U.S. Presidential Election

[Vamerica]

I have one name. Obama

[CornField]

As for whether the President has any "real power", seriously... whenever he says something wrong, the stock prices drop and the oil prices raise.

And same holds true for the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank.  Should I be concerned about his lack of foreign policy experience?  

As CornField pointed out, the real power in the United States is in the Congress, not the Executive Branch, all the implications of an "Imperial Presidency" notwithstanding.  In the end, the President can only do what Congress funds him for.  No funding=no action.  Period.  It is the power of the purse.

The President is the most over-rated position there is.  His real power is limited.  In every case I can think of since I was born, he is elected based on promises that he has no authority to keep.  The President cannot enact universal healthcare or the FairTax or make a cut in spending - all of that is the purview of Congress, as is the funding and declaration of war.  He can't even propose the bills for any of these items.  More than anything else, he is the saber-rattler in chief.

Yes, you should be concerned about Ben Bernancke's lack of foreign policy experience.  I know I am concerned.   Alan Greespan's tenure as the Fed Chief showed us exactly how powerful this appointed position really is.

Technically, the President has exactly the same power to propose a bill to Congress as any citizen of voting age.  He still has to get a Congressperson to introduce it.  The main difference is his access to Congresspersons.  The War Powers Emergency Act allows the President to send forth troops in defense of 'national interests', it also allows him to maintain a state of conflict for a certain period of days without a formal approval from Congress.(either 30 or 60 days, its been many years since my last government class)

But at the end of the day it really does come down to 'who has the checkbook'.....

[CornField]

I have one name. Obama

One question, why?

[Vamerica]

well im not like NwaBoy that doesn't do research. I have done research on the internet kept to the news and had a class on the running of president. And I just found that he is a better choice

[OAAir]

War Powers allows for 60 days.  The problem is that the Constitutionality of the Act is still in question.  As long as that question hangs out there, it really acts as a restriction on the freedom of the President to act freely - even in an emergency situation.

And you are right about the President being able to propose bills like anyone else.  I meant to say that he could not sponsor a bill on the floor on Congress.  Sometimes the semantics DO matter.

[nwadeltaboy]

well im not like NwaBoy that doesn't do research. I have done research on the internet kept to the news and had a class on the running of president. And I just found that he is a better choice

:x oh, i do research alright.  and every time Obama has prevailed.

[OAAir]

well im not like NwaBoy that doesn't do research. I have done research on the internet kept to the news and had a class on the running of president. And I just found that he is a better choice

:x oh, i do research alright.  and every time Obama has prevailed.

OK, you two.  I am the proverbial "undecided" voter.  Use your research to tell me WHY Obama is the better choice.  Give me facts and data.  This is your opportunity to "sell" your candidate.

[Vamerica]

Well vote for him because im 13. If you don't................................

[nwadeltaboy]

Doug, what the are you doing?  Talk! :x

i put that smiley in there, not the admins.  its such a fun smiley!

[nwadeltaboy]

here, just browse his site.  it's got loads of good stuff about him.

[Vamerica]

Obama is a pluss in everything. He is in for eco and new cleaner fuels witch Im all for. and well NwaBoy you finish if you did your research.

[nwadeltaboy]

like Vamerica said, he is all for the environment and of course education.  If you have kids you will understand how important their education is.  Same for all the millions of other children in the US with neglegated educational needs.

Obama has been a leader on educational issues throughout his career. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama was a leader on early childhood education, helping create the state's Early Learning Council. In the U.S. Senate, Obama has been a leader in working to make college more affordable. His very first bill sought to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100. As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, Obama helped pass legislation to achieve that goal in the recent improvements to the Higher Education Act. Obama has also introduced legislation to create Teacher Residency Programs and to increase federal support for summer learning opportunities.

[CornField]

War Powers allows for 60 days.  The problem is that the Constitutionality of the Act is still in question.  As long as that question hangs out there, it really acts as a restriction on the freedom of the President to act freely - even in an emergency situation.

And that there is what makes me laught the hardest about the War Powers......

Its almost as old as me, and its still not a settled issue......

[CornField]

like Vamerica said, he is all for the environment and of course education.  If you have kids you will understand how important their education is.  Same for all the millions of other children in the US with neglegated educational needs.

Obama has been a leader on educational issues throughout his career. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama was a leader on early childhood education, helping create the state's Early Learning Council. In the U.S. Senate, Obama has been a leader in working to make college more affordable. His very first bill sought to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100. As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, Obama helped pass legislation to achieve that goal in the recent improvements to the Higher Education Act. Obama has also introduced legislation to create Teacher Residency Programs and to increase federal support for summer learning opportunities.

You two do realize that:

A:  That website is basically a big marketing ad for him....
B:   He is the junior senator from Illinois, and in his first term in the US Senate.  So he gets the most meaningless committee appointments.  When a Senator 'helps' pass a bill, all that means is that they co-sponsored some bill and voted for it.  There is no limit of the number of co-sponsors a bill can have.
C:  I live in Illinois.  I am more than aware of his less than stellar record in the Illinois State Legislature.

[Blue Sky Mine]

B.  The Office of the President has very little real power, he can propose things, he can send troops out in an emergency situation, but realistically Congress wields the power.  But that is the way the founding fathers set it up on purpose.

Your president does have a lot of power in comparison to other countries.

As a parent, McCain would be the only current canidate  I would feel right about sending soliders into action.  He has the first hand knowledge of what challenges those men and women would face and the outcomes of them.

I just hope he remembers what he saw as a soldier- that will very likely prevent him from invading countries!

I fully believe that China will launch an offensive war within the next 40 years.  No communist system has lasted more than 100 years.  China's manufacturing economy is growing too quickly and their agriculture suffers because of it.  Already at this point they can't feed their current population, and that problem is only going to worsen.  The triple effects of shrinking agriculture output, increasing enviromental damage, increasing population is going to force them into some kind of action.

China isn't like all these other communist nations that went down the drain. Actually, I wouldn't call China a communist nation any more. They just changed too many things: You can own stuff, you can travel, they invest into their infrastructure, they attracted investors etc. They