“nationalist” Presidency Does Not Support Claims for Expansive Presidential Power

The central premise of the theory of the nationalist presidency is that the President is the “true representative of the American people.” The Congress, in contrast, is parochial because its members have narrow, geographically bound constituencies that may not reflect the broader concerns of the nation as a whole. Thus, the nationalist presidency theorists contend, it is more consistent with democratic ideals to invest power in the nationalist presidency rather than in the parochial Congress. The presidency, they argue, is the more democratic branch. Proponents of the vision of the nationalist presidency point to two key factors in support of their thesis. The first is structural. The President is the only political official elected nationally under the Constitution. He is therefore the only elected officeholder who must respond to a national, as opposed to a local, constituency. Accordingly, he should be expected to represent and be accountable to national rather than parochial interests. The second factor pertains to the public’s expectations surrounding the presidency. The common, if not universal, perception in the current political climate is that the presidency, far more than the Congress, is the key institution in advancing the nation’s agenda and