If I had a hammer
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening
all over this land
I'd hammer out danger
I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
all over this land.
Lee Hays and Pete Seeger
We live in very interesting times.
Today, as in years past, scholars and pundits and armchair political theorists (like myself) contemplate and discuss the power of the American presidency. From Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana territory to Bush's wiretapping programs, Americans have always been enthralled by and divided over the subject of executive power.
However, no president, not Jackson or Lincoln or Nixon, has ever been able to exert as much influence over the nation and the world as President Obama can at this moment. I don't believe that any leader in the history of our species has been endowed with as much unfettered power as this president currently possesses. I am surprised that nobody else who contributes to this site (so far as I can tell) has come to this realization.
Ironically, the President has come by this newly acquired power as a direct result of the posturing of his opposition during the debt ceiling negotiations, and as Republican intransigence brings us closer to the August 2 debt ceiling deadline, the President's position becomes even more powerful.
The Constitution provides the executive a ten day window, excepting Sundays, to either veto or sign a bill passed by Congress before the bill becomes a law by default. Even if Congress were to convene today and pass a debt ceiling resolution, the resolution would not become law (and the debt ceiling would not be raised) without presidential approval until August 9 - seven days after the August 2 deadline.
To put it another way, we will not have a debt ceiling increase until at least August 9 unless the President allows it to happen. At this point, the President has legal authority to unilaterally send the US government into default. When has one person ever held that much power?
A more pertinent question: what could the President do with that power?
Read More