Published: April 02, 2008 09:46 pm            

A job with little to do

The presidential primaries are getting a lot of attention in Indiana, and that is a wonderful development. For too long Indiana has been left out of the power structure of who selects our candidates.

But something disturbing is happening during this Democratic primary, and that is that candidates are making promises they know they cannot keep. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are promising to restructure our health care industry, put everyone to work, make our schools better and perhaps put two chickens in every pot.

The reality of what a president can and cannot do is outlined in our Constitution. We urge the candidates to reread it. That document sets clear limits on our presidents. And just as the founding fathers intended, presidents don’t have a lot of real power and absolutely no lawmaking powers.

Hillary Clinton said in Mishawaka Friday she would put an end to the No Child Left Behind legislation. What she forgot to tell the crowd is that she can’t do anything about it. What she can do is try to urge Congress to reverse its legislation that holds school districts and teachers accountable for student performance.

She also said she would make sure everyone would have health insurance. That’s an admirable position, but it is a task she can’t pull off by herself. Again, she will have to push such legislation through a House and Senate that may or may not have a majority of Democrats come next January. And even then, as other presidents have found, having your party in the majority is no guarantee their proposals will make it through Congress.

We don’t mean to pick on Mrs. Clinton, because Mr. Obama has said the same things. He intends to do this and this and that. Both Clinton and Obama are doing just what George Bush and other presidents have done, and that is to make a lot of promises they can’t keep. After all, if they didn’t promise voters something, they wouldn’t be listened to.

The most striking powers a president has under the Constitution is to lead the military forces and appoint its officers and conduct foreign policy. The Constitution says that those presidential powers are absolute.

After those, the other powers granted to presidents are much smaller. They include giving a state of the union address, vetoing legislation, pardoning prisoners and appointing department heads and some of their subordinates.

Gee, a president can’t even appoint a judge or ambassador or approve a treaty unless the Senate gives its OK.

We just wanted to remind you as this election season continues, to be aware that when candidates say “I intend,” they should be saying, “I intend to ask Congress to...”

– The Goshen News

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.