President

The president of the United States is one of the greatest inventions of the Framers of the Constitution in 1787. In a world that at the time was filled with monarchs, emperors, and other potentates, the office of chief executive created to head the executive branch of the new federal government was a strange hybrid of public servant and sovereign head of state. Yet today nearly every nation without a monarch who serves as the head of state has a position entitled president for either the head of state or, as in the United States, the combined head of state and government. Every government in the Western Hemisphere, excluding Canada (nominally a monarchy), has a president as the nation’s highest executive official, as do most other countries, among them France, Russia, and South Africa.

The president of the United States is now in some ways even more powerful abroad than at home. As the head of the nation with the largest and most influential economy, one that is the world’s only military superpower, he commands respect from other nations regardless of his own personal qualities or even the strength of his political support in the United States.

Domestically, however, the president must contend with a variety of constituencies: the citizens of the United States as a whole, the voters who voted him into office, other leaders of his own political party—some of whom may be his rivals—as well as the leaders in Congress, who may represent a different political party. If the president was elected by a large majority and if his political party is in the majority in Congress, his path may be a little smoother, but he will still not be able to implement his own agenda all the time. In addition to the external factors that may help or hinder a president’s exercise of power, his own attributes contribute to his ability to get things done. How well he makes the case for his agenda to the people and Congress often determines his success or failure.

There were high hopes for the office when it was created. According to Alexander Hamilton in essay 68 of The Federalist (1787–88) (see Federalist Papers),“It will not be too strong to say that there will be a constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue. And this will be thought no inconsiderable recommendation of the Constitution by those who are able to estimate the share in which the executive in every government must necessarily have in its good or ill administration.” Since these words were published, there has been an enduring tendency to view the fortunes of the nation as riding on the ability of the incumbent president.

A New Type of Leader