Abe Song 02/19/13 P6 Article Review Facebook, Youtube, and CNN.

Wherever I go online, I always see comments about the president of the United States. Internet users constantly show their support or disdain for him. When I see the letter kind of comments, I wonder if the commentators actually understand what it is like to be the president of the United States. In the article, The Presidency in a Separated System, Charles O. Jones offers his theory of what presidency, a very complex set of responsibilities that voters often over-simplify in order to define it the way they like it. The very first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of the president, is the most powerful man in the United States, and one of the most powerful people in the world. But is he really? Having been regular people, the citizens often do not realize the difficulties the president has to deal with. Jones asserts that For presidents, to recognize the limitations of office is commendable, thus disillusioning the ignorant mass that wants to believe that the president has power to do anything. However, the Founding Fathers established the American government with three branchesthe executive, legislative, and judiciaryso that one would not dominate. In fact, they wanted the legislative branch to be the first branch of the government. Despite being the first branch, the Congress does not get as much attention as the president does from the media because it is too diffuse, where as there is only one president at a time. Also, the public views the White House as a symbol of the government, an opinion that excessively increases the voters expectations of a presidents personal, political, institutional, or constitutional capacities.

The structure of the American government prevents the president from working to his full potential. Jones writes, Election does not guarantee power in the American political system. Rather it legitimizes the effort of a president to lead. Note the words legitimizes and effort. It is indeed a bit discouraging to see that what the public wants to believe, that the president of the United Sates is the most powerful person in the nation, is not necessarily true (with an exception of FDR). The opponents of the president, those who are capable of stopping him from taking certain actions, are always present therefore, regardless the good intentions, the president will, most of the time, have a hard time passing some beneficial bills for his people. Jones compares passing of laws to production of sausage, one does not want to look closely at how either sausage or laws are made Those he disagree with this quote about passage of laws, he still admits that there are infinite number of mutations that are bound to challenge the analyst and the reformer, meaning it is virtually impossible to get the exact law that one wants. If it is so hard to get things done, should the separated system be reformed? Jones argues that since there is no one formula by which president and Congress do their work, the object of reform is not easy to stipulate, nor are the effects of reorganization highly predictable. The American government is a separated system after all, so presidency watchers should not isolate one branch from the other or concentrate on only one president or Congress. Jones vindicates the president by showing the readers that the president has no option but to work within certain limitations posed by the structure of the American government.