Submitted by IceCreamYou on Sun, 12/21/2008 - 9:34am
Obama has raised his sights on the number of jobs he wants to create in the next two years to 3 million after reports projected that 4 million would be lost if no action was taken. He challenged his economic team to "think bolder" and outside traditional Washington politics. Biden will reportedly be heading a team tasked with expanding the middle class.
Mon, 12/22/2008 - 10:50pm
#2
VP power has been increasing steadily, along with the power of the president, for the last 40 years or so. Traditionally the VP is primarily a diplomat who interacts with foreign statesmen in much the same capacity as the Secretary of State. In fact, it used to be that the Sec. of State job was the stepping-stone to the presidency; now, the VP job is.
But yes, Cheney facilitated that jump.
Wed, 12/24/2008 - 2:08pm
#3
Cheney facilitated that jump.
But, Cheney only accepted the Vice Presidential nomination under the condition that he would not run for President. I agree that the VP is now the one most likely to succeed to the President after the President's terms are over, but that custom obviously began long before Cheney.
The evolution of the role of VP is interesting though--in previous elections, the VP hasn't really mattered much, as is obvious: the 2008 campaign was the first to feature a VP debate.
Even more interesting, though, is the point that Ice brought up: the Executive branch has become more and more powerful in recent history, which is slightly scary when we consider that it was originally meant to be the least powerful of all branches.
Wed, 12/24/2008 - 10:56pm
#4
Power is good in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. All too often, it is mismanaged.
I would argue that the executive branch has usually gotten stronger because the legislative and judicial branches have gotten weaker, rather than of its own accord.
It's interesting how much hype the VP's got this year. According to the constitution pretty all the VP does is wait for the president to die and break senate ties. I guess the increased VP power started with Cheney although he was more behind the scene.