Working Government

Does government continue to function as it should, when the elected officials don't do their jobs???? Why would the American public allow this to continue? The second part of the question has to do with the current chapter...What are the characteristics of a good President? A leader? Do they quit before the game is over??

When the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, one of the main priorities they had on the table was how to avoid a system of tyranny or anarchy. By electing to use a representative democracy, they took the direct rule out of the people’s hands and prevented the forming of a small group of people dominating the rest of the country. Because of their brilliance to separate the powers and diversify the branches jobs, as well as check each other’s power, our government runs effectively. In order for representative democracy to work however, the system is not supposed to make it easy for those working in it. If it were easy take control of the country, then our government is not doing its job in insuring the protection of the people. Representatives and Senators are elected, whether they view it as a trustee or a delegate position, in order to be the voices of the people. The different branches are supposed to make it hard on each other to amend the basic structure of the Constitution or pass laws. Even if the government appears to be at a standstill, it is only because the congressmen, justices, and president are doing their job and keeping it from being removed from the people. That being said, it is true that the government in many aspects can be inefficient. Certain problems in the country need to be dealt with quickly as well as effectively. Because of the slow process of our system, some parts of the government can be counterproductive instead of helping the country. What is important, however, is to make sure that the US’s initial structure is intact and not crumbling, for how can a government improve itself if it is unsteady at its base? It is the strength in the foundation that keeps our government moving. Even if the system is not as speedy as we wish it was on occasion, it is only through our faith in our government as US citizens that has kept our representative democracy steady since the 1700’s and continue to do so in the future.

As far as leaders go, the President is the most significant and important leader in the US. Presidents should be diplomatic and charismatic people who are willing to go beyond the normal working hours to put in the effort to lead the country. Presidents, as a national figure elected by the entire US, represent the face of the American people both nationally and internationally. Presidents should be able to interact with foreign officials to make negotiations, as well as socialize with their citizens on a normal basis. Presidents have a maximum of eight years to run the executive branch, which can create a decade of national controversy or prosperity; many times the party is blamed for presidential failure. For the citizens themselves, they look to a few characteristics in a President for good leadership: honesty, people skills, voting record, campaign contributors, military background, religion/religious affiliation, and spouses. In the American people’s minds, honesty and integrity are key for leadership, as well as how they interact with people: their tactics with handling certain political situations. They also look for the official’s previous political opinions through the voting record, who contributed money to their campaign for whatever reason, and especially honesty with campaign contributions. For the president, military background is an important feature, as they are the Commander in Chief of the US’s armed forces. Also for the president, their home life, in the form of their spouse and religious activities, is important in defining character, as well as swaying votes. Spouses, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, can be very influential in the Presidential politics.