President of the West (a/k/a Leader of the Free World): Acts as spokesman for the Free World
Chief Diplomat: Represents the country in foreign affairs
Chief of State: Serves as the ceremonial head of government at public functions.
Protector of the Peace: Preserves order in times of national emergency
Chief of Party: Heads chosen political party
Chief Economic Leader/Manager of the Prosperity: Engineers economic controls to maintain a stable economy
Voice of the People: Represents the wishes of the general public
Chief Legislator: Initiates possible legislation and works with Congress to achieve the administration’s goals.
Chief Executive: Oversees the operation of government agencies; appoints cabinet members, agency heads and other officials; and sees that laws are properly enforced.
Commander in Chief: Heads the military branches
“Over the years, the President’s congressional messages have assumed greater and greater importance. Two of them, the annual ‘State of the Union’ and budget messages, given at the opening of each new session, today incorporate the bulk of the President’s legislative program. So important, indeed, has the State of the Union message become that it is awaited with intense interest by Congress and the people alike, and is given general priority in the legislative proceedings thereafter.
“Mr. Truman was not exaggerating much when he told an informal gathering of the Jewish War Veterans in 1948: ‘I make American foreign policy.’
“His (the President’s) is the only national voice in affairs. Let him once win the admiration and confidence of the country, and no other single force can withstand him, no combination of forces will easily overpower him. His position takes the imagination of the country. He is the representative of no constituency, but of the whole people. When he speaks in his true character, he speaks for no special interest. If he rightly interprets the national thought and boldly insist upon it, he is irresistible; and the country never feels the zest for action so much as when its President is of such insight and caliber.
“His (the President’s) is the only national voice in affairs. Let him once win the admiration and confidence of the country, and no other single force can withstand him, no combination of forces will easily overpower him. His position takes the imagination of the country. He is the representative of no constituency, but of the whole people. When he speaks in his true character, he speaks for no special interest. If he rightly interprets the national thought and boldly insist upon it, he is irresistible; and the country never feels the zest for action so much as when its President is of such insight and caliber.
“Yet if he is to persuade Congress, if he is to achieve a loyal and cohesive administration, if he is to be elected in the first place (and re-elected in the second), he must put his hand firmly on the plow of politics. The head of the government in a constitutional democracy must be the nation’s number one boss, and most Presidents have no trouble swallowing the truth.”
“ . . . the modern President is, whether we or our friends abroad like it or not, marked out for duty as a World Leader. The President has a much larger constituency than the American electorate: his words and deeds in behalf of our own survival as a free nation have a direct bearing upon the freedom and stability of at least a dozen, perhaps even two dozen other countries.”
“As figurehead rather than working heads of our government, he greets distinguished visitors from all parts of the world, lays wreaths on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and before the statue of Lincoln, makes proclamations of thanksgiving and commemoration, bestows medals on flustered pilots, holds state dinners for the diplomatic corps and the Supreme Court, lights the nation’s Christmas tree, buys the first poppy from the Veterans’ of Foreign Wars, gives the first crisp banknote to the Red Cross . . . rolls the first egg for the Easter Bunny, and in the course of any month greets a fantastic procession of firemen, athletes, veterans, Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls, boosters, hog callers, exchange students, and heroic school children.”
“He reigns, but he also rules; he symbolizes the people, but he also runs their government.”
“The Congress hereby declares (Sec. 2 of the Employment Act of 1946) that it is the continuing policy and responsibility of the Federal Government to use all practicable means consistent with its needs and obligations and other essential considerations of national policy, with the assistance and cooperation of industry, agriculture, labor, and State and local governments to coordinate and utilize all its plans, functions, and resources for the purpose of maintaining, in a manner calculated to foster and promote free competitive enterprise and the general welfare, conditions under which there will be afforded useful employment opportunities, including self-employment, for those able, willing and seeking to work, and to promote maximum employment, production and purchasing power.”
“The emergencies that can disturb the peace of the United States seem to grow thicker and more vexing every year, and hardly a week now goes by that the President is not called upon to take forceful steps in behalf of a section or city or group or enterprise that has been hit hard and suddenly by disaster . . . No man or combination of men in the United States can muster so quickly and authoritatively the troops, experts, food, money, loans, equipment, medical supplies, and moral support that may be needed in a disaster.”
