Political science essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political science - Essay Example There are safeguards put in place by the founding fathers to prevent power from being concentrated in just one man, precisely to forestall the tyranny they had suffered from its colonial master of Great Britain and its king. The government is composed of its three co-equal and independent branches which are the presidency, the legislature or Congress (Senate and the lower House) and also its judiciary. These three branches serve as check and balance on each other so that no one in government accumulates so much power that can give rise to dictators and despots. With presidential elections scheduled next year and Pres. Barack Obama up for a re-election, political discourse is rightfully focused on the awesome powers of the presidency. However, the checks and balances that the three co-equal branches of the federal government mandates the U.S. president to operate within the bounds of law referred to as the â€Å"separation of powers concept† in governance (Hargrove 8). This set-up stifles what the president can do and cannot do; this may be the cause of some disappointment expressed by U.S. citizens. Constraints – it is not very correct to think that the American president today is a weak president. Pres. Obama has to contend with the powers of Congress to more effectively govern because the Democrats lost a lot during the last mid-term elections in November 2010. Public discontent had translated into the loss of six Senate seats, more than sixty House seats and ten governorships which strengthened the hand of the Republican Party. The president is no longer in command of both houses of the Congress which means it is now more difficult to pass new legislation, such as resolving the debt ceiling limits and federal budget deficits. The recommended cuts are still being debated until now with no results (Newton-Small 1) but the president can cite some solid achievements, namely passing the stimulus act which prevented another Great