other factions of the country by keeping his cabinet diverse. This tactic can especially be used to strengthen links with racial groups and women. All recent presidents have appointed at least one black person and one woman to their cabinet. Finally, cabinet is essential to maintaining a good relationship with congress, the key obstacle at times to presidential authority. It is necessary for a president to be successful that he exercises strategic and tactical leadership of congress. Presidents such as Jimmy Carter who do not reliably achieve legislative leadership are generally regarded as having failed. It tends to be crucial for a president to be authoritative with congress to fully accomplish his goals and take full advantage of the resources available to him. Taking on the role of chief legislator is an important aspect of a president’s authority. Maintaining a good relationship with congress tends to bring together all the important resources available to the president and if carried out effectively culminate becoming the chief legislator and that is effectively when the president is at his most powerful. A president’s political skill and ability to handle other key political actors is exemplified in his relationship with congress. Furthermore, maintaining a higher standard with the public enables him to be more dominant in regard to congress. This is the area where the US executive differs mainly from that of parliamentary systems. The following problem is encountered by the French president as well as the American. Managing congress can be difficult, especially when the majority party is different to that of the president. Congress loses its degree of significance as a political resource when the party of the president do not enjoy a majority and it becomes a lot more difficult for the president to act as the chief legislator. The president in America does not have the backing of a party whose main responsibility is to sustain government. This is significantly different to parliamentary systems where the primary function of parliament is to maintain government. Therefore, parliament in the UK takes on a less significant role in analysing the dynamic nature of institutional power as it tends to stay relatively constant through a term than Congress in the US. This is made even more complicated by midterm elections. However, what is similar in the management of the two executives is how crucial political skill and management of relations is. Neither a President nor a Prime Minister is able to overlook relations with key political actors around him. In conclusion, the principal sources of presidential authority are like most issues in world politics. They are dynamic and dependent on the nature of the president and the circumstances he finds himself in, he can add to the obvious constitutionally defined roles as president through smooth management of colleagues, congress and public opinion. Whilst the constitution remains the most significant resource, there is a lot of scope for extra authority through effective management of the situation the president is in. This is true of all political systems, whilst there is usually a constitutionally defined role for executive leadership, political skill will determine the extent to which this leadership is implemented.

Haircare segment- the shampoo bubble Essays

Haircare segment- the shampoo bubble Essays Haircare segment- the shampoo bubble Essay Haircare segment- the shampoo bubble Essay None of the above. (I will elaborate in the next question) Total 74. 00 100. 00% from our primary research As per our primary research amongst a niche educated crowd (working professionals, student as well as homemakers in the age group 20-30), one of the most important qualities that consumers look for is intense conditioning. Most women complain of dryness of hair after shampooing. While several products claim to have conditioning, they mostly do not have a lasting effect. Companies generally market the conditioner and a masque as shampoo for most consumers is one that leaves hair smooth and lustrous. Development of a shampoo with deep conditioning effect would require extensive search but its worth it. If the shampoo contains natural oils to achieve this effect, several more brownie points for that! Consumers would be willing to pay a premium for such a product- they will have to spend lesser on conditioners, nourishing oils and masques. Most consumers in our research are willing to spend at least RSI. 100 for 100 ml of product. : In fact, a significant percentage also opt for the premium brands. Considering the fact that the product would give consumers the freedom to buy only the shampoo and not invest in conditioner, the consumer can be charged a premium lightly less than the price of the conditioner(shampoo and conditioner of the same product range are almost always equally priced). Since our research was conducted in a niche sample, the product to be designed targets the educated 20-30 year olds. Women in this age group are generally very conscious of their looks and form opinions about the products. They want to experiment but once they find the product that suits their hair, they stick to it. The revolutionary product that we suggest reflects what they want. This is reason enough to charge something in the range of 250-500. Even consumers in the 100-250 range old be able to afford it. Although independent retailers have held an important position in the value chain until now, the dynamics are clearly changing.

