Does the President of the United States really matter in our daily lives? Few of us really think broadly and deeply on this question. It is a profound question which cannot be done justice in these few pages. However, I am going to try. Unfortunately, this Sketches may be dull because it does not involve personalities, candidates, stories, struggles, etc. It is just about the pervasive power of the President.

Let me say up front that any President of the United States of America matters because she/he affects everything from the air we breathe to the water we drink, the food we eat, the health we have, the education we get, the work we do, the businesses we build, the justice we seek, the security we need, the religion we practice, the wealth we accumulate, the recreation we share and so on. I cannot name one single thing that is not affected by the President. And since the United States is by far the most powerful country in the whole wide world, its president affects people everywhere.

Please take notice that I said the President affects everything, not determines everything. Other forces also affect the same things but none as powerfully as the President except God.

Now that we have the broad outlines of how the President affects everything, let’s look at a few of the specific areas. The pervasive power of the president sets the tone for the country and the world. Every act sends a message. Every word sends a message. Every inaction sends a message. Every silence sends a message. The bully pulpit is just the tip of the iceberg. And hundreds of millions act, react or fail to act based on these messages. For instance, if a president indicates that it is preferable that certain people be excluded, then hundreds of millions act or react in big and little ways based upon that message. There is no way to quantify such actions or inactions for they are legion and pervasive. They become part of our culture, powerfully altering things not only in this country but across the world.

The pervasive power of any president is manifested in appointments. There are more than four thousand appointments to agencies, boards, etc. that impact the following: the Environmental Protection Agency that protects the air we breathe and the water we drink; the Food and Drug Administration that protects the food we eat and the medicine we take; the U. S. Department of Health and the Center for Disease Control that protect our health; the Commerce and Labor departments which facilitate the businesses we operate and the work we do; the Defense Department and Homeland Security which provide the security we need; the Supreme Court and other federal judges, the Attorney General and U. S. attorneys which assist with the justice we seek; the Department of Education and Department of Transportation which help with the education we receive and the travel we do. I could go on but I hope you get the point.

The pervasive power of any president is exercised in initiating and implementing policies. It’s one thing to put leaders in place to implement administrative programs. It’s another to initiate policies. Administrative actions impact things on a case by case basis but policies have a broad sweep that affects us in ways we cannot fathom. These policies connect with each other and various administrative actions to multiply the impact on everything in our lives. Of course, most far reaching policies have to be approved by the United States Congress. That’s a check on the presidency. And the U. S. Supreme Court is a powerful check on the President and Congress. However, the Supreme Court is checked by presidents nominating members of the Supreme Court and confirmation by the U. S. Senate. The separate branches of government serve as a check and balance on each other.

The pervasive power of the President is multiplied by the trillions of dollars contained in the national budget. Money fuels all of the things previously mentioned. And $3.8 trillion is a lot of fuel. The President initiates the budget but Congress passes the budget. Usually it’s a compromise. But it’s a compromise between 535 elected leaders on one hand and one leader on the other hand. Then the President has vast discretion inherent in implementing programs fueled by trillions of dollars. He can slow down or speed up the flow of funds.

The pervasive power of the President is demonstrated in our foreign policy. A president has vast authority in implementing foreign policy that impacts the entire world. And that authority is not checked by Congress and the Supreme Court in the same way as domestic policy. Some of us think that foreign policy only impacts those in foreign lands but it impacts us right here in the U.S.

I could say more but the space is well spent. I hope you better understand the pervasive power of the president and exercise your power to select a president that lifts all our interests.