Obama as an Imperial President - Essay Example

Political Science The election of president Obama into office was perceived as a change in the political leadership of the United States. The assumption that he was the first African-American president influenced the perception that his time in office would be a new and perfect experience in the United States. However, in the second term of his presidency numerous perceptions of his presidency have been developed to depict his failures. Regardless of normal performance shortcomings, President Obama’s reign has been referred to as dictatorial.

Occasionally, the President has acted in disregard of other law-making bodies in the government. For this reason, I would describe Obama as an imperial president. Thurber defines an imperial president as the president with massive similarities to a king (303). In this form of leadership, the king makes the final decision regardless of the opinion shared by other forms of leadership. For instance, the creation of Obama Care was hyped to change the effectiveness of health care delivery in the United States.

However, numerous flaws on the health care system were reported (Thurber 123). The congress has the role of ensuring the flaws in the system were corrected. However, President Obama changed Obama Care 22 times without consideration of the opinion of the congress. In addition, the President asserted that he does not mind the different opinions raised that may improve the quality of health care system. This instance depicts numerous occasions the Obama administration had evaded laws that may not support its interests (Thurber 80).

For this reason, one may refer to the President as an imperial president. The President and Congress relationship In an argument by Thurber, the interaction between the president and the congress is based on the influence of the president on the body (98). The author further points out that the president and the congress should share the same interests. This is based on that; the congress may either accept or reject a presidential authorization. In the instance when the president disagrees with the congress, there are risks that laws would not be passed.

In addition, the congress can overturn a ruling made by the president in an instance when the body is not consulted. However, to overturn the ruling of the president, the congress requires a two-thirds majority vote (Thurber 236). For this reason, one may point out that the congress and the executive must agree on legislation to be passed. However, if the president has the power to influence votes in the congress, he may acquire massive support. Thurber the same is of the assumption that the congress can only work well with the president if the two branches share the same opinion on the issue (102).

In addition, the president may have the support if his party is well represented in the congress. Consequently, the function of the senate is determined by the ability of the president to influence decision making. However, the congress plays a major role in minimizing cases of imperialism in executive decision making. The relationship is well developed and based on political supremacy between the two branches.Work CitedThurber, James. Rivals for Power: Presidential-Congressional Relations. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2013. Print.