About this title: Recent American presidents have exploited the power of the presidency more fully than their predecessors - and with greater consequences than the framers of the Constitution anticipated. This book, in the tradition of Arthur Schlesinger's great work "The Imperial Presidency" (1973), explores how American presidents - especially those of the past three decades - have increased the power of the presidency at the expense of democracy. Matthew Crenson and Benjamin Ginsberg provide a fascinating history of this trend, showing that the expansion of presidential power dates back over a hundred years ...
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Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Fine. 0393064883 Ships next business day. NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black dot on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
Date Published: 2007-04-01
ISBN-13:9780393064889ISBN:0393064883
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780393064889. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780393064889ISBN:0393064883
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Like New. Book appears unread, but may have a publisher's mark or minor shelf wear. We are the Twin Cities' largest independent book store. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co
Date Published: 2007-04-17
ISBN-13:9780393064889ISBN:0393064883
Description: Like New. Never Owned Or Read! Some May Have A Publishers Remainder Mark or Light Shelf Wear. NEW CONDITION OTHER THAN PUBLISHERS REMAINDER MARK! read more
Description: New. 0393064883 All books are sent DHL Express or USPS Priority via our UK warehouse. Delivery time typically 4-10 working days to USA with parcel tracking number as standard. Selecting expedited shipping does not enhance stated delivery times. Please consider this when placing your order. Professional, full-time bookseller since 1987. read more
"The author is right on the mark: presidential power IS unchecked and unbalanced. This is highly dangerous. Tocqueville warned about the concentration of power back in the 1830s. The executive branch can essentially legislate because it controls a vast bureaucracy which makes rules and which is largely unaccountable to the press or public or Congress. What happens is largely obscured from view. Presidents can start wars; Congress was supposed to have this power. Presidents issue "signing statements" when accepting a law which essentially gives the proposed law an executive twist saying how it is intended to be enforced -- again, against the Constitution.
I think the danger is so great that a mere change of presidents or parties or even Constitutional amendments will not fix things -- rather, we need a second Constitutional Convention to craft a new one which fixes the numerous flaws mentioned by constitutional scholars. These include gerrymandering, underrepresentation of voters from populous states in the Senate, no term limits for Supreme Court justices, lack of representation for D.C. voters, inability to get rid of an incompetent or ill president quickly, abuse of the presidential pardon, the danger of martial law if there's a substantial attack on Congress, and so forth.
In my view, there are even more serious flaws with the Constitution. The foreign policy architecture places too much authority in the hands of one overburdened official -- the president -- so American foreign policy is largely dependent on the quality of the president who can be distracted by domestic concerns as well as party politics. Second, the judiciary has taken it upon itself to ride herd over the legislature, and there have been intelligent arguments by foreign scholars such as Adam Tomkins that the judiciary is ill suited for this task (for example, courts have to wait for specific cases to bubble up before they can make a ruling). Chief Justice Marshall in 1803 in Marbury v. Madison usurped the power to strike down legislative acts it deemed "unconstitutional", and this power, in effect, gave an unelected group of justices essentially quasi-legislative power. The Framers never intended for the Supreme Court to have such sweeping power. Third, the federal arrangement has become undone. State governments have lost considerable power to regulate their economies, and Washington has taken over the role of chief regulator, but it does this job badly. Fourth, citizenship is undefined. In my view it entails specific responsibilities including regular participation in local government meetings; however, most people today are not really citizens but mere consumers, political zombies, angry and frustrated workers who are politically apathetic.
What has happened, in my view, is that corruption and rot and partisanship and gridlock have overwhelmed government so that it can't begin to face serious long term problems such as Social Security underfunding, environmental dangers, nuclear terrorism. Washington can't fix itself. It's like a crashed computer, unresponsive to keystrokes. So I am summoning a Second Constitutional Convention and among my chosen delegates is Dr. Ginsberg -- he is one of the few Americans wise enough to fix the Constitution.
But I think delegates should think seriously about a nagging issue of national importance -- specifically, nuclear terrorism. Dr. Ginsberg must reform America so that it makes this danger much less likely. Many experts see terrorism as essentially a government and military and police problem. And I think that's a mistake. I think terrorism is a bigger problem -- it's a citizens' problem. We're the ones who suffer when it happens. So citizens need to prevent it. And as citizens we have wider latitude and authority to act than government officials have.
Terrorism, in my view, is "violence against individual rights". Begin with my definition and a solution will follow. One can suppose there are three types of terrorists -- criminals (neighbors who violate our rights), tyrants (our own government officials who violate our rights) and foreign terrorists (powerful individuals abroad or heads of state.) All three types of terrorism must be prevented, in my view. It's not enough for government by itself to try to fight terrorism, because in trying to fight terrorism, government may become a terrorist towards its own people. It's a multi-faceted problem, larger but solvable, in my view. We can't try to fight one form of terrorism by exacerbating another. But this happens routinely in airports: to prevent airline hijackings (crime) security guards frisk every passenger without cause (a form of tyranny that passengers put up with despite being treated like criminals.)
My book "Common Sense II: How to Prevent the Three Types of Terrorism" (Amazon & Kindle, 184 pages) spells out the logic for a prevention strategy. The essential concept linking an effort to prevent each type of terrorism is the application of light (meaning information, exposure, awareness.) For example, to prevent crime, we must identify all movement in public while strengthening privacy. For this to happen, citizens must agree to such monitoring, and for this to happen, people must become real citizens, not merely apathetic consumers and shoppers which characterize most Americans today. The concept of citizenship is examined (again, a type of light); citizenship should be a contract between individual and state with specific responsibilities and privileges. It's possible to prevent every instance of home-grown terrorism using this method. The rest of my book shows how one can apply the concept of light to exposing the other types. For example, I think the architecture of government requires an overhaul so that America can make steady long-term foreign policy, consistently rewarding friends and punishing enemies; but today it can't do this because administrations change every eight years, sometimes after only four. I propose a revised architecture based on lessons from history and political philosophy.
My strategy will prevent all types of terrorism, including smuggled nuclear bombs. I challenge Dr. Ginsberg to read my book and respond to my invitation to attend the Second Constitutional Convention. My strategy is brief, rational, non-religious, written by a citizen for citizens, non-technical. Be prepared: there are some controversial ideas (one expert found it "bracing"). But my book can protect America. It's plain logic from one citizen to another.
Overall, an excellent book which proves Dr. Ginsberg has the experience and knowledge and integrity to serve as a delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention."
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