The Presidency

Changes Made to Presidential Powers by US Presidents

The Powers of the President are increasing without bound . In the US there exists a separation of powers , which connotes that the Executive is bestowed with the privilege to refuse produce information in certain situations . Moreover , the Executive can , in respect of some issues prevent interference by Congress and the Judiciary . This is Executive Privilege (Dorf , 2002

A number of presidents contributed to increasing presidential powers The beginnings of this trend were initiated by Lyndon B Johnson , the thirty - sixth president he escalated

the Vietnam War and brought in the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution , which permitted the president to wage war without approval from the Senate . After him Richard Milhous Nixon , the thirty - seventh president , continued in his footsteps and committed a number of morally and ethically unacceptable acts during reelections and Watergate . He was impeached for his transgressions

Afterwards Ronald Reagan , the fortieth president , took some pains to enhance the prestige and dignity of the presidential office . However his involvement in the Iran - Contra weapons sales and the numerous incidents of misuse of authority by officials appointed by him , revealed his true intent , which was to make the presidency all powerful

George W Bush , the forty - third US President , illustrates the maxim `power corrupts absolute power corrupts absolutely ' Bush blatantly resorted to executive privilege to make presidential power almost absolute and beyond the purview of the Judiciary and Congress . He used this very same privilege to undo all the good work done by his predecessor Bill Clinton . He refused to be answerable to anyone in the country or the world for his actions . The 9 /11 tragedy was a godsend for this despot . He used this tragedy to further increase the powers of the presidency . He bombed Afghanistan and invaded it . He invaded Iraq without any apparent cause , ignoring the voice of the US public and the UN . He has violated human rights by setting up the Guantanamo Bay prison . Another major instance of the extraordinary power being assumed by the office of the president is the illegal surveillance of US citizens and the denial of the basic freedoms of information and privacy (Welch , 2006 .

. 389 . The foregoing indicates the manner in which executive privilege has tended to affect the powers of the presidency It must be borne in mind that such acts are not restricted to any particular president , therefore stringent measures have to be adopted to ensure that there is no misuse of executive privilege References

Dorf , M . C (2002 , February 6 . A BRIEF HISTORY OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON THROUGH DICK CHENEY . Retrieved November 17 , 2007 from FindLaw : http /writ .news .findlaw .com /dorf .html

Welch , S (2006 .

. 389 . American Government . Thomson Wadsworth . ISBN

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