[Tim]

Quote by: ren In the lead post the following statement was attributed to de Tocqueville: So we have individual rights and the implication of personal responsibility set up by our Bill of Rights and the Constitution. But how does "people's" responsibility fit that? And we have what's called a Republic. I've been in some knock down drag outs over the years with those who emphasize the Republic aspect of our government, not the democratic aspect. Was perhaps de Tocqueville wrong about democracy? Are the people then, perhaps, not getting the government we deserve simply because we are not a democracy? Are we perhaps getting a government we don't even want, sold to us with a kind of illusion?

If it is an illusion, then we fell for it. It it was sold to us, we bought it. We live in a society with remarkably free information. We can go online to a website such as Opensecrets.org--Money in politics data and find out where donation money is coming from. We can examine the claims made by politicians and the policies they enact and see if it adds up. If we were duped, I contend that it's our own fault, and that we must now reap what we have sown.

In a presidential system, critics of such systems identify the following three disadvangages as a potential threat to democracy: Tendency towards authoritarianism — some political scientists say that presidentialism is not constitutionally stable. According to some political scientists, such as Fred Riggs, presidentialism has fallen into authoritarianism in every country it has been attempted. Separation of powers — a presidential system establishes the presidency and the legislature as two parallel structures. Critics argue that this creates undesirable gridlock, and that it reduces accountability by allowing the president and the legislature to shift blame to each other. Impediments to leadership change — it is claimed that the difficulty in removing an unsuitable president from office before his or her term has expired represents a significant problem. I think I could make a good case for each of those being present right now, and I'd suggest -- including the points you raised -- we are in the middle of a dire constitutional crisis. As Chalmers Johnson quipped when Nancy Pelosi said Impeachment is off the table, "Then the Republic is off the table."

That's an interesting list right there. I've never really pictured America without a president. However, I don't know if I believe that you can blame what is happening in America solely on the president. After all, Congress passed the PATRIOT Act, and Congress approved the war in Iraq/keeps giving it money. I would agree that actions such as signing statements are definitely an abuse of power. I certainly agree that the role of the president has increased too much over the past 100 years or so.