Further Reflection of the first Presidential Debate: Line Item Veto

Looking back over my notes from the debate, I wanted to reflect on a couple of items in there that I find to be the most important.

I want to go back again to the line that part where each candidate was talking about controlling the corrupting influence of earmarks. Obama said that he would combat earmarks by going line-by-line and vetoing every earmark in a budget bill. He also mentioned this same idea at his speech at the DNC convention, and I picked up on it and wrote about it here.

My point about going back to this is that I don't think that Obama knows what the President does. I don't think he knows what a President is. In his mind, the President is a "super-legislator." He talks about as President leading legislative initiatives, going line-by-line of budgets, and following the Democratic agenda perfectly. These are roles of a legislator. Our founding fathers gave these roles to Congress, and throughout our history this is what Congress has done.

Our founding fathers gave different roles to the President- that of leader, that of deal-maker, that of character, values, and energy. They saw the President as someone who would rise above partisan politics. Our founding fathers saw the President not as a legislator-at-large, but as a different sort of person- as an executive. And so most Presidents have been executives, leading us through challenging times, exercising leadership, and attempting to rise above a party mentality.

Obama does not know what the President does, and does not know what role it plays in our political system, and should not be elected to this position.

Again, go back to the line-item veto power. The Supreme Court ruled that this is a violation of separation of powers- that going line by line through a budget bill is a power reserved for Congress, and not for the President. The Supreme Court ruled that the President does not have this power.

Yet Obama has now over several months said that he would use the line-item veto. He said at the DNC speech that he would use it to find enough money to fund all his social programs. He said at the debate that he would use it to stop corruption. And he will say he will use it again and again, because he doesn't know what a President can and can not do.

Obama should not be President of this nation.