QUESTIONS The Imperial Presidency

The Imperial Presidency – Small Group What’s the difference between the “constitutional Presidency” and the “imperial Presidency?” Provide an example of an “Imperial President.” What gives the President this label? Provide an example of a “Constitutional President.” What gives the President this label? How has the decay and weakening of political parties lead to the rise of the Imperial Presidency? How is the personality and character of the President important the power of the Presidency? Explain how this applied to Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.

The Imperial Presidency Triumphant There was a belief that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States Congress would try to pull back the Imperial Presidency. They have not been able to successfully do so. Provide examples of this. How has the Clinton Administration’s conflict with Saddam Hussein helped define the concept of the Imperial Presidency? How has the War on Terror impacted the concept of the Imperial Presidency? This isn’t in the article, but it is nonetheless worth considering: how has President Obama continued (or not continued) the tradition of the Imperial Presidency?

Conclusions Based on the examples of Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Clinton, and Bush, what would be needed to reduce the impact of the Imperial Presidency? Should we reduce the power of the Presidency, and perhaps return more power to Congress? Consider incumbency advantages (franking, gerrymandering, etc.) of Congress. Consider the fact that more people voted for a Democratic candidate than Republican Candidate for the House in 2012, yet the GOP still won the House easily.