Policies for a President

A Manifesto for 2008 and Beyond

This book does propose Policies for a President, and the author hopes that the candidates for that office will take heed, 2008 being the year of an important and highly contested Presidential election. But, as the subtitle A Manifesto for 2008 and Beyond suggests, the message is not confined to this year, but looks ahead to the America of the future.

More important than the offer of advice to candidates is the message to the American people - to every voter: Take careful account of the policies and the goals that you really want the President to pursue. What is your vision for America, for yourself, your children and grandchildren? What policies of a President will lead us in that direction? How can they be implemented? And what policies and actions of Presidents in the past have carried us forward in the right direction, and what policies and actions have gone astray and set us back?

In seeking to find answers to those questions, the histories of Presidential policies and actions in various fields are reviewed and analyzed. At many times and in many cases those policies and actions achieved or contributed to advances in our democracy and in our lives and happiness. Through most of our history America has achieved great success. It began with the courage and wisdom of our forefathers who rejected monarchial dominance and created a republic of the people, represented by a Congress of their own chioce. The Constitution established by our forefathers has withstood the tests of time and conflict, including the Civil War which resulted in amendments to the Constitution introducing new levels of freedom and democracy. The struggle to bring those new freedoms to fruition for everyone is not yet fully accomplished; it survived a great economic depression and a devastating World War, and still goes on.

That struggle for the further perfection of our democracy now faces new challenges from war, terrorism, the spread of nuclear and rocket technology, the rising economies around the world rivaling our own, and possibly from climate changes induced by human activites. Those are all subjects explored in this book. They have all been the subject of Presidential policies for many decades. The policies of the present administration, coming to an end in 2008, are a particular target of this book, and are herein disapproved in many respects. That is not to say that previous administrations are given unfettered applause; on the contrary there is plenty of blame to go around. As the author says in his preface, you may disagree with his ideas or his conclusions, and his hope and expectation is only that you will give serious thought to these important matters. The elements of Presidential policy earning the greatest disapprobation by this author lie in the area of the expression and use of military power by the United States. In particular, as set forth in Chapters 1 and 2, the author decries: the assertion that the executive power of the President supercedes the legislative power of the Congress; the concept that the designation of the President as Commander in Chief in any way confers upon him a power to commit armed forces of the United States into combat; the militarization of our foreign policy; the denigration of the United Nations and the disregard of our solemn commitments under the Charter; the very concept of preventative war; the growing dominance of a military-industrial complex; and the belief that military action is an appropriate or effective response to terrorism in the world.

In Chapter 3 the book turns to economic and social policies, considering various aspects of governmental involvement in social welfare, the regulation of business activities, and taxation. Foreign trade and foreign aid are also considered. And the author offers comments on aspects of cultural and religious biases affecting those subjects.

Chapter 4 is concerned with scientific and environme