> The very essence of democracy is that he gets to set policy
The President is supposed to execute the laws faithfully. It's Congress' job to set policy. Not that it matters because we hav the Republican Party setting policy instead.
The President is supposed to execute the laws faithfully. It's Congress' job to set policy. Not that it matters because we hav the Republican Party setting policy instead.
The Roman Empire had a similar demise as emperors relinquished power to nobles who also didn't want the responsibility.
Government is work and no one wants to do it. Anyone agreeing to take on the responsibility that Congress didn't want has a reason for doing it. It's likely not for the reason that they desperately want to act for the good of the people.
I'm not a political scholar, and certainly congress writes laws, but I would expect the party leader to have the most say in policy.
Certainly that's how it has been done since I can remember (reagan) and it's how the electorate sees the post.
Most campaigns run on policy, even Trumps. People vote for him because "I like his policies".
Trump has an outsized presence and influence upon the Republican Party, both as President and as an ordinary American citizen, but this is rather unusual and not the norm.
JFK, Reagan, Clinton, Bush even Obama certainly "lead" their party, in practice if not in title.