- Imperilled presidency
The theory of the Imperilled Presidency was created by former
President of the United States Gerald Ford [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,949031,00.html?iid=chix-sphere] in contrast toSchlesinger 's theory of theImperial Presidency . The theory suggests that rather than being too powerful, the President does not have enough power to be effective.Arguments for the Imperiled Presidency
After the
Watergate affair of the 1970s, people in theUnited States stopped trusting their Presidents. This lack of public support led to a decline in Presidential power, leading to the Imperilled Presidency.The same thing happened again under President
Ronald Reagan after theIran-Contra scandal, and could be said to have happened to PresidentGeorge W. Bush in the wake of theIraq War The growth in the size of the bureaucracy surrounding the President since the
New Deal of the 1920s has made the executive more difficult to control. Ford argued that[A] principal weakness in the presidency is the inability of the White House to maintain control over the large federal bureaucracy. There is nothing more frustrating for a President than to issue an order to a Cabinet officer, and then find that, when the order gets out in the field, it is totally mutilated.
Since the passing of the
War Powers Act in 1973, Presidents have had less control over where they can fight a war. Although technically the President isCommander in Chief of theArmed forces , this act seriously limited his control overforeign policy , where the President always had the most power.
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