- September 9, 2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
The US is one of the leading democratic countries. At the same time, the maintenance of the democracy in the country is provided through the division of executive, legislative and judicial powers. In this respect, it should be said that the head of the executive branch of power in the US is the President, who appoints the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies (Spielvogel, 205). In such a way, the primary role of the American President is the role of the head of the executive power, but, in actuality, the President performs multiple roles which go beyond his formal authority.
Basically, along with the role of the President as the head of the executive branch of power in the country, the President of the US is the commander-in-chief of the US military. In this respect, the current Presidency of George W. Bush is particularly noteworthy since he repeatedly used his formal authority as the commander-in-chief of the US military. In fact, it was George W. Bush and his administration who pedaled the decision to increase the US military presence in Iraq as well as they did in relation to the US troops in Afghanistan earlier.
In addition, the US President plays an active role in the legislative held in the country because he has a right to veto legislative bills before they become laws. In such a way, the President, as a head of the executive power, can control the work of the Congress, the highest authority having the legislative power of the US. On the other hand, the role of the President of the US is not a one-actor theatre, where the President establishes the rules of the game and plays according to these rules. In his turn, the President is controlled by the legislative and judicial powers since he can undergo the impeachment procedure and, thus, be discharged of his office. Moreover, the President of the US is controlled by American people who elect the President for four years and can be re-elected for another four years term.
At the same time, it should be said that today, the US President can produce a considerable impact on the public opinion as well as on political and economic life of the country. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the recent efforts of the US President aiming at smoothing the economic situation in the country, when the official position and promises of the US President to support the national economy contributed to a relative improvement on the financial market of the US. Furthermore, the position of the President is also important for ordinary Americans because he states the official position of the government and actually it is the President who has all the information about the current situation in the country and possible threats to the country. Hence, people heavily rely on the information they receive from the President because this information can define the future of the country and its policies and, if the President manages to gain the public support, he can introduce policies he is willing to introduce as it was after 9/11.
Thus, the US president plays multiple roles, including the role of the head of the executive power and commander-in-chief. However, he also plays an important public role since he represents the official position of the US on all levels.