George W. Bush had Senioritis, Too

The American form of government, with its intricate system of checks and balances, is, to a certain extent, slacker-proof. It is resilient enough to withstand everything from the Watergate Scandal to various sex scandals- times when government officials were clearly devoting their time to things other than national issues- but, having that said there is a time when too much slacking can have detrimental consequences within our government. People still need to do their jobs.
Slacking is more prevalent but less visible in the House of Representatives. There are almost 500 representatives in the House, one would think that they would be able to get a ton of things done, and sometimes they do, but often they are distracted by the next election cycle. Small committees do all of the research on large, substantial bills that are passed. This has worked out efficiently for our government. This system is also utilized in the United States Senate. Not all 535 of them can read and create bills in a timely fashion, so the slacking on the part of the representatives that are not in the committee that creates the bill is completely justified. Just this week, however, a new precedent of slacking has plagued the floor of our House and Senate. A 1,100 page, 787 billion dollar stimulus plan has passed through both chambers of congress without anyone reading it in its entirety. Slacking cannot exist in this form under our government. In times of economic recession, our country and our government is already on its knees. For another 787 billion dollars without even the lawmakers knowing where exactly it is going, could have a serious backlash. Our government is strong enough for slacking, but its strength is derived from the diligence of its officials, not their laziness. Our government relies upon the drive of its officials. When they fail to do their jobs, the nation suffers, and our government suffers, but the system endures. Congressmen have the leeway to slack off, and they do to a certain degree, but in the end, our government cannot function if someone is not getting the job done.
The president of the United States, under close scrutiny by the media, and by extension the entire population of the country, has the least amount of room to slack. The President does not have the option to just sit back and say, “Screw it; this is just too much work.” He has the ability to delegate duties to his cabinet and advisors, he can have information presented to him rather than finding it himself, but at the end of the day he really cannot get by without doing his job. Unlike congress, with 534 other members to dilute the laziness of a single member, the President’s actions and failure to act are augmented by the fact that there is only one President of the United States. The president is continuously being checked by public opinion and graded with regards to his predecessors’ successes and failures. There is not room for a president to not do his job. During the end of his term in office, the president is less motivated and less moved by the expanse of opportunity, and can get by doing less work than in his first years in office. This type of idleness was executed by George W. Bush during his last months in office while faced with the receding economy. He did not have the inspiration to create new legislature to protect and reboot the economy, instead, he allowed a 350 billion dollar stimulus plan to go straight into the pockets of banking executives. This, much like the passing of the 787 dollar stimulus plan without anyone having read it, is too lackadaisical. Had Bush acted with this kind of laziness throughout his presidency, he could have single-handedly ruined the United States Government.
Our government does rely on its elected official and their ability to do their jobs. This is part of the reason why the public conception of the president is polled and monitored. It puts more pressure on the president to do his job. Congressmen and the President alike need the responsibility of being held accountable for their laziness, and for their achievements. Part of the reason that Franklin D. Roosevelt is commemorated for being such a great president, is because after four terms in the white house, he was not plagued by the end-of-term weariness. He continued with governmental programs and fireside chats that kept the public in tune with his actions. A great president cannot be lazy; an effective congressman cannot fail to understand the bills he votes for. Our government’s greatness comes from its officials’ actions, and its weaknesses are exacerbated by the laziness of its representatives, along with their inability to act. The more attentive our President and congressmen are, the more effectively our government runs. I am sure that the founding fathers pictured this effective government in action, rather than 536 individual slackers.