AS.190.101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: John Stuart Mill, Enumerated Powers, Implied Powers
Document Summary
Relationship between these two institutions is important congress is the only democratic institution at the national level, although it is not as representative as it could be. The president can"t possibly represent all the people in a meaningful way. The alternative to committee behavior or collective decision-making is that one person governs. If the president is in charge long enough, they become too narcissistic. Although silly things happen in congress, it is the price of democracy, as it struggles with the executive. From the framers" understanding, members of legislature see the costs, while the president sees the glory side. For example, this is why the framers bestowed war powers onto congress because they would see war from the perspective of their constituents. With certain enumerated powers, there will be implied powers associated with them. For example, the president has the enumerated power to appoint certain officials. Therefore, it is implied that he or she can fire them as well.