Westinghouse essays

Westinghouse essays Most people know the name Westinghouse as the name of an appliance, but where did the name come from? Many people may not know that George Westinghouse was not only an inventor, but a visionary. George Westinghouse's many inventions fed the Industrial Revolution that swept through America in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Industrial Revolution brought many changes to the United States. Even though America was progressing, many ill effects were brought on by this expansion. Westinghouse was one of the Industrialist that actually cared about the many problems he saw in urban America. Westinghouse, at the age of forty-two, could no longer ignore "the evils of social upheaval created by too rapid industrial development"(Levine, 2). George Westinghouse wanted something done, but it looked as if he was the only one that would do it. George Westinghouse had influenced many areas of his era and ours. His many inventions, his good-willed policy toward his workers and his business practices have affected all of us; but nothing will compare to the influences that he left on our country's upper-class - the concept that they had a responsibility toward the society that had made them who they were. George Westinghouse was born eight of ten children into a middle class family on October 6, 1846. Westinghouse's father ran a small machine shop in Schendectady, NY, that manufactured mostly farm implements; as a result, Westinghouse was introduced to the world of machines at a very early age. Due to curiosities he found during the Civil War, in which he served in both the Northern Army and the Navy, Westinghouse invented a rotary steam engine. At age nineteen, this was his first patented invention; however, the design proved to be impractical. Despite his troubles, Westinghouse went on to invent a device for placing derailed railroad cars back on their tracks. The next year, Westinghouse was riding on a train that was ...

Reflexive Spanish Verbs With an Indirect Object

Reflexive Spanish Verbs With an Indirect Object Spanish often uses reflexive verbs  in a way that seems unfamiliar to English speakers. And they can seem downright indecipherable at when they are in sentences include two object pronouns of a single verb, a phenomenon that is unheard of in everyday English unless those pronouns are connected by and or or. Here are three examples of sentences that include two object pronouns that have different grammatical functions (that is, that arent joined by a conjunction such as y or o). Translations given arent the only ones possible; alternatives are explained below.) Se me rompià ³ la taza. (The objects are se and me. My cup got broken.) ¿Se te olvidà ³ el tomate? (The object pronouns are te and me. Did you forget the tomato?)La espiritualidad es algo que se nos despierta en cierto momento de nuestra vida. (The object pronouns are se and te. Spirituality is something that awakens for us at a certain time of our lives.) Why Two Objects Are Used You may have noticed that the three translations above took different approaches- but that none of the translations are literal, word-for-word ones, which wouldnt make sense. The key to understanding these sentences grammatically is to remember that the se in each of these cases is part of a reflexive verb, and that the other pronoun is an indirect object, one that tells who is affected by a verbs action. Basically, a reflexive construction is one in which the subject of a verb acts on itself. An example in English would be I see myself (Me veo in Spanish), where the person speaking is both seeing and being seen. In Spanish, however, it is possible to think of a verb acting on itself even when we dont translate it that way in English. This can be seen in the first example, where the most common definition of romper is to break. So we can think of romperse (romper plus the reflexive pronoun se) as meaning to break itself, (The translation to be broken might also be used.) The other pronoun, in this case me, tells us is affected by that breaking. In English, we might translate the indirect object me as me, to me, or for me. So a fully literal meaning of the sentence might be something like The cup broken itself to me. Obviously that doesnt make much sense. So how do we translate such a sentence. Normally, if a cup breaks and it affects me, its probably my cup, so we could say My cup broke or My cup got broken. And even I broken the cup would be fine if that fit the context of what happened. The other sentences can be analyzed in the same way. In the second example, olvidarse typically means to be forgotten rather than the literal to forget itself. And if the forgetting of the tomato affects you, you are probably the person who lost it, and the the translation given. And in the third example, despertarse usually means to wake up or to awaken. Without the nos in the sentence, we could could think merely of spirituality waking up. The for us is used to clearly indicate who is a beneficiary of the verbs action, although awakens us could be used. Note how in all these sentences, the se is placed before other pronoun. Se should not be placed between a verb and any other object pronoun. Other Sample Sentences You can see how this pattern is followed with the other sentences. Again, the translations given arent the only ones possible: Estoy agradecido no se me ocurrià ³ antes. (Im grateful it didnt happen to me sooner.) ¡El cielo se nos cae encima! (The sky is falling on us!)Pedid y se os dar. (Ask and it will be given to you.)Que se te moje el telà ©fono mà ³vil es una de las peores cosas que puede pasar. (Getting your cellphone wet is one of the worst things that can happen to you.) Key Takeaways The reflexive pronoun se can be used along with indirect object pronouns that indicate who is affected by the action of the reflexive verb.Se is placed before the indirect object pronoun.Sentences using se and an indirect pronoun can be translated in at least three different ways.

