American Government (Essay Sample)

Powers of president
Name
Institution
Date
The question on whether the president can be too strong is one that draws in a lot of controversies among people. Majority of the people even though argue that a strong president is better than a weak president. An important matter to consider is whether a powerful president threatens the freedoms of a nation or whether the constitution defines the limits of presidential powers.
However, in recent years, a number of people have started to hold the belief that presidents have borne too much power. Their fear is that the president has taken so much power from other arms of their government which threatens the democracy. To understand the fears is to first ask the underlying questions on whether there are rules that define the limits of a president. Well, in the U.S. democracy system, the Constitution prevents the president from arbitrary use of his power. For instance, the president has to consult the Congress when making a war policy, despite being assigned the role of Commander in chief by the constitution.
In other cases, presidents have intentionally sparked wars, only to seek approval from the congress later for example when George W. Bush ended the ABM agreement and subsequently pulled out of the International Criminal Court. There was no approval of t...