01 June 2010

Keep this straight

Things the President definitely cannot do:
1) Leap buildings in a single bound and run faster than a speeding train
2) Command oil/gas prices to go up or down
3) Fix oil leaks. Or fire the people who can't.
4) Bowling
5) Start wars (directly anyway, there's supposed to be this Congress thing that does that)
6) Increase your taxes (directly anyway, regulatory leeway is pretty high, for some reason, and is a form of taxation)
7) Give people jobs
8) Fix the monetary (AD) problem. (That's a Bernanke thing)

Things the President can do, but hasn't seemed able to do
1) Give people jobs (in his administration through appointments, many blocked by Republicans)
2) Pick Final Four teams
3) Point and mock political adversaries when they are being idiots (probably for the best, there would be little time for actual work)
4) Order the FDA/DEA to change their raid policies on medical marijuana producers (and quit calling for the extradition of distributors in Canada and Jamaica).

Things the President can do, but shouldn't be able to do (legally)
1) Order assassinations of American citizens
2) Order wiretaps without warrants
3) Pretty much anything listed under that annoying 4th Amendment.
4) Detain foreigners without charges

I find it amusing that pundits spend time strutting and fretting about powers the President doesn't have, and doesn't even want, when there's a few that he does that ought to be a bit more disconcerting.

1 comment:

Kyla Denae said...

Indeed, indeed. *thumbsup*