Andrew Rudalevige's "The New Imperial Presidency"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews Andrew Rudalevige's 2005 book "The New Imperial Presidency: Renewing Presidential Power after Watergate," which discusses the tendency of U.S. presidents to abuse their power and the constitutional role of Congress in keeping their power in check. The author explains how this precarious balance has been swayed in favor of the powers of the chief executive by wars and the national fear of the Soviets and communism, as well as by corruption in the White House. Rudalevige suggests that since only Congress can limit the power of the chief executive, it must exercise its right to do so if America is to retain a healthy balance of power between the legislature and the presidency.

From the Paper:

"However, as quickly as Congress tried to check executive authority, presidents tried to reassert their imperial power. To demonstrate how this has affected recent history, Rudalevige begins with the current Bush Administration's war on Iraq in his book. The Bush Administration is clearly his inspiration for his historical overview. Contrary to the lack of support the administration has in the legislature today, at the time of the beginning of the war, Congress was willing to accept the administration's assertion that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and some legislators stated openly that the president must "know more" than did the congress (12). Congress even put forth the president's tax cut bills without question and declared French fries to be replaced by freedom fries at the congressional cafeteria, because of the French condemnation of the war effort. "As 2002 closed, observers suggested that Bush had created one of the most powerful White Houses in at least a generation" (12)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Rudalevige, Andrew. The New Imperial Presidency: Renewing Presidential Power after Watergate. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005.

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