It’s not often appreciated that the office of President of
the United States actually has a job description. Most of it can be found in
Section 2 of Article II of the Constitution:
“The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when
called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the
Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive
Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective
Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences
against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
“He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of
the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present
concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges
of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose
Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such
inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts
of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
“The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies
that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which
shall expire at the End of their next Session.” [1]
Then there is Section 3 of the same Article:
“He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information
of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures
as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions,
convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between
them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time
as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public
Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall
Commission all the Officers of the United States.”
So the president is to, among other things, be the
commander-in-chief of the military, decide on the granting of pardons for
federal crimes, make treaties, make recommendations to Congress, and ensure
that all federal laws are properly executed. A job like that calls for quite a
skill set. It requires a certain level of facility in military matters, foreign
policy, law, and law enforcement. How will we ever find qualified people?
Let’s suppose we’re starting the country today, and that we
have to decide the best method of selecting an individual who will meet the
requirements. Let us further imagine that someone proposes that we will select
this person by means of a nationwide vote involving every citizen, above
18-years-old, who wishes to participate, who will make their decision based on
what they see on television.
That’s ridiculous. Isn’t it?
Much has been said lately about the need to abolish the
Electoral College, and let the popular vote prevail. That would probably be an
improvement on our current method of electing presidents, where in all but two
states, a candidate who receives only a plurality of votes, no matter how
narrowly, gets all of the electoral votes from a given state. But what if,
instead of abolishing the Electoral College, we restored it?
As originally conceived, the electors weren’t pledged to any
one candidate. They would be selected in the manner chosen by their state
legislatures, and meet in their respective states to cast their ballot. In
other words, electors were originally conceived as actual electors, rather than
rubber stamps for political parties.
This could still be done today. Under such a scheme, the
popular vote would be for the electors; the people would choose those they
believed to have the judgment best suited for the selection of a president. Between
the election of the electors and the presidential election, the electors could
interview any number of people for the position, and not just those who were running
for office. In fact, if our nation became one day truly blessed and fortunate,
running for the office of president would be considered a classless act.
Such a system would have some marked advantages. First of
all, we would have the comfortable knowledge that we were operating the system
in the manner in which it was designed. Secondly, the electors would be capable
of making the penetrating investigation that really is necessary in the selection
of a president. Thirdly, we would be spared the circus we witness every four
years wherein people paradoxically demean themselves in order to attain higher
office.
Of course the Electoral College system was designed without
political parties in mind, and would run much better without them. But getting
rid of the parties is another subject for another time.
