Let me start by saying that I support President Bush, and I support the war on terrorism. I voted for Bush, and I would do so again if he were able to run again. But that's not what this blog is about.
My question is what is the role of the president. Regardless of my beliefs, the polls show that most Americans DISagree with the war in Iraq. But even with that, our president continues to send troops, because he believes it's the best thing for our country. So, here's my question....in our democratic/democracy government, is the president's role to do what the majority of the people he represents thinks he should do, or is it his role to do what HE believes is best for the country, regardless of what anyone else thinks? I'm not sure....
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I think of it this way: most people would like to eliminate taxes. That would probably be the popular opinion. But they are needed to make keep the country together. So, the president has to keep those taxes in place, even thought they aren't popular.
(now, whether they are sending those taxes wisely is another debate....)
It's not really an either/or - it's both. Sometimes he has to make the decisions that he feels are best, and some times he listens to popular opinion.
I predicted the day that America went to Afghanistan that the American public would not have the patience to support the war on terror to its full end. It will still be at least a decade before anyone can truthfully, honestly say whether we won or lost, or whether it was a good or bad idea. It just takes that long to do these things.
in our democratic/democracy government, is the president's role to do what the majority of the people he represents thinks he should do, or is it his role to do what HE believes is best for the country, regardless of what anyone else thinks?
Depends on the issue. If it's moral, then he needs to do what he thinks is right. That's why what your candidate actually believes about moral issues matters.
If it's war...the constitution has given him the authority over our military as commander in chief. That's his job. But the constitution allows for checks and balances even on that. Congress can choose not to fund the war.
If it's political issues, like welfare, health care or whatever. It seems that he needs to listen to the people, and then do what he thinks is best.
I have always supported the "Delegate" theory of representative government as opposed to the "Trustee" theory. Usually, that is applied to legislators (whether on the national or state level), but I guess it can apply eqaully to the President. I think our representatives have to do what they think is best despite the views of the represented. If enough people disagree with the Representative often enough, that person will be voted out, but will have held fast to his convictions.
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