A government of laws, not of men..

I'm sure you've heard of Barack Obama. I'm equally sure that you've probably read a lot about him, and thus may be about to click your back button to escape. I am going to talk about him a little, but just as a starting point, so don't be too discouraged just yet.

Things haven't been going so well for the President as his first year in office ticks away. His poll ratings are low, there's a great opposition to his healthcare plans, and just this week the democrats lost a Massachusetts senatorial seat (Massachusetts having returned democrats to the senate for the past 50 years plus).

I'm not going to go into the rights and wrongs of Obama's presidency (though I'm still a bit miffed about the Nobel prize he picked up. I guess Henry Kissinger got a peace prize for advocating the carpet bombing of Cambodia, so it's not the worst nomination). It seems he's taking a lot of flak for not pushing through the great agenda of change he promised, and that was instrumental in his sweeping electoral victory. Part of the blame does lay at his door, and we cannot forget the Republicans' amazing ability to delay and frustrate any legislative efforts by the democrat majority in both houses of Congress (consider their tabling of no fewer than 600 amendments to the healthcare bill, of which 160 were accepted as concessions by the democrats, and still it remains unpassed).

However, the real obstacle to Obama's reform agenda is a simple and brilliant (the second amendment right to bear arms aside) bundle of paper - the US Constitution.

It's a very simple set up. A President is elected by virtue of gaining a majority of electoral college votes, which is done by winning the most States in a popular election (note that some States carry dramatically more electoral college votes - California, for example, is a key state to win, whereas Alaska, far larger, carries few votes). The President is the head of the executive, and so appoints deputies as a 'cabinet'. This executive is responsible for day-to-day governance.

The key to Government and it's impact on people really lies within the legislature and judiciary, and this is where the Constitution really comes alive. Local voting in individual States every two years leads to the appointment of representatives in the lower legislature. Six yearly elections appoint Senators to the upper house. This ensures a very democratic representation of the people within the legislature. In addition, States may elect Senators of one party, but often Representatives of another. This ensures that there is a great mix and parity within the legislature. The two house system, with legislation needing majorities in both houses before Presidential approval, is the crux of it all. No law can pass through this process without being tempered and altered, without a broad consensus and agreement. Further to this, all States have their own federal legislatures to which decision making powers have been devolved, with elected Mayors and Governors responsible for local executive function.

This process was intended by the original signatories to the Constitution to ensure that radical legislation was hard to pass. It is a system designed with compromise in mind. Indeed, having struggled to escape the taxation and rule of the British monarchy, it can be seen as a direct opposition to that rule. It is a system built to ensure that no one man can ever wield too much power, and that those who do possess that power because the people will it.

This quote sums it up pretty well, I think -

'As our president bears no resemblance to a king so we shall see the Senate has no similitude to nobles. First, not being hereditary, their collective knowledge, wisdom, and virtue are not precarious. For by these qualities alone are they to obtain their offices, and they will have none of the peculiar qualities and vices of those men who possess power merely because their father held it before them.
Tench Coxe, An American Citizen, No.2, September 28, 1787'

The judiciary is slightly more problematic. The Constitution establishes the Supreme Court as the highest court of the land, which is the ultimate arbiter of whether any acts are constitutional. As such, in a way it has a power above the other branches of the legislature and executive.

However, again, this is neatly tempered by the provisions allowing Congress to establish other courts beneath it, and it is the President who appoints judges to the bench. Ultimately, once appointed, Supreme Court Justices have a great safety of tenure, and although their appointments are often political in nature, they may choose whatever path they wish (an excellent example was David Souter, appointed by the Republicans, who would go on to be about as liberal a Judge as any, much to the GOP's consternation).

Of course, several Justices sit on the Supreme Court Bench, and majorities make decisions. Again, we see that the amount of power available is spread between individuals. But vitally, for a functioning judiciary, there is a great deal of independence from the executive and legislature.

It is a wonderful, brilliantly thought out arrangement. When one looks at the 'elective dictatorship' that exists in the UK, where the first past the post system, an impotent House of Lords, and the whips give parties crushing majorities. With the executive dominating the legislature, it is hard not to be envious of the American system. Thankfully, the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 has moved the highest court of appeal to a new Supreme Court outside of the Lords, and judges are now appointed by an independent commission - thus the British can at least claim a properly independent judiciary!

Indeed, whilst there may be disaffection with Obama, I feel that Americans can still have great reason to be proud. Their Constitution, nigh unchanged for 230 years is still doing its job. To negotiate it, one must cajole, persuade, and bargain. No one man can ever dominate, in the 'government of laws, not of men'. In concluding, I say simply, do not be frustrated with the man. Be honoured to live under the system. It may not be perfect, but it comes closer than anything else before or since. It's doing its job, exactly as it was meant to.