October 28, 2012 by David K. Sutton
Is the President of the United States a Dictator?
It would seem many conservatives think the President of the United States is an impervious leader, capable of just about anything he puts his mind to. A dictator if you will. No, I’m not talking about the current president, Barack Obama, rather the office itself. How else do you explain their reasoning when they say the president ought to be able to show leadership and convince Republicans to come around to his position? Well, they don’t exactly say that of course, but the Republicans and conservatives who acknowledge that Obama has faced stiff opposition from congressional Republicans say that it is up to Obama to show leadership, essentially willing legislation to pass regardless of the level of opposition.
On Meet the Press, Carly Fiorina made precisely this statement. She talked about how one candidate, Romney, supports “pro-growth” policies and has shown bipartisan leadership and the other candidate, President Obama, has not show these qualities. When fellow panelist Rachel Maddow pushed back, Fiorina followed with this condescension:
You know, it’s amazing to me that we’re still saying that President Obama was such a weak president that he was unable to work his will in Washington. – Carly Fiorina
The only thing that is weak is that line of reasoning. The office of president is not that of a dictatorship. In fact, much of what is promised by either candidate on the campaign trail is ultimately the responsibility of congress. Much of what candidates talk about doing actually requires congressional legislation that passes both houses.
So if congressional Republicans decided they were going to make President Obama a one-term president, there was nothing Obama could have willed to happen. There is nothing Obama can do and nothing Obama can say to suddenly win over Republicans. People who use this argument, this line of reasoning, people like Carly Fiorina, don’t actually believe what they are saying because they are the last people who would want Obama’s “will” to win the day.
It’s malarkey. — Thank you Joe Biden.
