WASHINGTON, D.C. Copyright © 2008 by the Cato Institute. All rights reserved. First paperback printing: 2009 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Healy, Gene, 1970–The cult of the presidency : America’s dangerous devotion to executive power / Gene Healy. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-933995-15-1 (cloth: alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-933995-19-9 (paper: alk. paper) 1. Presidents- -United States. 2. Executive power- -United States. 3. Executive-legislative relations- -United States. 4. United States- -Politics and government- -2001– I. Cato Institute. II. Title. JK585.H43 2008 352.230973- -dc22 2008005701 Cover design by Jon Meyers. Printed in the United States of America. C ATOINSTITUTE1000 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20001 www.cato.org Contents Acknowledgements T Introduction T Introduction T Introduction T Introduction T Introduction T Introduction T Introduction 1. Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers T 2. ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency T ‘‘Progress’’ and the Presidency 3. The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T The Age of the Heroic Presidency T 4. Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall T Hero Takes a Fall 5. Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T Superman Returns T 6. War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T War President T T War President T 7. Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T Omnipotence and Impotence T 8. Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse T Why the Worst Get on Top . . . and Get Worse 9. Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Toward Normalcy T Afterword: Our Continuing Cult of the T Afterword: Our Continuing Cult of the Presidency solve—problems that may well be beyond the capacity of anypoliti- cal institution, however constituted, to solve. As Theodore Lowi has suggested, the ‘‘Pogo Principle’’ is the key factor behind our metastasizing executive branch: ‘‘We have met the enemy, and he is us.’’ The irrational expectations we invest in the office drive the growth of presidential power. When you ask a man to perform miracles, don’t be surprised when he seeks powers to match that responsibility. And, having demanded the impossible, don’t be sur- prised when you’re disappointed with the results. A lot has happened since The Cult of the Presidencywas first pub- lished. But through the long campaign and the dawning of the Obama era, nothing has emerged to undermine the book’s basic themes. We continue to reward candidates who dream big and promise miracles. Congress remains as eager as ever to abandon its constitutional responsibilities—handing the president vast powers to fight the War on Terror and, increasingly, to reshape the economy as well. In the midst of crisis, all eyes still turn to the chief executive, demanding presidential rescue plans for anything that ails the body politic. The president continues to use the language of war and emergency to stoke public demands for bold executive action. And as ever before, crisis is the health of the presidency. Barack Obama is a fascinating and frustrating figure, whose views on the president’s role are riddled with tensions. On the campaign trail, Obama simultaneously promised to roll back executive power and to greatly expand the bounties that the president can provide. And, whether by accident or design, he’s become the focal point of an enormous and unsettling cult of personality. How will those tensions play out in the years to come? Will Obama make good on his promise to end presidential excesses in the fight against terrorism, restoring the rule of law and, as he put it in his inaugural address, reconciling ‘‘our safety and our ideals’’? Will he prove the cynics wrong and radically reshape the American political landscape? Or will the scale of his ambitions prove too vast? Predicting the future is always a risky enterprise, but the smart money says that Obama’s will be a failed presidency. That does not mean, however, that he will leave the office weaker than he found it. When Obama’s tenure comes to a close, four or eight years from now, he’ll probably end up one of the least popular presidents in the modern era—and also one of the most powerful. 301 T Afterword: Our Continuing Cult of the Presidency T Afterword: Our Continuing Cult of the Presidency T Afterword: Our Continuing Cult of the Presidency T Afterword: Our Continuing Cult of the Presidency T Afterword: Our Continuing Cult of the Presidency T Notes N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N Index I I I I I I I I I I About the Author Cato Institute