Editing President of the United States (section)

=== Critics of presidency's evolution ===
The nation's [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]] expected the [[United States Congress|Congress]], which was the first branch of government described in the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]], to be the dominant branch of government; however, they did not expect a strong executive department.<ref name="tws9nov09">{{Cite news |last=Kakutani |first=Michiko |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/books/06book.html |title=Unchecked and Unbalanced |date=July 6, 2007 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 9, 2009 |quote=the founding fathers had "scant affection for strong executives" like England's king, and{{nbsp}}... Bush White House's claims are rooted in ideas "about the 'divine' right of kings"{{nbsp}}... and that certainly did not find their way into our founding documents, the 1776 Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of 1787.}}</ref> However, presidential power has shifted over time, which has resulted in claims that the modern presidency has become too powerful,<ref name="twsSEPnnxcvdf1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-conquest-of-president_b_120582 |first=David |last=Sirota |title=The Conquest of Presidentialism |date=August 22, 2008 |work=HuffPost |access-date=September 20, 2009}}</ref><ref name="twsSEPnn5454">{{Cite news |last=Schimke |first=David |url=http://www.utne.com/2008-09-01/Politics/presidential-Power-to-the-People.aspx |title=Presidential Power to the People—Author Dana D. Nelson on why democracy demands that the next President be taken down a notch |date=September–October 2008 |work=Utne Reader |access-date=September 20, 2009}}</ref> unchecked, unbalanced,<ref name="tws9nov07">{{Cite news |last=Linker |first=Ross |url=http://www.jhunewsletter.com/2007/09/26/critical-of-presidency-prof-ginsberg-and-crenson-unite-18626/ |title=Critical of Presidency, Prof. Ginsberg and Crenson unite |date=September 27, 2007 |access-date=November 9, 2017 |publisher=The Johns-Hopkins Newsletter |quote=Presidents slowly but surely gain more and more power with both the public at large and other political institutions doing nothing to prevent it.}}</ref> and "monarchist" in nature.<ref name="tws9nov08">{{Cite news |last=Kakutani |first=Michiko |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/books/06book.html |title=Unchecked and Unbalanced |date=July 6, 2007 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 9, 2009 |quote=Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror By Frederick A. O. Schwarz Jr. and Aziz Z. Huq (authors)}}</ref> In 2008 professor [[Dana D. Nelson]] expressed belief that presidents over the previous thirty years worked towards "undivided presidential control of the executive branch and its agencies".<ref name="twsSEPrt8jyh5">{{Cite news |last=Nelson |first=Dana D. |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-nelson11-2008oct11,0,224216.story |title=Opinion—The 'unitary executive' question—What do McCain and Obama think of the concept? |date=October 11, 2008 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=September 21, 2009}}</ref> She criticized proponents of the [[unitary executive theory]] for expanding "the many existing uncheckable executive powers—such as executive orders, decrees, memorandums, proclamations, national security directives and legislative signing statements—that already allow presidents to enact a good deal of foreign and domestic policy without aid, interference or consent from Congress".<ref name=twsSEPrt8jyh5 /> [[Bill Wilson (activist)|Bill Wilson]], board member of [[Americans for Limited Government]], opined that the expanded presidency was "the greatest threat ever to individual freedom and democratic rule".<ref name="tws8nov06">{{Cite news |last=Shane |first=Scott |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/us/politics/26activist.html |title=A Critic Finds Obama Policies a Perfect Target |date=September 25, 2009 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 8, 2009 |quote=There is the small, minority-owned firm with deep ties to President Obama's Chicago backers, made eligible by the Federal Reserve to handle potentially lucrative credit deals. "I want to know how these firms are picked and who picked them," Mr. Wilson, the group's president, tells his eager researchers.}}</ref>