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Federalist No. 70: Is the President Too Powerful?
Author(s) -
Pfiffner James P.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02470.x
Subject(s) - federalist , reset (finance) , george (robot) , government (linguistics) , political science , law , public administration , law and economics , sociology , politics , economics , philosophy , history , financial economics , linguistics , art history
Federalist No. 70 sets the stage for a powerful chief executive through its emphasis on energy in the executive. This essay reviews the challenges of holding this energy accountable in a republican form of government and concludes that recent presidents have stretched their authorities beyond even the most aggressive defense of the concept. Comparing presidents Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush, the author concludes that the founders never intended to give any president authority to suspend the law during emergencies. His appendix to Federalist No. 70 is designed to both restate and reset the debate about just how far presidents may go in pursuit of national goals.