Social Psychology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Social Psychology - Assignment Example Truly, what we think can build a great difference in what the reality is. This is exactly what Robert J. Trotter contends. In his own words Trotter (1987) elucidates, â€Å"The way we explain the things that happen to us may be more important than what actually happens†. His thesis is heavily laid open the theory proposed by Martin Seligman who explained that the depression occurred as a result of what came be to known as â€Å"learned helplessness†. Primarily, his chance encounter in an experiment on dogs conducted in the University of Pennsylvania changed Seligman’s thoughts. The dogs which in an earlier experiment had learnt that they would get a shock did not try to escape this time, for they learnt how to expect that they would have no control over it. â€Å"They sat there as if they were helpless† (Trotter, 1987). The same principle is applied to human beings. Indeed, much of what we are, how we think and behave and how we react over certain situations get constructed as a result of our expectation of what we had learnt earlier. One fails in an examination once. He sits for another examination expecting nothing but failure and submits to his thought that he can not escape failure. Trotter agrees with Seligman’s thesis that this ‘learnt helplessness’ is directly proportional to human depression. In other words, the extent to which a human experiences depression is determined by the extent to which we have learnt how to be helpless. However, ‘learned helplessness’ theory was not without limitation. Seligman’s students argued with him that not all the uncontrollable bad events produce helplessness and depression. Also, they questioned why would depressed people always lose self-esteem or blame themselves. In order to counter these arguments, he revised the theory to explain the phenomena of ‘explanatory style’. The way we explain things impacts the way we behave. He argued

Career Path Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Career Path Analysis - Essay Example 1). To be applicable in this discourse, the career path analysis for students who are currently enrolled at the London College of Communication (LLC) would be structured by initially presenting: (1) where one has been, (2) what activities are currently undertaken and the reasons for engaging in them, and (3) where one envisions oneself in the future. Where One Has Been The current author of this career path analysis have had a challenging personal background being raised and trained to become a responsible person with commitment and dedication to the adherence of ethical and moral codes of conduct. The value and respect for other cultures have been ingrained in one’s upbringing consistent with Sumner’s (1960) contention that each culture must be seen in its own terms, and the worth of a custom can be judged only by the contribution it makes to the culture to which it is a part. The values, beliefs and preferences learned from the family and from one’s national cu lture have continued to be manifested in the way one interrelates with other from diverse cultural orientations. Socio-cultural values have played important roles in one’s view of motivation and behavior. The family, particularly one’s parents, is the most influential force and reason to achieve. One has acknowledged that certain motives come about as a result of the cultural environment in which a person lives. School administrators and faculty members, as well as academic colleagues, should understand that these are some of the motives that the author brings along the academe. Such motives will affect how one would view tasks and responsibilities and how important it is personally perceived. A remuneration of one’s motives recognized parallelism with McClelland’s (1961) more important motives, to wit: the achievement motive, the affiliation motive and the power motive. The desire to achieve and accomplish is gauged to be high with an intense drive to su cceed. One works had and take calculated risks. There is a personal responsibility for getting an academic requirement well done. Concrete feedback is appreciated to determine how well one is doing. Accomplishment is important for one’s own sake, not for the rewards that follow it. Activities Currently Engaged Being part of the LLC is an instrumental move toward the accomplishment of personal and professional goals defined according to the personal motives that drive one’s thrust. People have a variety of needs; and needs manifest themselves in many forms. The theory of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs clearly depict that satisfaction of lower level needs cease to act as motivators (Maslow, 1954). From one culture to another, the same needs may exist but in different intensities and in a different hierarchy. One’s culture exemplifies a strong sense of belonging. Despite realization that enrolling at LLC would be a personal sacrifice to live away from oneâ€⠄¢s family, the strong desire for achievement and looking beyond the academic pursuit is seen as a more intense need which would eventually lead to self-actualization. Further, interest in the realm of media, advertising and marketing provided the impetus to be an active part of LLC.

Health Law and policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Health Law and policy - Essay Example Moreover, ever health care provide is as well subjected to adhere to the stipulations stated therein. According to the provision, where a consumer has no knowledge of these rights, the Act directs the care providers to inform the consumers of their rights and besides, allow the consumers to exercise their rights while receiving treatment from them. The approach put forth in this act is to induce ethics in the health care industry. Divergences in the definition of ethics have raised issues as the term is subject to debate. The HDC Act provides a lucid direction based on the same by giving the ethical issues to be observed by the health care providers while providing such services to their consumers. Laverack, (2005) defines ethic as a set of laws and rules guiding the conducts people or professionals in a given field while executing their duties in line with their profession. Psychiatric nurses deal with psychologically vulnerable individuals who are in most occasions not able to make sound judgments concerning the various issues affecting their lives. Precautionary measures, therefore, must be taken to avoid the manipulation and abuse of such consumers. HDC Act provides exactly this intervention mechanism to health care consumers. The act has a set of ten regulations stating the rights of all consumers seeking health care attention from various providers in New Zealand. The Act accords the following rights to consumers which are subject to adherence by the care providers, these are: the right to be treated with respect, fairly, without pressure or discrimination, the right to dignity and independence, right to access for relevant information and to receive a quality service and to be treated with care and skill. The other rights accorded to the consumers by the HDC Act are the right to making independent decision about care services received, and to change mind whenever desired and the