The Fine Line on Presidential Authority

With the 2008 Election rapidly approaching (for some too soon, and for many not soon enough), the U.S. is in for at least some sort of change at the top of its political ladder. Newsweek recently interviewed former Justice Department lawyer Jack Goldsmith regarding his role in questioning the current administration on its authority to use any means necessary in the war on terror.

A brief excerpt: When Goldsmith was asked about his role, he said, "This is not about whistle blowing. It’s about trying to explain to the public the enormous pressures and tensions inside the executive branch to keep Americans safe and about how that pressure bumps into the wall, and about the difficulties that everyone in the administration has and the pressure to do everything possible to keep Americans safe, and the intense pressure to comply with the law."

I think that this is a fact commonly overlooked by the general public, i.e. that the Presidency is a really, REALLY difficult job. Next time you are trying to appease your significant other in a no-win situation, think about appeasing 200 million-some-odd voters (or at least the 100,000,001 you need for the majority).

With this in mind, I'd like to relay a quick poll based on a topic posed in one of Greg's classes the other day, which laid out four possible options that a President could, or should have:

- Model 1 – No inherent power. President can act only with express constitutional or statutory authority.
- Model 2 – President may act without constitutional or statutory authority unless he usurps the powers of another branch of government.
- Model 3 – President may act unless he violates a constitutional or statutory provision. If Constitution and Congress are silent, President may act unless Congress tells him to stop.
- Model 4 – President may act unless he violates an explicit constitutional provision.

This is the question posed to you, dear reader: What strikes the perfect balance of power in Washington? Which of these (if any) can work within our current political climate?